Reformed Theology in History

The first post in the series on reformed theology has to do with this tradition in history. When we study the growth of theology, we are studying historical theology. This tradition is one of the longest traditions in Christianity. As time develops, theologians begin to make their theology clearer and clearer. As such, the beginnings of reformed theology didn't start with the five points of Calvinism; in fact, that didn't come until over 1,500 years after the death of Christ! What we want to study is how and why it got to where it is today.

Augustine & Pelagius

The church itself never did serious investigative work on the doctrine of predestination/original sin until the 4th century. It started with Augustine who was the first to debate a man name Pelagius over what effect the fall had on man. Augustine said that the fall of Adam left man spiritually dead, but Pelagius declared that we are actually a 'blank slate' that is not affected by Adam's fall. Pelagius, in effect, denied original sin! Pelagius also declared that we could, hypothetically, live a life without sin. Man was, in effect, responsible for his own salvation apart from the intervention of God.

The Pelagian Controversy, as it was dubbed, was one of the earliest heresies the church had to battle. Pelagianism was declared as heresy by a church council in the 5th century. It was the first time that the church dealt with an apologetic concerning the state of fallen man. This battle will continue to be one that rages throughout the centuries.

Semi-Pelagianism

A few centuries later a movement dubbed Semi-Pelagianism arose in the 6th century. This movement took sin more seriously, but still held to the thought that salvation had to start with man's initiative. This movement didn't deny original sin, but it still had a strong emphasis upon the fact that man could indeed initiate the process of salvation. They would deny that man is naturally incapable of discerning the Gospel. It was however also condemned as heresy in the year 529 at the Council of Orange, but it wasn't until the 17th century that the debate came to its greatest point yet.

The Reformation

While many attribute the "reformed" to the reformation we can see that reformed theology did not begin during the Reformation. While Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli all had a similar view on what we today know as "Calvinism," the debate of the Reformation was in all reality over some different issues. Continuing the tradition of a debate between a "Calvinist"/reformed theologian and someone opposed to that view was Martin Luther vs. Erasmus. Luther wrote his great work The Bondage of the Will as a polemic against Erasmus.

The first of the issues was whether the righteousness of Christ is imputed (that is, given all at once) or infused (that is, given over time through the Catholic sacraments). This debate, justification by faith and imputed righteousness, became the eye of the storm during the division. The other points of disagreement included the sufficiency of Scripture and salvation by grace alone. These five points of disagreement between the reformers and the Catholic church are expounded in the Five Solas of the Reformation.

Arminianism vs. Calvinism

A man by the name of Jacob Arminius studied under a staunch reformed teacher named Theodore Beza. The prevailing theology of the Dutch church was that man was born in complete bondage to sin and that only God could take initiative in our salvation (which was the view Augustine defended). The church also had a strong view on predestination in terms of future events. Jacob thought that these teachings denied man's moral responsibility and made God the author of evil. He then wrote out against the teachings of the Dutch church, but Jacob would never see his teachings take off. A year after he died his followers took his thoughts and compiled them into the Remonstrance which were five objections to the Dutch church's view on salvation. It then became known as the five points of Arminianism.

The Dutch church held a Synod which is a meeting to discuss doctrine called the Synod of Dort to review the Remonstrance and to make a ruling. After several months of debate, the Synod published The Canons of Dort which was a magnificent document outlining answers to the objections by Arminius and his followers. From this document we get the five points of Calvinism which they named after John Calvin who was known for his writings on predestination. Arminianism, or Semi-Augustinianism, went largely underground until the advent of John Wesley in the First Great Awakening on the 18th century.

Puritanism

The English Reformation (the formation of the Church of England from Catholicism) saw a group of Calvinistic Christians determined to be free of the religious turmoil. The Puritans then took their desire for religious freedom over to America settling in New England (cf. Mayflower). The transplanting of their theology would have a huge impact on the colonization of America.

The Puritans had internal disagreement most notably of which was church polity (government). The two camps emerged were Presbyterian and Congregationalists (Baptists). It is still a debate that is widely disputed amongst reformed Christians (to be discussed in a later post). The belief that the Pope was the Anti-Christ also had a strong backing in this time period, and they championed The Regulative Principle which we will talk about in the next post. Popular Puritans include John Bunyan, John Owen, Stephen Charnock, and Thomas Boston.

First Great Awakening

The first of the three "Great Awakenings" which refer to evangelical revival in the states were spurred on by Calvinists. The first of these took place in the mid 18th century. Two Calvinists in particular: Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield spurred the movements. Jonathan Edwards fiercely defend Calvinistic doctrine with such great works as Freedom of the Will which still today remains an impactful work on the Calvinistic balance of divine sovereignty and human freedom.

George Whitefield debated a man by the name of John Wesley. This debate reminds us of when Augustine debated Pelagius, and the followers of Arminius debated the Dutch church. Since the First Great Awakening the teachings of John Wesley, which revived Arminian doctrine, have taken over the church at large. But we are in a time where Calvinistic doctrine is seeing a revival as more and more Christians look to the rich history of reformed theology.

Imperishable Inheritance