Jacobus Arminius
Jacobus Arminius | |
---|---|
Jakob Hermanszoon | |
Born | 10 October 1560 |
Died | 19 October 1609 | (aged 49)
Nationality | Dutch |
Education | Leiden University |
Occupation(s) | Pastor, theologian |
Spouse | Lijsbet Reael |
Theological work | |
Era | Reformation |
Tradition or movement | Arminianism |
Main interests | Soteriology |
Notable ideas | Prevenient grace, conditional preservation of the saints |
Jacobus Arminius (
Following his death, his challenge to the
Early life
Jakob Hermanszoon (Latinized Jacobus Arminius) was born in 1559 or 1560 in Oudewater, Utrecht. He became an orphan while still young. His father Herman, a manufacturer of weapons, died, leaving his wife a widow with small children.[1] He never knew his father, and his mother was killed during the Spanish massacre at Oudewater in 1575.[citation needed]
The child was adopted by
Theological studies and ministry
Arminius remained a student at Leiden from 1576 to 1582. Although he enrolled as a student in Liberal Arts, this allowed him to pursue an education in theology, as well. His teachers in theology included Calvinist
In 1582, Arminius began studying under Theodore Beza at Geneva. He found himself under pressure for using Ramist philosophical methods, familiar to him from his time at Leiden. Arminius was publicly forbidden to teach Ramean philosophy. After this difficult state of affairs, he moved to Basel to continue his studies.[2]
He continued to distinguish himself there as an excellent student. In 1583 Arminius was contemplating a return to Geneva when the theological faculty at Basel spontaneously offered him a doctorate.
Commendations from Beza and Grynaeus
Upon the conclusion of Arminius' studies and a request for him to pastor in Amsterdam, Beza replied to leaders in Amsterdam with this letter:
"...Let it be known to you that from the time Arminius returned to us from Basel, his life and learning both have so approved themselves to us, that we hope for the best from him in every respect, if he steadily persists in the same course, which, by the blessing of God, we doubt not he will; for, among other endowments, God has given him an intellect well-suited both to the apprehension and to the discrimination of things. If this henceforward be regulated by piety, which he appears assiduously to cultivate, it cannot but happen that this power of intellect, when consolidated by mature age and experience, will be productive of the richest fruits. Such is our opinion of Arminius — a young man, unquestionably, so far as we are able to judge, most worthy of your kindness and liberality" (Letter of 3 June 1585 from Beza to Amsterdam).[5][6]
From this letter it would seem that the earlier tension from Arminius' attraction to Ramist philosophy had dissipated and Arminius was known even to Beza as an excellent though budding theologian. Three months later, John Grynaeus at the University of Basel sent this letter of commendation:
"To pious readers, greeting: 'Inasmuch as a faithful testimonial of learning and piety ought not to be refused to any learned and pious man, so neither to James Arminius, a native of Amsterdam [sic], for his deportment while he attended the University of Basel was marked by piety, moderation, and assiduity in study ; and very often, in the course of our theological discussions, he made his gift of a discerning spirit so manifest to all of us, as to elicit from us well-merited congratulations. More recently, too, in certain extraordinary prelections delivered with the consent, and by the order, of the Theological Faculty, in which he publicly expounded a few chapters of the Epistle to the Romans, he gave us the best ground to hope that he was destined erelong — if, indeed, he goes on to stir up the gift of God that is in him — to undertake and sustain the function of teaching, to which he may be lawfully set apart, with much fruit to the Church. I commend him, accordingly, to all good men, and, in particular, to the Church of God in the famous city of Amsterdam ; and I respectfully entreat that regard may be had to that learned and pious youth, so that he may never be under the necessity of intermitting theological studies which have been thus far so happily prosecuted. Farewell ! 'John James Grynaeus, Professor of Sacred Literature, and Dean of the Theological Faculty. — Written with mine own hand. Basle, 3rd September, 1583."
