Before too long, any student of Nonconformist history will need to grapple with historical theology in order to understand the gulfs separating the multivariate factions which render particular interest to the study of Dissent.
This highly significant book is a sequel to the authors’ previous work on the life of Jacobus Arminius and has been drawn up in three main sections to lead the reader through developments and changes to Arminius’ theories from his death through more modern times. Each section discusses an important period in the life of so-called Arminianism, first the development of anti-Calvinism in Europe, in particular the Netherlands and England, second the Evangelical Arminianism of the Wesleys and third the lesser-known developments in the nineteenth century, frequently, but not entirely, the work of American Methodist theologians. The authors’ intention is to place Arminian theology in a historical context, rather than write a history of theologians and their relationships, which is to be found in much greater detail within more conventional ecclesiastical histories. There is little, say, of the discord between the Wesleys and Whitefield, or the secessions from mainstream Methodism in both the UK and the US during the nineteenth century. Further, the book is written with a readership of all persuasions in mind and so consciously avoids polemic and party interpretations. Above all, it is intended as an introduction, using in the main the published works of Arminian theologians as sources, rather than delving too deeply into manuscripts and correspondence. Not that an introduction infers over-simplification, for the nuances in doctrine were many, and novel concepts require and are given explanation. Indeed, there are many occasions where the reader may wish to refer closely to a dictionary of theological terms.
Each chapter in the three main sections describes the views of Arminian theologians under several headings, broadly the ‘Attributes of God and the Trinity’, the ‘Human Condition and Sin’ and ‘Justification, Sanctification and Salvation’. The topics are many and complex with, of course, varying emphasis dependent on the concerns of the times.
The first section takes up the story from Arminius’ death, with the rise of the Dutch Remonstrants, led by Simon Episcopius, opposing the Reformed views on unconditional predestination and the irresistibility of God's grace, a conflict which led eventually to the Synod of Dordt in 1618. The chapter title, ‘Heat and light’, provides an indication of the background and the influence that Enlightenment thought was having upon theologians of all persuasions, some taking up more rational thought, others opposing it. For though some of Arminius’ doctrines, particularly on conditional election and the traditional elements of justification, were held by the Remonstrants throughout the century, in later decades they were publishing more rationalist and positive views on the freedom of the will, to the extent that they were open to charges of Pelagianism, which they strongly denied. Dutch influence was strong in England at the time, and although the Remonstrants became an excluded group in their own country, Arminian doctrines crossed the Channel at an early date, resulting in similar debate among English theologians, to the extent that in the more liberal regime they became the predominant view of theologians within the Church of England, from which they would filter into dissent, and, of course, Wesleyan Methodism.
The following chapter, ‘Hearts and hands’, is somewhat shorter than the other two, dealing with the theology of John and Charles Wesley. This is deliberate, there being many books written about their lives and theology, and the authors steer clear of more than a basic few pages of historical introduction, before analysis of their doctrine. The importance of the Wesleys is laid firmly on practicalities, for theirs was an Evangelical mission, declaring God's love for all, for how could they preach to a people in the knowledge that only a few were predestined to salvation and the others were to be damned? But their theology was not driven by their desire to preach, but the reverse, and although they remained rooted in orthodoxy, their greatest differences with Reformed thinking lay in the Arminian doctrines around soteriology, which have ever since influenced the Methodist Churches.
The final section, covering two chapters, explores nineteenth-century developments, an area greatly under-researched, the authors referring to the works of theologians on both shores of the Atlantic, but in the later years, predominantly to those in the US. These were times of change, theology coming under fire from non-Christian sources and having to come to terms with scientific and philosophical advances, demanding a fresh look at the principles of creation, original sin and free will. Nevertheless, throughout the century, and amid diverging opinions, Methodist theologians remained loyal to their basic doctrines of conditional election, justification and sanctification. Yet there were significant changes and discussions, often leading to dissent between traditional and more radical viewpoints. The doctrines of inability and prevenient grace, for instance, aroused strong debate, and some theologians adopted stances which emphasised the importance of free will. Debate was lively, groups diverged, but most remained under the broad banner of Arminianism.
McCall and Stanglin have produced an impressive work, thoroughly researched, and well referenced, covering several centuries from the initial Remonstrant doctrines of Episcopius and, later, Limborch, through to Watson, Pope, Bowne and Miley, among others, who revised Arminian thought in the nineteenth century. Any student of Methodist history in need of instruction in Arminian theology would do well to place this book at the top of their reading list.
