This week in Christian history: George Mueller, San Francisco, Arminius

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Sunday, October 06, 2019

Jacobus Arminius born – October 10, 1560

A portrait of Jacobus Arminius (1560-1609), also known as James Arminius, Jakob Hermanszoon, and Jacob Arminius, the Dutch Protestant theologian who challenged Reformed Theology. | (Photo: Public Domain)

This week marks the anniversary of when Jacobus Arminius, a Protestant theologian who famously challenged the Calvinist view of salvation, was born.

A native of Oudewater, Netherlands and minister of the Dutch Reformed Church, Arminius came to reject the view by Protestant Reformation leader John Calvin that salvation was predetermined by God.

“To him predestination seemed too harsh a position, because it did not provide a place for the exercise of human free will in the process of salvation,” explained Britannica.

“Hence, Arminius came to assert a conditional election, according to which God elects to eternal life those who will respond in faith to the divine offer of salvation. In so doing, he meant to place greater emphasis on God’s mercy.”

His theology later became known as Arminianism and heavily influenced later Protestant denominations, especially Methodism.