Beginning of public ministry
Arminius answered the call to pastor at Amsterdam in 1587, delivering Sunday and midweek sermons. After being tested by the church leaders, he was ordained in 1588. He gained a reputation as a good preacher and faithful pastor.[citation needed]
One of Arminius' first tasks was given to him by Ecclesiastical Court of Amsterdam; namely, to refute the teachings of
In 1590 he married Lijsbet Reael, the daughter of Laurens Jacobsz Reael, a prominent merchant and poet in Amsterdam who also helped lead the
Controversy
At Amsterdam, Arminius taught through "a number of sermons on the Epistle of the Romans". In discussing
During the following years, controversy emerged as he preached through Romans 9. Although he did not directly contradict Calvinist interpretations, he focused on Paul's theme of "justification by faith" in contradiction to works, rather than focusing on God's eternal decrees. During this time he "gradually developed opinions on grace, predestination and free will that were inconsistent with the doctrine of the Reformed teachers Calvin and Beza".[11]
Professor at Leiden
In 1603 he was called back to Leiden University to teach theology. This came about after almost simultaneous deaths in 1602 of two faculty members,
Escalating controversy with Gomarus
Gomarus, a Fleming who had been in Leiden since 1594, has been described as "a rather mediocre scholar" but "a forceful defender of the Calvinistic doctrine... a man of deep-rooted faith"
The dispute took a public turn on 7 February 1604, when Willem Bastingius in his disputation De divina praedestinatione defended a number of Arminius's theses, Arminius himself presiding. This event led Gomarus to have Samuel Gruterus argue an opposite position to these theses on 14 October 1604, but not on the official schedule. Gomarus ascribed the positions he disliked to Calvin's adversary
Opponents of Arminius outside the university gradually expanded the controversy. The
Gomarus was incited to increase his opposition to Arminius by Leiden minister
In direct defiance of the Court, Gomarus then published the speech he had made before it, and Arminius followed suit by publishing his own speech. In response to the Court's opinion Gomarus declared that "he would not dare die holding Arminius' opinion, nor to appear with it before God's judgement seat."[16] Arminius then asked to defend his positions in public or for a national or provincial synod to be called to examine the matter. Seeking to avoid a synod, the States of Holland allowed Arminius to expound on his views to their assembly on 30 October 1608.[citation needed]
Before the assembly, Arminius finally explained his call to rewrite the Belgic Confession and the Heidelberg Catechism, saying that he did not feel obligated to explain his position before, for "as a professor, he considered himself subject only to the authority of the Leiden Curators and the States, not to the Church".
Learning that Arminius had appeared before the States assembly, Gomarus requested permission to address it as well, which was granted. On 12 December 1608 Gomarus blasted Arminius, accusing "his colleague of being a supporter of Pelagianism and the Jesuits; he also attacked
On 25 July 1609 Jacobus Bontebal defended the theses De vocatione hominis ad salutem under Arminius's presidency. A Roman Catholic priest (rumored to be a Jesuit) was in the audience and dared to oppose Arminius' positions. While an already seriously ill Arminius refuted the arguments, Gomarus "who was among the audience, became alternately flushing and deathly pale, and afterwards, while the Papist was within earshot, he insultingly remarked to his colleague that now the door to Papism had been widely opened."[18]
Final debate and last days
Arminius remained as a teacher at Leiden until his death, and was valued by his students.
Once again the States attempted to tamp down the growing controversy without calling a synod. Arminius was ordered to attend another conference with Gomarus in The Hague in on 13–14 August 1609. When the conference was to reconvene on 18 August, Arminius' health began to fail and so he returned to Leiden. The States suspended the conference and asked both men for a written reaction to their adversary's viewpoint.[citation needed]
Arminius died on 19 October 1609 at his house at the Pieterskerkhof.[24] He was buried in the Pieterskerk at Leiden, where a memorial stone on his behalf was placed in 1934.[citation needed]
Theology and legacy
In attempting to defend Calvinistic
Arminius wrote that he sought to teach only those things which could be proved from the Scriptures and that tended toward edification among Christians (with the exception of Roman Catholics, with whom he said there could be no spiritual accord).[26] His motto was reputed to be "Bona conscientia paradisus", meaning, "A good conscience is a paradise."[27]
