40 Questions About Arminianism

by J. Matthew Pinson

Overview

The actual life and teaching of Jacobus Arminius are often unknown or misunderstood across many Protestant traditions. Answers beyond a basic caricature can be elusive. What are the essential historical backgrounds of Arminianism, and what theological teachings connect to the Arminian point of view? Mixing solid historical research with biblical and doctrinal precision, Baptist scholar J. Matthew Pinson clarifies the foundations of this influential tradition.

40 Questions About Arminianism addresses the following questions and more:
• Who was Jacobus Arminius?
• How has the church interpreted God’s desire that everyone be saved?
• How is Arminianism different from Calvinism?
• Can one be both Reformed and Arminian?
• What is “universal enabling grace”?
• What do Arminians mean by “free will”?
• Do Arminians believe that God predestines individuals to salvation?
• Is it possible for a Christian to apostatize?

An accessible question-and-answer format helps readers pursue the issues that interest them most and encourages a broad understanding of historic and contemporary Arminianism, with additional resources available at 40questions.net.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780825477294
Publisher:	Kregel Publications
Publication date:	04/19/2022
Series:	40 Questions
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

J. Matthew Pinson has been president of Welch College in Gallatin, Tennessee, for twenty years and previously served as a pastor of churches in Alabama, Connecticut, and Georgia. He holds a master's degree from Yale University and a doctorate from Vanderbilt University and is the author or editor of ten books, including Arminian and Baptist: Explorations in a Theological Tradition.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 9

