This is an older post, but since it went unanswered (and the issue seems quite important) a few remarks will be given. Keep in mind that the remarks are given by someone who is neither a historian not a trained theologian, so what is presented below is the result of "secondary" research (a quick excursion through Wikipedia and a few similar semi-reliable resources) and someone's own spiritual "deliberations." So take what follows with a sizable grain of salt and weigh everything on the scales of the Word...
There is definitely a link between the views of theologians like Pelagius (354–418), John Cassian (360–435), and Jacobus Arminius (1560–1609). While there is a lot of theology that can be discussed in connection with those three, the primary point of connection between them (and the most noteworthy debate that they spurred by their views) is their understanding of the free will of man and especially its juxtaposition vis-à-vis sovereignty of God in the matter of human salvation.
The most famous of the three is easily Pelagius whose name gave the doctrine regarding the free will of man its notoriety as "Pelagianism." According to Pelagius, man's free will was unaffected by the fall in that human will retains the freedom to either accept or reject God.
Pelagius quotes below are quoted as found in Defense Of The Freedom Of The Will. Pelagius was a British monk who made an interesting deduction based on the presence of commands and admonitions found in the Bible that if God demands something of man, it means that man is capable of doing that which God demands. It ought to be noted that very little of Pelagius' own writings survives. His words are thus usually quoted as they appear in the works of those who opposed him in his day or shortly after:
The man who hastens to the Lord, and desires to be directed by Him, that is, who makes his own will depend upon God's, who moreover cleaves so closely to the Lord as to become (as the apostle says) 'one spirit' with Him, does all this by nothing else than by his freedom of will."
"Everything good, and everything evil, on account of which we are either laudable or blameworthy, is not born with us but done by us: for we are born not fully developed, but with a capacity for either conduct; and we are procreated as without virtue, so also without vice; and previous to the action of our own proper will, that alone Is in man which God has formed."
[...]I teach that] there can be no doubt that not all men are sanctified by the righteousness of Christ, but only those who are willing to obey Him, and have been cleansed in the washing of His baptism [thus there can be no doubt that not all men are sinners, but only those who are willing to disobey him.]"
During his lifetime Pelagius was condemned as a heretic by the Catholic Church. He was notably opposed by famous early Church apologists like Augustine of Hippo and Jerome who defended a biblical position on the issue of sin that can be found in the Bible and for that reason held by the Reformers of the 16th century.
John Cassian quotes given below were found in The Third Conference of Abbot Chaeremon. On the Protection of God. Cassian was also a monk and a mystic who espoused many views that were borderline with Gnosticism. Cassian's view pertaining to free will is considered "Semipelagian" in that he claimed that the free will of man must be aided by God's grace before it can produce that which pleases God:
And when He [God] sees in us some beginnings of a good will, He at once enlightens it and strengthens it and urges it on towards salvation, increasing that which He Himself implanted or which He sees to have arisen from our own efforts.
[...] even of his own motion a man can be led to the quest of virtue, but always stands in need of the help of the Lord
when God sees us inclined to will what is good, He meets, guides, and strengthens us
the will always remains free in man, and can either neglect or delight in the grace of God.
Interestingly enough, it was the position of Augustine that was embraced many centuries later by certain Augustinian friar by the name of Martin Luther who was to become the father of the Protestant Reformation. At that time the Roman Church reevaluated its official position and moved toward embracing Semipelagianism.
Jacobus Arminius is quoted from The Works of James Arminius. He was a Dutch Reformed minister who became famous for opposing Calvinist views on human depravity, free will, and predestination. Though Arminius repeatedly and openly distanced himself from Pelagius and his teachings on these subjects, if we follow Arminius train of thought, we can see that even while he denied similarity in his views to the views of Pelagius and his followers, their views are remarkably similar.
"What then, you ask, does free will do? I reply with brevity, it saves. Take away FREE WILL, and nothing will be left to be saved. Take away GRACE, and nothing will be left as the source of salvation. This work [of salvation] cannot be effected without two parties—one, from whom it may come: the other, to whom or in whom it may be wrought. God is the author of salvation. Free will is only capable of being saved. No one, except God, is able to bestow salvation; and nothing, except free will, is capable of receiving it."