Arminius taught of a "preventing" (or prevenient) grace that has been conferred upon all by the Holy Spirit and this grace is "sufficient for belief, in spite of our sinful corruption, and thus for salvation."[28] Arminius stated that "the grace sufficient for salvation is conferred on the Elect, and on the Non-elect; that, if they will, they may believe or not believe, may be saved or not be saved."[29] William Witt states that "Arminius has a very high theology of grace. He insists emphatically that grace is gratuitous because it is obtained through God's redemption in Christ, not through human effort."[30]
The theology of Arminianism did not become fully developed during Arminius' lifetime, but after his death (1609) the
Publishers in Leiden (1629) and at Frankfurt (1631 and 1635) issued the works of Arminius in Latin.[citation needed]
John Wesley (1703–91), the founder of the Methodist Movement, came to his own religious beliefs while in college and through his Aldersgate Experience or epiphany and expressed himself strongly against the doctrines of Calvinistic election and reprobation. His system of thought has become known as Wesleyan Arminianism, the foundations of which were laid by Wesley and his fellow preacher John William Fletcher.[32] Although Wesley knew very little about the beliefs of Jacobus Arminius and arrived at his religious views independently of Arminius, Wesley acknowledged late in life, with the 1778 publication of The Arminian Magazine, that he and Arminius were in general agreement. Theology Professor W. Stephen Gunther concludes he was "a faithful representative" of Arminius' beliefs.[33] Wesley was perhaps the clearest English proponent of Arminianism.[34] He embraced Arminian theology and became its most prominent champion.[35] Today[update], the majority of Methodists remain committed (knowingly or unknowingly) to Arminian theology, and Arminianism itself has become one of the dominant theological systems in the United States, thanks in large part to the influence of John and Charles Wesley.[36]
Personal life
Arminius and his wife Lijsbet Laurensdochtor Reael, who married in 1590, had a total of 12 children, three of whom died young during infancy. They had ten sons; Harmen (b. 1594), Pieter (b. 1596), Jan (b. 1598), Laurens (b. 1600, died in infancy), Laurens (b. 1601), Jacob (b. 1603), Willem (b. 1605), and Daniel (b. 1606). They had two other sons who also died in infancy, whose names are not part of the public record. Their daughters were Engelte (b. 1593) and Geertruyd (b. 1608).[37] He was survived by his wife and children when he died.[37]
References
Notes
- Latinized name of Jakob Hermanszoon; he was also known as Jakob Herman and the Anglicizednames of Jacob Arminius and James Arminius.
Citations
- ^ Bangs 1985, p. 25.
- ^ a b Meij-Tolsma 2009, pp. ix–xvi.
- ^ a b c d e Chisholm 1911, p. 576.
- ^ Brandt 1854, p. 25.
- ^ a b Picirilli 2002, p. 5.
- ^ Brandt 1854, p. 24.
- ^ a b Sierhuis 2015.
- ^ Brandt 1854, p. 91.
- ^ Brandt 1854, pp. 40–41.
- ^ Israel 1995, p. 374.
- ^ Grotius 1995, p. 2.
- ^ Stanglin 2007, p. 30.
- ^ Schaff & Herzog 1951, p. 296.
- ^ Israel 1995, p. 393.
- ^ a b c d e f Grotius 1995, p. 3.
- ^ a b c Grotius 1995, p. 4.
- ^ a b Grotius 1995.
- ^ a b Grotius 1995, p. 6.
- ^ MacCulloch 2005, p. 374.
- ^ Schaff & Herzog 1953, p. 16.
- ^ Kooi 2000, p. 135.
- ^ Arminius 1825, p. 319.
- ^ Israel 1995, p. 428.
- ^ Chisholm 1911.
- ^ Gonzalez 1983, p. 255.
- ^ Schaff 1877, p. 508.
- ^ Ballor, Sytsma & Zuidema 2013, p. 368.
- ^ Gonzalez 1983, p. 257.
- ^ Arminius 1853a, p. 367.
- ^ Witt 1993, pp. 259–60.
- ^ Latourette 1975, p. 765.
- ^ Knight 2018, p. 115.
- ^ Gunter, William Stephen (1 September 2007). "John Wesley, a Faithful Representative of Jacobus Arminius" (PDF). The Oxford Institute of Methodist Studies. p. 4. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
- ^ Stanglin & McCall 2012, p. 153.
- ^ Olson 1999, p. 464.
- ^ McGrath 2006, p. 384.
- ^ a b Bangs 1986.
Bibliography
Sources
- Arminius, Jacobus (1825). The Works of James Arminius, D. D., Formerly Professor of Divinity in the University of Leyden: To which are Added Brandt's Life of the Author, with Considerable Augmentations, Numerous Extracts from His Private Letters, a Copious and Authentic Account of the Synod of Dort and Its Proceedings, and Several Interesting Notices of the Progress of His Theological Opinions in Great Britain and on the Continent. Vol. 1. Translated by James Nichols. Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown and Green.