Introduction 11

Part 1 Introductory and Historical Questions

Section A Introducing Arminianism and Calvinism

1 Who Was Jacobus Arminius, and Who Were the Remonstrants? 17

2 What Is Calvinism? 25

3 How Do Arminianism's Basic Doctrines Compare with Those of Calvinism? 35

4 How Do Arminianism's Basic Doctrines Contrast with Those ofCalvinism? 41

5 Who Was John Wesley, and What Did He Believe About Salvation? 47

Section B Arminianism and the Reformed Tradition

6 Can One Be Both Reformed and Arminian? 55

7 Was Arminius Reformed? 63

8 Was Reformed Theology Less Calvinistic Before the Synod of Dort? 69

Part 2 Questions About the Atonement and Justification

Section A The Nature of the Atonement and Justification

9 Did Arminius Affirm Penal Substitutionary Atonement? 83

10 What Have Later Arminians Believed About Penal Substitution? 89

11 Do Arminians Affirm the Imputation of Christ's Righteousness in Justification? 97

Section B The Extent of Atonement

12 Does God Want Everyone to Be Saved? 109

13 Does Scripture Teach That Christ Died for Everyone? 119

14 Are Calvinists Inconsistent in Freely Offering the Gospel to Everyone? 129

Part 3 Questions About Free Will and Grace

Section A Free Will and Determinism

15 Are Arminians Semi-Pelagians Who Deny Total Depravity and Inability? 139

16 What Do Arminians Mean by "Free Will"? 151

17 What Is Compatibilism, and How Do Arminians Respond to It? 159

18 Does Arminianism Detract from God's Glory? 167

19 Can God Be Sovereign If People Have Free Will? 175

20 Are People Free If God Knows the Future? 181

Section B Resistible Prevenient Grace

21 What Do Armenians Believe About Universal Prevenient Grace? 191

22 How Do Arminians Respond to Objections to Universal Prevenient Grace? 199

23 What Do Arminians Believe About the Doctrine of Irresistible Grace? 209

24 Does the Bible Teach That People Can Resist God's Grace? 217

25 How Do Arminians Interpret the Argument for Irresistible Grace from John 6? 227

26 How Do Arminians Interpret Other Proof Texts for Irresistible Grace? 235

Part 4 Questions About Election and Regeneration

27 Does Ephesians 1:4-11 Teach Unconditional or Conditional Election? 245

28 Does Romans 8:28-30 Teach Unconditional or Conditional Election? 257

29 Does Romans 9:6-23 Teach Unconditional or Conditional Election? 265

30 What Does the Rest of the New Testament Teach About Election? 275

31 Do Arminians Believe That God Elects Individuals to Salvation? 283

32 Do Arminians Believe That Faith Precedes Regeneration? 293

Part 5 Questions About Perseverance and Apostasy

Section A Calvinist Arguments for Perseverance

33 What Do Calvinists Believe About Perseverance? 303

34 How Do Arminians Respond to Calvinist Theological and Logical Arguments? 311

35 How Do Arminians Respond to Calvinist Scriptural Arguments? 317

36 How Do Calvinists Interpret the Warnings Against Apostasy in Scripture? 325

Section B The Possibility of Apostasy

37 Does the Letter to the Hebrews Teach the Possibility of Apostasy? (Part 1) 333

38 Does the Letter to the Hebrews Teach the Possibility of Apostasy? (Part 2) 341

39 What Does the Rest of the New Testament Teach About Apostasy? 349

40 Do Arminians Affirm Two Kinds of Apostasy? 357

Scripture Index 365

Name Index 369

Subject Index 377

Editorial Reviews

Scholarly in its technical foundations of theology and history, but written in language accessible to lay reader and scholar alike, this book is the best resource in print that provides trustworthy insight into a comparison of Arminianism and Calvinism. Scholars will admire the full footnoting of all sources, and lay readers will appreciate that technical language is avoided but explicated when needed. Pinson knows full-well that there is no such thing as a single homogenous phenomenon of either Arminianism or Calvinism. This is where Pinson shines the brightest. He carefully guides the reader through nuanced differences and emphases, but he also honestly sets forth his own position on challenging differences. The careful reader will discern that Pinson is consequential in his pursuit, which means that no detail of difference is too small to set out. Simply put: this is the most comprehensive book available on the essentials of Arminian theology. The beauty of the book is that Pinson fulfills the ideal dialectic that he set out in his Introduction. He has produced an irenic apologetic for which Arminius himself would issue high praise. The spirit of Arminius shines through.

Research Professor Emeritus, Duke Divinity School - W. Stephen Gunter

Matthew Pinson has surely produced what may well rank as the best available exposition of evangelical Arminianism. I found the book enormously helpful in tracing the Arminian vision from the vantage point of Scripture, theology, and history. And while I remain unconvinced by his argument in a number of places, his book is a gracious and profoundly learned response to the biblical Calvinism that I embrace. In fact, reading it was not only a learning experience—it was a joyful exercise!

FRHistS, Chair and Professor of Church History, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Matthew Pinson in 40 Questions About Arminianism has beautifully recaptured the classic question-answer format which framed the great historic theologies of the past in order to present the distinctives of Arminian theology and thought to a new generation. Rather than dividing Christians into theological camps, Pinson conveys a beautiful irenic tone, helping inform fellow brothers and sisters in Christ about many of the frequently misunderstood features of the great tapestry which makes up Christian theology.

President and Professor of World Christianity, Asbury Theological Seminary - Timothy Tennent

Matthew Pinson displays a broad and deep understanding of Arminius’s theology, classical ‘Reformed Arminianism,’ and varieties of Calvinism. Here he ably answers questions about classical ‘Reformed Arminianism’ and demonstrates how it differs from both Calvinism and Wesleyan Arminianism. At the same time, in very irenic tones, Pinson acknowledges and celebrates areas of agreement between these lines of Protestant Christian theology. The novel contribution of this book is the author’s insightful discussion of how Arminianism can be ‘Reformed.’ According to him, and I agree, classical Arminianism is a branch of the broad Reformed tradition even though Wesleyans are also Arminians. Although he does not mention this ‘fun fact,’ the original Arminian denomination, the Remonstrant Brotherhood of the Netherlands, is a charter member of the World Communion of Reformed Churches. That fact supports his theological argument for Reformed Arminianism. Anyone who wants to be thoroughly informed about Arminianism and also entertained in the process must read 40 Questions About Arminianism.

Professor of Christian Theology and Holder of the Foy Valentine Chair in Christian Ethics, George W. Truett Theological - Roger E. Olson

Matthew Pinson has surely produced what may well rank as the best available exposition of evangelical Arminianism. I found the book enormously helpful in tracing the Arminian vision from the vantage point of Scripture, theology, and history. And while I remain unconvinced by his argument in a number of places, his book is a gracious and profoundly learned response to the biblical Calvinism that I embrace. In fact, reading it was not only a learning experience—it was a joyful exercise!

FRHistS, Chair and Professor of Church History, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary - Michael A. G. Haykin