Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[reddogs]

Is Adventism absolutely Arminian (Free Will)?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I came across the building blocks of belief in the Adventist Movement and came across the tension between Calvinism and Arminianism.

According to Calvinism:
"Salvation is accomplished by the almighty power of the triune God. The Father chose a people, the Son died for them, the Holy Spirit makes Christ's death effective by bringing the elect to faith and repentance, thereby causing them to willingly obey the Gospel. The entire process (election, redemption, regeneration) is the work of God and is by grace alone. Thus God, not man, determines who will be the recipients of the gift of salvation."

Thus they stand against the freewill of man being turned to God on its own as seen in the following statement...

"... and I will go as far as Martin Luther, in that strong assertion of his, where he says, ‘If any man doth ascribe of salvation, even the very least, to the free will of man, he knoweth nothing of grace, and he hath not learnt Jesus Christ aright.’ It may seem a harsh sentiment; but he who in his soul believes that man does of his own free will turn to God, cannot have been taught of God, for that is one of the first principles taught us when God begins with us, that we have neither will nor power, but that He gives both; that He is ‘Alpha and Omega’ in the salvation of men." (Charles H. Spurgeon from the sermon ‘Free Will A Slave’ (1855) referring to Luther's book The Bondage of the Will which is listed with other resources on this topic after this article).

So is Adventism Arminian (Free Will) or is there a middle ground?

[reddogs]

Here is a good quote to ponder...

   Many are inquiring, "How am I to make the surrender of myself to God?" You desire to give yourself to Him, but you are weak in moral power, in slavery to doubt, and controlled by the habits of your life of sin. Your promises and resolutions are like ropes of sand. You cannot control your thoughts, your impulses, your affections. The knowledge of your broken promises and forfeited pledges weakens your confidence in your own sincerity, and causes you to feel that God cannot accept you; but you need not despair. What you need to understand is the true force of the will. This is the governing power in the nature of man, the power of decision, or of choice. Everything depends on the right action of the will. The power of choice God has given to men; it is theirs to exercise. You cannot change your heart, you cannot of yourself give to God its affections; but you can choose to serve Him. You can give Him your will; He will then work in you to will and to do according to His good pleasure. Thus your whole nature will be brought under the control of the Spirit of Christ; your affections will be centered upon Him, your thoughts will be in harmony with Him.  {SC 47.1}

[Johann]

This is an interesting statement, "you can choose to serve Him." That choice is the free will of man.

I don't have the book here at the moment, but the previous pope had in his working program the globalization of all religion. He listed the possibilities and difficulties he had with the different religions in the world. Islam was not one of his greater problems because there are so many similarities in Roman Catholicism and Islam.

His major problem with Adventists was not the Sabbath nor them calling him Antichrist. It was over this question of giving the individual a free choice if he wants to  be saved or not. The pope did not want to give people the freedom the Adventists do. He just wanted the globalization of religion where all become members of the established religion, thereby assuring themselves of salvation. That way there is no freedom of choice.

[reddogs]

This is an interesting statement, "you can choose to serve Him." That choice is the free will of man.

I don't have the book here at the moment, but the previous pope had in his working program the globalization of all religion. He listed the possibilities and difficulties he had with the different religions in the world. Islam was not one of his greater problems because there are so many similarities in Roman Catholicism and Islam.

His major problem with Adventists was not the Sabbath nor them calling him Antichrist. It was over this question of giving the individual a free choice if he wants to  be saved or not. The pope did not want to give people the freedom the Adventists do. He just wanted the globalization of religion where all become members of the established religion, thereby assuring themselves of salvation. That way there is no freedom of choice.

With its lie, 'you shal not surely die' evil takes away the free will choice of many by telling them that there is no choice to make as everyone will make it to heaven so it doesnt matter, maybe you have to pay a bit in purgatory or with indulgences, whatever but you get there regardless.

[reddogs]

Here is some more background by Woodrow W. Whidden
Andrews University in his article 'Adventist Theology: The Wesleyan Connection':

"....While it is true that Adventist theology does not seem to be exclusively indebted to any one major Protestant theological tradition, the present article will argue that the more immediate and essentially formative baseline has been provided by the Wesleyan/Arminian Tradition.

It is quite clear that there are distinct emphases in the Adventist tradition, especially when it comes to eschatology (such as imminence of the Second Coming and the Millennium). These eschatological accents arose out of the broad impulse of American millennialist concern in the early Nineteenth Century.
Furthermore, there are some clear strands that have come down to the Seventh-day Adventist theological tradition from the Lutheran, Reformed/Calvinistic, Radical Reformation (Anabaptist), Puritan, Pietistic, and Restorationist Traditions. But I am suggesting that the way Wesleyans understood issues involved with soteriology and the closely related issues of the nature of man, law,[1] and sin were most directly formative for the core of Adventist theology.[2] ...."

http://www.adventistbiblicalresearch.org/documents/wesleyanconnectionSDA.htm