Augustine's Influence on John Calvin describes how Augustinianism shaped Calvinism, particularly in its soteriological aspects and understanding of divine providence. Both Reformed theologians and John Calvin himself acknowledged the profound impact of Augustine of Hippo, the fourth-century church father, on Calvin's theology. Augustine's debates with the Pelagians provided the occasion for him to develop his own soteriology, which was notably influenced by his pre-conversion adherence to Stoic and Manichean teachings.
John Calvin wrote, "Augustine is so much at one with me that, if I wished to write a confession of my faith, it would abundantly satisfy me to quote wholesale from his writings." [1]
"This is why one finds that every four pages written in the Institutes of the Christian Religion John Calvin quoted Augustine. Calvin, for this reason, would deem himself not a Calvinist, but an Augustinian. [...] Christian Calvinist, should they be more likely deemed an Augustinian-Calvinist?", explains, Reformed theologian C. Matthew McMahon. [2] Specialist of Augustine, Phillip Cary concurs, writing, "As a result, Calvinism in particular is sometimes referred to as Augustinianism." [3]
Twentieth-century Reformed theologian B. B. Warfield said, "The system of doctrine taught by Calvin is just the Augustinianism common to the whole body of the Reformers." [4] Reformed theologian, Paul Helm, used the term "Augustinian Calvinism" for his view in the article "The Augustinian-Calvinist View" in Divine Foreknowledge: Four Views. [5]
The soteriology of Calvin was further shaped and systematized by Beza and other theologians. [6] It was then articulated during the Second Synod of Dort (1618–1619) in response to the opposing Five Articles of Remonstrance . [7] A basic summary of the Canon of Dort is given by the five points of Calvinism: [8] Total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, and perseverance of the saints. [7] Modern Reformed theologians continues to assert these points as a simple summary of the Calvinist soteriological doctrines. [9]
Manichaeism was a Gnostic sect founded in the 3rd century. [10] It significantly influenced early Christian churches, introducing spiritual practices like asceticism and sacerdotalism. [11] Manichaeism adopted a dualistic worldview, contrasting a spiritual realm of good with a material realm of evil, anticipating the gradual restoration of light from the material to the spiritual realm. [10] In terms of soteriology, it maintained that God unilaterally selected the elect for salvation and the non-elect for damnation according to His will. [12] For instance, in 392, a Manichean presbyter said that "God [...] has chosen souls worthy of Himself according to His own holy will. [...] that under His leadership those souls will return hence again to the kingdom of God according to the holy promise of Him who said: “I am the way, the truth, and the door”; and “No one can come unto the Father, except through me.”". [13]
Early church fathers prior to Augustine of Hippo (354–430) refuted non-choice predeterminism as being pagan. [14] [15] [16] Out of the fifty early Christian authors who wrote on the debate between free will and determinism, all fifty supported Christian free will against Stoic, Gnostic, and Manichean determinism. [17] [18]
Before his conversion to Christianity in 387, Augustine adhered to three deterministic philosophies: Stoicism, Neoplatonism and Manichaeism. He was significantly influenced by them, especially during his decade-long association with the Manichaeans. [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] He seemed to adopt Manichean perspectives on various theological aspects, notably on the nature of good and evil, the separation of groups into elect, hearers, and sinners, and the hostility to the flesh and sexual activity, and his dualistic theology. [26] [20]
After his conversion, he taught traditional Christian theology against forms of theological determinism until 412. [18] [21] [23] However, during his conflict with the Pelagians, he seemed to reintroduce certain Manichean principles into his thought, [27] [28] [29] [30] and was accused by his opponents of doing so. [31] [32] [33] For the rest of his life, he taught a soteriology where predestination is based on predeterminism. [17] This soteriology can be articulated similarly to the five points of Calvinism. [34]
The controversy over infant baptism with the Pelagians contributed to Augustine's change. [35] Tertullian (c. 155 – c. 220) was the first Christian to mention infant baptism. He refuted it by saying children should not be baptized until they can personally believe in Christ. [36] Even by 400, there was no consensus regarding why infants should be baptized. [37] [38] The Pelagians taught infant baptism merely allowed children to enter the kingdom of God (viewed as different than heaven), so that unbaptized infants could still be in heaven. [39] In response, Augustine invented the concept that infants are baptized to remove Adam's original guilt (guilt resulting in eternal damnation). [40] Inherited original sin was previously limited to physical death, moral weakness, and a sin propensity. [41]
