Arminian Theology

I did all of my theological education in Wesleyan-Arminian schools (B.A. in Religion at Houghton College, M.A. in Theological Studies at Northeastern Seminary [on Robert's Wesleyan College]), and I came out a Calvinist (no, I didn’t go into the schools a Calvinist; I was an evangelical theological mess). I’ve never bought the rhetoric that Arminians are somehow less than Christian, heterodox, or any such thing.

Thankfully, an excellent volume has come out to help clarify Arminian theology, and I’ve got a copy: Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities by Roger E. Olson, due to be releases October 30. Thank you to Michael Spencer and InterVarsity Press for the copy of the book.

I’m going to blog through my reading of the book (Scot McKnight at Jesus Creed has been doing the same thing), and then do an overall review and recommendation at the end. Suffice it to say for now, Arminians have long needed a popular published work by an excellent scholar like Olson to say things like this:

A popular myth promoted by some Calvinists is that all Arminian theologians accept the governmental theory of atonement and reject the penal-substitution theory. This is simply false. Arminians believe in the Trinity, the deity and humanity of Jesus Christ, the depravity of humanity due to the primeval Fall, salvation by grace alone through faith alone, and all other essential Protestant beliefs. Justification as imputed righteousness is affirmed by classical Arminians following Arminius himself.