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Summary
- Calvinists and Arminians both say no sinner can turn to God without grace and that salvation is by grace through faith in Christ, though the Synod of Dort judged the Arminian view of human depravity too mild; they disagree on election, the extent of the atonement, whether grace can be resisted and whether a believer can finally fall away.
- Arminius’s followers set out their view in the five articles of the Remonstrance (1610); the Synod of Dort (1618–19) answered them point by point in the Canons of Dort, the source of the “five points of Calvinism.”
- Calvin died in 1564, before Arminius’s dispute began; the earliest known use of the TULIP acronym for the Calvinist answers is a lecture of about 1905.
- Reformed and Presbyterian churches are Calvinist; Methodists, Pentecostals such as the Assemblies of God and Free Will Baptists are Arminian; the Southern Baptist confession leaves room for both, and Lutherans hold neither system, teaching unconditional election but that faith can be lost.
- The Remonstrance left open whether a true believer can fall away; Wesley and later Arminian churches teach that one can, while the Canons of Dort and the Westminster Confession teach that one cannot.
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Scripture quotations are from the English Standard Version, checked at BibleGateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+3%3A16%3BJohn+6%3A37%3BJohn+6%3A44%3BJohn+10%3A28-29%3BActs+7%3A51%3BRomans+9%3A16%3BRomans+9%3A21%3BEphesians+1%3A4-5%3B1+Timothy+2%3A4%3BHebrews+6%3A4-6%3B2+Peter+3%3A9%3B1+John+2%3A2&version=ESV
- The Canons of Dort (1618–19), with introduction. Christian Reformed Church in North America. https://www.crcna.org/welcome/beliefs/confessions/canons-dort
- The Five Arminian Articles (the Remonstrance), 1610. In Philip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom, vol. 3. Christian Classics Ethereal Library. https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/creeds3.iv.xv.html
- Philip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom, vol. 1, §65, “The Arminian Controversy and the Synod of Dort.” https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/creeds1.ix.iii.iv.html
- Philip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom, vol. 1, “John Calvin. His Life and Character.” https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/creeds1.ix.ii.vi.html
- Philip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom, vol. 1, §106, “Arminian or Free-will Baptists.” https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/creeds1.x.vii.html
- Westminster Confession of Faith, chapters 3 and 17. Orthodox Presbyterian Church. https://www.opc.org/wcf.html
- The Articles of Religion of the Methodist Church, Articles VIII and XII. The United Methodist Church. https://www.umc.org/en/content/articles-of-religion
- John Wesley, “The Question, ‘What Is an Arminian?’ Answered by a Lover of Free Grace” (1770). Text reproduced by the Society of Evangelical Arminians. https://evangelicalarminians.org/john-wesley-the-question-what-is-an-arminian-answered-by-a-lover-of-free-grace/
- The Journal of John Wesley, December 20, 1784. Wesley Center Online. https://wesley.nnu.edu/john-wesley/the-journal-of-john-wesley/volume-7/part-the-twentieth-jul-18-1784-jun-28-1786/december-1784/
- Charles Simeon, Horae Homileticae, vol. 1 (London, 1832), Preface, pp. xvii–xviii. Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/horaehomileticae01simeuoft
- Baptist Faith and Message 2000, Article V, “God’s Purpose of Grace.” Southern Baptist Convention. https://bfm.sbc.net/bfm2000/
- A Treatise of the Faith and Practices of the National Association of Free Will Baptists, chapter XIII, “Perseverance of the Saints.” https://nafwb.org/site/wp-content/uploads/NAFWB-Treatise-2026.pdf
- Assemblies of God, “The Assurance of Salvation,” position paper adopted by the General Presbytery, August 2017. https://ag.org/-/media/AGORG/Beliefs/Position-Papers/Assurance-of-Salvation.pdf
- Formula of Concord, Epitome, Article XI, “Of God’s Foreknowledge and Election.” https://bookofconcord.org/formula-of-concord-epitome/article-xi/
- “September 25: Originator of the T.U.L.I.P. Acrostic.” This Day in Presbyterian History, PCA Historical Center, citing William H. Vail, The New Outlook 104 (1913). https://thisday.pcahistory.org/2013/09/originator-of-the-t-u-l-i-p-acrostic/
- Brian J. Abasciano, “Corporate Election in Romans 9: A Reply to Thomas Schreiner,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 49/2 (June 2006): 351–71. https://evangelicalarminians.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/Article.-CORPORATE-ELECTION-IN-ROMANS-9.-Final-JETS-Version.pdf
- Formula of Concord, Epitome, Article IV, “Of Good Works,” Negative Thesis 3. https://bookofconcord.org/formula-of-concord-epitome/article-iv/
- “Westminster Confession of Faith.” PCA Administrative Committee. https://www.pcaac.org/resources/wcf/