Another key element within infant baptism was Augustine's early training in Stoicism, an ancient philosophy in which a meticulous god predetermines every detailed event in the universe. [42] This included the falling of a leaf from a tree to its exact location on the ground and the subtle movements of muscles in roosters' necks as they fight, which he explained in his first work, De providentia (On Providence). [43] Augustine taught that God foreordained (or predestined) newborn babies who were baptized by actively helping or causing the parents to reach the bishop for baptism while the baby lived. By baptism, these babies would be saved from damnation. Augustine reasoned further that God actively blocked the parents of other infants from reaching the baptismal waters before their baby died. These babies were condemned to hell due to lack of baptism (according to Augustine). [44] [45] [46] [47] His view remains controversial, even some Roman Catholic Augustinian scholars refute this idea, [48] and scholars cite the view's origin as derived as from Platonism, Stoicism, and Manichaeism. [49] [16] [50]
Augustine then expanded this concept from infants to adults. Since babies have no "will" to desire their baptisms, Augustine expanded the implication to all humans. [51] [52] He concluded that God must predestine by predetermination all humans prior to them making any choice. Although earlier Christians taught original sin, the concept of total depravity (total inability to believe on Christ) was borrowed from Gnostic Manichaeism. Manichaeism taught unborn babies and unbaptized infants were damned to hell because of a physical body. Like the Gnostics, the Manichaean god had to resurrect the dead will by infusing faith and grace. Augustine changed the cause of total depravity to Adam's guilt but kept the Stoic, Manichaean, and Neoplatonic concepts of the human dead will requiring god's infused grace and faith to respond. [53]
Augustine attempted numerous explanations of 1 Timothy 2:4. [54] The Pelagians assumed 1 Tim. 2:4 taught that God gave the gift of faith to all persons, which Augustine easily refuted by changing wills/desires to "provides opportunity". [55] In 414, Augustine's new theology has "all kinds/classes" definitively replacing "all" as absolute (ep. 149) and in 417, Sermon 304.2 repeats this change of "all" to "all kinds". But only in 421 [56] did Augustine alter the text to read "all who are saved" meaning those who are saved are only saved by God's will, which he repeats the next year. [57] People fail to be saved, "not because they do not will it, but because God does not". [58] Despite their certain damnation, God makes other Christians desire their impossible salvation. [59] John Rist identifies as "the most pathetic passage." [60] By 429, Augustine quotes 1 Corinthians 1:18 adding "such" to 1 Tim. 2:4, redefines all to mean as "all those elected," and implies an irresistible calling. Hwang noted,
Then the radical shift occurred, brought about by the open and heated conflict with the Pelagians. 'Desires' took on absolute and efficacious qualities, and the meaning of 'all' was reduced to the predestined. 1 Tim. 2:4 should be understood, then, as meaning that God saves only the predestined. All others, apparently, do not even have a prayer. [54]
Augustine attempted at least five answers over a decade of time trying to explain 1 Tim. 2:4 regarding the extent of Christ's redeeming sacrifice. [54] His major premise was the pagan idea that God receives everything he desires. Omnipotence (Stoic and Neoplatonic) is doing whatever the One desires, ensuring everything that occurs in the universe is exactly the Almighty's will and so must come to pass (Sermon 214.4). [61] He concluded that because God gets everything he wants, God does not desire all persons to be saved, otherwise every human would be saved. Chadwick concluded that because Augustine's God does not desire and so refuses to save all persons, Augustine elevated God's sovereignty as absolute and God's justice was trampled. [16] This also logically demanded that Christ could not have died for those who would not be saved. Therefore, Christ only died for the elect since God does not waste causation or energy. [62]
Augustine, developed the concepts of "prevenient grace", [63] "operative grace" and "cooperative grace". [64] In response to Pelagianism, Augustine's argued that prevenient grace is necessary to prepare the human will for conversion. [64] Pelagius had appealed to St. Ambrose (c. 339 – c. 397), to which Augustine replied a series of quotations from Ambrose which indicated the need for prevenient grace. [65] Augustine described free will without the spiritual aid of grace as, "captive free will" (Latin : liberum arbitrium captivatum). [66] Through the action of grace, this will becomes a "freed will" or literally a "freed free will" (Latin : liberum arbitrium liberatum). [67] Prevenient grace provides this necessary spiritual enlightenment. The subsequent "operative grace" grants the elect only the power to believe and kindles justifying faith. [68] Augustine considered operative grace as a justifying grace infallible for the elect. [69] [70] However, he did not use the term "irresistible grace" to describe it. [71]