- Arminius, Jacob (1853a). Nichols, James; Bagnall, WR (eds.). The Works of James Arminius, DD, Formerly Professor of Divinity in the University of Leyden. Vol. I. Buffalo, NY: Derby, Miller, & Orton.
- Ballor, Jordan J.; Sytsma, David; Zuidema, Jason (2013). Church and School in Early Modern Protestantism: Studies in Honor of Richard A. Muller on the Maturation of a Theological Tradition. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-25829-7.
- Bangs, Carl (1985). Arminius: a study in the Dutch Reformation. F. Asbury Press. ISBN 978-0-310-29481-8.
- Bangs, Carl (1986). The Works of James Arminius. Grand Rapids, MI.: Baker Books. pp. 130–136, 150–152.
- Brandt, Kaspar (1854). The Life of James Arminius. London: Ward and Co.
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 2 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- Gonzalez, Justo L. (1983). A History of Christian Thought. Vol. 3. Nashville: Abingdon Press. ISBN 0-687-17178-4.
- ISBN 90-04-10385-6.
- Israel, Jonathan (1995). The Dutch Republic: Its Rise, Greatness and Fall, 1477–1806. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-873072-1.
- Knight, Henry H. (2018). John Wesley: Optimist of Grace. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock.
- Kooi, Christine (2000). Liberty and Relligion: Church and State in Leinden's Reformation, 1572-1620. Brill. ISBN 90-04-11643-5.
- Latourette, Kenneth Scott (1975). A History of Christianity. Vol. II. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco. ISBN 0-06-064953-4.
- ISBN 978-0-14-303538-1.
- McGrath, Alister E. (2006). Christian Theology: An Introduction. Wiley. ISBN 978-1-4051-5360-7.
- Meij-Tolsma, Marijke (2009). "Introduction". Arminius, Arminianism, and Europe: Jacobus Arminius (1559/60–1609). Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-9004178878.
- Olson, Roger E. (1999). The Story of Christian Theology: Twenty Centuries of Tradition and Reform. InterVarsity Press. ISBN 978-0-8308-1505-0.
- Picirilli, Robert E. (2002). Grace, Faith, Free Will: Contrasting Views of Salvation. Nashville: Randall House. ISBN 0-89265-648-4.
- Schaff, Philip (1877). "§65 The Arminian Controversy (AD1604-1619)". The Creeds of Christendom: With a History and Critical Notes. Vol. 1. Harper.
- Schaff, Phillip; Herzog, Jakob (1951). "Jacobus Arminius". The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge. Vol. 1. Grand Rapids: Baker.
- Schaff, Phillip; Herzog, Jakob (1953). "Gomarus (Gomar), Franciscus". The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge. Vol. 5. Grand Rapids: Baker.
- Sierhuis, Freya (2015). The Literature of the Arminian Controversy. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 36.
- Stanglin, Keith D. (2007). Arminius on the Assurance of Salvation: The Context, Roots, and Shape of the Leiden Debate, 1603–1609. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-15608-1.
- Pinson, J. Matthew (2003). "Will the Real Arminius Please Stand Up? A Study of the Theology of Jacobus Arminius in Light of His Interpreters" (PDF). Integrity: A Journal of Christian Thought. 2: 121–139.
- Witt, William Gene (1993). Creation, redemption and grace in the theology of Jacob Arminius (PhD). University of Notre Dame.
Further reading
- Arminius, Jacob (1853b). Nichols, James; Bagnall, WR (eds.). The Works of James Arminius, DD, Formerly Professor of Divinity in the University of Leyden. Vol. II. Buffalo, NY: Derby, Miller, & Orton.
- Arminius, Jacob (1853c). Nichols, James; Bagnall, WR (eds.). The Works of James Arminius, DD, Formerly Professor of Divinity in the University of Leyden. Vol. III. Buffalo, NY: Derby, Miller, & Orton.
- Forlines, F. Leroy (2011). Classical Arminianism: The Theology of Salvation. Nashville: Randall House. ISBN 978-0-89265-607-3.
- Leeuwen, Theodoor Marius van (2009). Arminius, Arminianism, and Europe: Jacobus Arminius (1559/60–1609). Boston: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-17887-8.
- Olson, Roger E. (2006). Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic. ISBN 0-8308-2841-9.
- Stanglin, Keith D.; McCall, Thomas H. (2012). Jacob Arminius: Theologian of Grace. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-975567-7.