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I've often heard some people describe themselves as a "Calminianist" in an attempt to say through a portmanteau that they ascribe to both Calvinism and Arminianism.

Is/Are there some universally acknowledged belief system(s) that combines the overlapping elements in Calvinism and Arminianism? Perhaps some system(s) that accept all points of both or 2 points of one and 2 points of the other, for example?

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  • Have you checked out this: christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/12017/…?
    – bruised reed
    Commented Jul 18, 2014 at 14:11
  • @bruisedreed That's the first one I checked. It never names a belief system that holds the compatible views, which is what I'm looking for--beyond the ad hoc Caliminianism.
    – LCIII
    Commented Jul 18, 2014 at 14:16
  • It would have been helpful if Affable Geek elaborate his comment into an actual answer, but it's a pointer to look in the right direction at least, as is Mr Bultitude's answer (surely worthy of your upvote if not acceptance) - there are actually modern day descendants of Richard Baxter etc.
    – bruised reed
    Commented Jul 18, 2014 at 14:39
  • @bruisedreed It's funny - I didn't see this comment until after I had answered. But, if you add @ followed by a user name in a comment, I'll get notified. In the comment you alluded to, I had already given the answer I linked to in my answer to this one.
    – Affable Geek
    Commented Jul 18, 2014 at 15:27
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    The answer is Arminianism, because classical Arminianism is in fact a type of Calvinism. Jacob Arminius was a Calvinist who believed his Calvinism was more in line with Calvin and Augustine than that of his opponents, who came up with TULIP and condemned him at the Synod of Dort.
    – david brainerd
    Commented Sep 15, 2014 at 3:39

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There are a few that attempt to do so. Both Calvinists and Arminians would say that any such attempt is internally inconsistent.

I don't know of any "universally acknowledged system" of theology that does so, except perhaps for Amyraldism, which denies limited atonement but affirms the other four points of Calvinism. (Any Protestant denying a point of Calvinism is necessarily affirming the corresponding point in Arminianism, and vice versa.) In non-confessional churches you'll find Calvinists and Arminians freely intermingling and you'll find one-, two-, three-, or four-point Calvinists. There is great diversity in Christendom on these things, but as I said, I don't think you'll find any system of theology seamlessly incorporating one element of Calvinism with one element of Arminianism.

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Baptists have historically combined the two perspectives as described in this answer. While the terms "General" and "Particular" Baptists don't have as wide a currency as they once did, they speak to the strains, as I described here:

Eventually, there were two main camps of Baptists - "General" Baptists who believed in General atonement, i.e. anyone who chose (i.e. free will) to believe in Christ. In contrast, "Particular" Baptists were Calvinists, who believed in Limited Atonement. These are the Baptists who wrote the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, one of the closest things to a "founding Baptist creed" you'll get from a Baptist. As you would expect from a Calvinist, they believed in predestination - i.e. that God has foreknown whom he would save from before the beginning of time.

In practice, most Baptists end up emphasizing free will when it comes to making a "choice for God" or "saying a sinner's prayer," then once you are saved, emphasizing Predestination and saying that God had elected you all along. One can see this resolution by reading the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message.

Section 4. Salvation says:

Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord. implying free will

Section 5. Grace says:

Election is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners. It is consistent with the free agency of man, and comprehends all the means in connection with the end. It is the glorious display of God's sovereign goodness, and is infinitely wise, holy, and unchangeable. It excludes boasting and promotes humility. All true believers endure to the end.

Logically, Election is inconsistent with Free Will, but in practice it works.

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