Since Augustine believed that the Holy Spirit is received at water baptism, producing regeneration, he had to explain why some baptized infants continued in the faith while others fell away and lived immoral lives. Augustine taught that among those regenerated through baptism, some are given an additional gift of perseverance ("donum perseverantiae") which enables them to maintain their faith and prevents them from falling away. [72] [73] [74] Without this second gift, a baptized Christian with the Holy Spirit would not persevere and ultimately would not be saved. Augustine developed this doctrine of perseverance in De correptione et gratia (c. 426–427). [75] While this doctrine theoretically give security to the elect who receive the gift of perseverance, individuals cannot ascertain whether they have received it. [76] [77] [22]
Double predestination, or the double decree, is the doctrine that God actively reprobates, or decrees damnation of some persons, as well as salvation for those whom he has elected. After 411, Augustine made statements that teach this doctrine (e.g., Enchir. 100, De nat. orig. 1.14, 4.16, Serm.229S, Serm.260D.1, De civ. dei 14.26, 15.1, ep.204.2), but persons relying primarily on Augustine's writings prior to 412 are not clear whether he held to double predestination. [78] In ep.225 (from Prosper) and ep.226 (from Hilary of Gaul), both men complained that fellow Christians did not want Augustine's dangerous new view of predestination and perseverance preached because it rejected the traditional view of election based upon God's foreknowledge, replacing it with a 'predestination' as "necessity based upon fate" (ep.225.3). Hilary complained, "But they do not want this perseverance to be preached if it means that it can neither be merited by prayer not lost by rebellion" (ep.226.4; cf. Persev.10). Persons who later taught that same double predestination they found within Augustine's writings, such as Gottschalk of Orbais and the Jansenists, were condemned by the church. [79] [80]
During the Protestant Reformation, John Calvin also held double predestinarian views. [81] [82] John Calvin states: "By predestination we mean the eternal decree of God, by which he determined with himself whatever he wished to happen with regard to every man. All are not created on equal terms, but some are preordained to eternal life, others to eternal damnation; and, accordingly, as each has been created for one or other of these ends, we say that he has been predestinated to life or to death." [83]
Arminianism is a movement of Protestantism initiated in the early 17th century, based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius and his historic supporters known as Remonstrants. Dutch Arminianism was originally articulated in the Remonstrance (1610), a theological statement submitted to the States General of the Netherlands. This expressed an attempt to moderate the doctrines of Calvinism related to its interpretation of predestination.
Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation, a schism in the Western Church. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental, Presbyterian, and Congregational traditions, as well as parts of the Anglican and Baptist traditions.
Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the paradox of free will, whereby God's omniscience seems incompatible with human free will. In this usage, predestination can be regarded as a form of religious determinism; and usually predeterminism, also known as theological determinism.
Pelagianism is a Christian theological position that holds that the fall did not taint human nature and that humans by divine grace have free will to achieve human perfection. Pelagius, an ascetic and philosopher from the British Isles, taught that God could not command believers to do the impossible, and therefore it must be possible to satisfy all divine commandments. He also taught that it was unjust to punish one person for the sins of another; therefore, infants are born blameless. Pelagius accepted no excuse for sinful behaviour and taught that all Christians, regardless of their station in life, should live unimpeachable, sinless lives.
Perseverance of the saints, also known as preservation of the saints, is a Calvinist doctrine asserting that the elect will persevere in faith and ultimately achieve salvation. This concept was initially developed by Augustine of Hippo in the early 5th century, who formulated the idea of predestination by predeterminism. In the 16th century, John Calvin and other reformers integrated this idea into their theological framework. The doctrine of perseverance of the saints is rooted in this understanding of predestination and continues to be a central tenet of Reformed theology today.
Total depravity is a Protestant theological doctrine derived from the concept of original sin. It teaches that, as a consequence of the Fall, every person born into the world is enslaved to the service of sin as a result of their fallen nature and, apart from the efficacious (irresistible) or prevenient (enabling) grace of God, is completely unable to choose by themselves to follow God, refrain from evil, or accept the gift of salvation as it is offered.