This decree has its foundation in the foreknowledge of God, by which
he knew from all eternity those individuals who would, through his preventing grace, believe, and, through his subsequent grace would persevere, according to the before described administration of those means which are suitable and proper for conversion and faith; and, by which foreknowledge, he likewise knew those who would not believe and persevere.
It can be shown that the view of "predestination" exhibited in the last quote (which is no predestination, but rather a simple "pre-knowledge" if we look at it closer) basically telescopes human decision-making into eternity past and in so doing conditions God on the decisions that individuals would make in the future. Needless to say that this view of predestination won't pass the compliance test on Romans 9...
Those who followed Arminius teachings eventually formed the Remonstrant Brotherhood that presented its opposition to the mainstream Dutch Reformed Church and was subsequently condemned by the synod of Dort as contrary to the sound teaching that was summarized in the five points of Calvinism (to match the Five articles of the Remonstrants) and are sometimes abbreviated as TULIP (Ligonier has a good breakdown on those at TULIP and Reformed Theology):
- Total depravity
- Unconditional Election
- Limited atonement
- Irresistible grace
- Perseverance of the saints
Notwithstanding the condemnation, Arminian position "survived" and found its way into England through the likes of prominent Christian figures like John and Charles Wesley. Through Methodism Arminianism eventually made its way to the United States and is alive and well in denominations that are affiliated with (or came out of) the Methodist movement...
[Edit:] Again, I'm no student of Church history (and I can be fact-checked here), but based on what usually happens is that the enemy of souls as it were "pulls back" and allows the Christian denominations that don't embrace the fullness of God's revelation to become (and remain) more "socially relevant" in the issues of their time, while the denominations that are trying to live up to the entirety of the sound teaching are then portrayed as aloof and unconcerned with the hurts of the dying world around them. I can see how in the climate of 19th century America those who (along with the Methodists) embraced Arminianism seemed like "true Christians" who were "involved" in the matters that were "relevant" to the social struggles of their day. If viewed by an untrained eye Arminianism could be easily mistaken for simply a message that underscores human dignity (which was a big issue in the context of the abolitionist and later suffrage movement) while Calvinists and others who sided with the Biblical view of human nature and predestination were easy to portray as "elitists" and "Pharisees" those who didn't care for social justice causes that could alleviate the suffering of those disadvantaged by the existing social and economic structures. This happens again and again. If you look at the ranks of those in the Christian community who are super active in all the latest social justice causes, you will find that "loving their neighbor" (as mistaken as they are about the proclaiming-of-the-Gospel-truth part of it) is about the only point of doctrine that they are adamant about. Most other historical Christian teaching goes by the wayside... I'm not saying that taking care of "least of these" is not what Church should be involved in, but if that (and not the faithful preaching of the Gospel) is the only thing we as Christians care about, the enemy of the souls cannot be happier: there is nothing to prevent him from taking well-fed and and well-clothed unbelievers with him to hell...
My personal take is that those who hold to Arminianism (and perhaps many other non-Biblical views on such deep and crucial topics) in the Church fall into two groups:
- There are those who are truly saved by grace but simply don't know much about the point of origin of such views as Arminianism or Pelagianism (poor preaching of the Word) to reject them as unbiblical. These people simply hear the message of affirmation and are lured in by the visions of human worth and dignity that theologians like Arminius project to unscrupulous Christian audiences.
- Then there are always those in the Church who are simply unsaved and are fully convinced that there is good in the fallen human nature; naturally Arminian message resonates and finds home in their hearts. Why wouldn't it? It's what every unsaved person wants to believe no matter what religion they profess...
The solution is the same for both groups: faithful preaching of the Gospel. The problem is that so much of contemporary preaching centers on human felt needs and is so afraid to offend anyone into faith that it seldom does...
Additional info from Ligonier on the Arminian controversy can be found at Arminius and the Remonstrants.
