Soli Deo Gloria: For the Glory of God Alone

The Messenger, March 18, 2010
Soli Deo Gloria: For the Glory of God Alone
The Rise of Arminianism

By BILL TANNER
Special to The Messenger
For 200 years the Reformed faith was the dominant religion in America. In fact, it was almost the only religion in America.
The three principal churches — Congregationalist, Presbyterian and Episcopalian — were all thoroughly Calvinistic in their theology.
The colonists came from Calvinistic backgrounds and raised their children on the Geneva Bible. The spirit, the teaching and the philosophy of John Calvin permeated American life, so much so that a number of prominent historians have cited John Calvin as the virtual founder of America.
Of the 55 signers of the Constitution, 50 were members of Reformed churches. John Witherspoon, the only clergyman to sign the Declaration of Independence, was known as the “shaper of men who shaped America.”
Nine of the signers studied under Witherspoon when he was president of the College of New Jersey, now Princeton. Witherspoon had a close lifelong relationship with James Madison, “the father of the Constitution.” Although he didn’t attend the Constitutional Convention, his influence was pervasive.
It seems highly unlikely that a religion so deeply embedded in the American culture could be displaced in a relatively short time by Arminianism, with its deeply flawed theology. But that is exactly what happened in the middle of the 19th century.
As the population moved west, new churches popped up all along the frontier. An educated ministry had always been the hallmark of the Reformed church, and although it tried valiantly, it just couldn’t supply the demand for pastors for all these young, remote churches. As a result, they often ordained men with little or no theological education.
Since its rejection as unscriptural by the Synod of Dort, Arminianism had been growing slowly. Now, on the American frontier, it exploded and spread rapidly.
The idea that men could convert themselves appealed to a people who had only recently thrown off the rule of an earthly king and then proceeded to make a way for themselves in a new world. Furthermore, the philosophy of Humanism, with its emphasis on man — not God — as the measure of all things, had spread across Europe and to American shores.
This “enlightened thinking” impacted not only America’s political climate, creating pressure to move from republicanism to democracy, but also shook our religious foundations.
By the mid-1800s, Enlightenment thinking, with its emphasis on reason, began to give way to a new philosophical movement called Romanticism. Romanticism stressed the importance of the emotions and of personal experience over intellect or logic. The stage was set for the spread of Arminianism.
A leader in the watershed shift from Calvinism to Arminianism as the dominant theology of evangelism was Charles G. Finney, a man widely regarded as the father of modern revivalism. His preaching departed radically from the historic Christian faith. Finney believed that the purpose of evangelism was to convince people to “make a decision for Christ.” The sinner’s choice — not God’s — became the determinative issue in conversion. In coming articles, we will look at the theology of Charles Finney and his methods of revivalism, as well as his lingering influence in churches today.
There are strong movements today throughout Christendom of churches beginning to restore their ties to Scripture and to return to their roots. Our prayer is that these movements will strengthen and continue.
(For more information, send your name and address to John, P.O. Box 75, Union City, TN 38281.)
Editor’s note: Bill Tanner, a retired farmer and businessman and a life-time resident of Union City, attends Grace Community Church in Union City.

Print