Predestination is a doctrine in Calvinism dealing with the question of the control that God exercises over the world. In the words of the Westminster Confession of Faith, God "freely and unchangeably ordained whatsoever comes to pass." The second use of the word "predestination" applies this to salvation, and refers to the belief that God appointed the eternal destiny of some to salvation by grace, while leaving the remainder to receive eternal damnation for all their sins, even their original sin. The former is called "unconditional election", and the latter "reprobation". In Calvinism, some people are predestined and effectually called in due time to faith by God, all others are reprobated.
In Western Christian theology, grace is created by God who gives it as help to one because God desires one to have it, not necessarily because of anything one has done to earn it. It is understood by Western Christians to be a spontaneous gift from God to people – "generous, free and totally unexpected and undeserved" – that takes the form of divine favor, love, clemency, and a share in the divine life of God. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, grace is the uncreated Energies of God. Among Eastern Christians generally, grace is considered to be the partaking of the Divine Nature described in 2 Peter 1:4 and grace is the working of God himself, not a created substance of any kind that can be treated like a commodity.
Pelagius was a British theologian known for promoting a system of doctrines which emphasized human choice in salvation and denied original sin. Pelagius was accused of heresy at the synod of Jerusalem in 415 and his doctrines were harshly criticized by Augustine of Hippo, especially the Pelagian views about mankind's good nature and individual responsibility for choosing asceticism. Pelagius especially stressed the freedom of human will. Very little is known about the personal life and career of Pelagius.
Semi-Pelagianism is a Christian theological and soteriological school of thought about the role of free will in salvation. In semipelagian thought, a distinction is made between the beginning of faith and the increase of faith. Semi-Pelagian thought teaches that the latter half – growing in faith – is the work of God, while the beginning of faith is an act of free will, with grace supervening only later. Semi-Pelagianism in its original form was developed as a compromise between Pelagianism and the teaching of Church Fathers such as Saint Augustine. Adherents to Pelagianism hold that people are born untainted by sin and do not need salvation unless they choose to sin, a belief which had been dismissed as heresy. In contrast, Augustine taught that people cannot come to God without the grace of God. Like pelagianism, semipelagianism was labeled heresy by the Western Church at the Second Council of Orange in 529.
Prevenient grace is a Christian theological concept that refers to the grace of God in a person's life which precedes and prepares to conversion. The concept was first developed by Augustine of Hippo (354–430), was affirmed by the Second Council of Orange (529) and has become part of Catholic theology. It is also present in Reformed theology, through the form of an effectual calling leading some individuals irresistibly to salvation. It is also in Arminian theology, according to which it is dispensed universally in order to enable people to respond to the offer of salvation, though it does not ensure personal acceptance.
The Five Points of Calvinism, occasionally known by the mnemonic TULIP, constitute a summary of Reformed soteriology. Named after John Calvin, they largely reflect the teaching of the Canons of Dort. The Five Points of Calvinism assert that God saves every person upon whom he has mercy, and that his efforts are not frustrated by the unrighteousness or inability of humans. They have been summarized under the acrostic TULIP: total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, and the perseverance of the saints.
Eternal security, also known as "once saved, always saved" is the belief providing Christian believers with absolute assurance of their final salvation. Its development, particularly within Protestantism, has given rise to diverse interpretations, especially in relation with the defining aspects of theological determinism, libertarian free will and the significance of personal perseverance.
The history of the Calvinist–Arminian debate begins in early 17th century in the Netherlands with a Christian theological dispute between the followers of John Calvin and Jacobus Arminius, and continues today among some Protestants, particularly evangelicals. The debate centers around soteriology, or the study of salvation, and includes disputes about total depravity, predestination, and atonement. While the debate was given its Calvinist–Arminian form in the 17th century, issues central to the debate have been discussed in Christianity in some form since Augustine of Hippo's disputes with the Pelagians in the 5th century.
Free will in theology is an important part of the debate on free will in general. Religions vary greatly in their response to the standard argument against free will and thus might appeal to any number of responses to the paradox of free will, the claim that omniscience and free will are incompatible.
De libero arbitrio voluntatis, often shortened to De libero arbitrio, is a book by Augustine of Hippo which seeks to resolve the problem of evil in Christianity by asserting that free will is the cause of all suffering. The first of its three volumes was completed in 388; the second and third were written between 391 and 395. The work is structured as a dialogue between Augustine and his companion Evodius; it ranges over several topics, and includes an attempted proof of the existence of God.
The theology of John Calvin has been influential in both the development of the system of belief now known as Calvinism and in Protestant thought more generally.
The Second Council of Orange was held in 529 at Orange, which was then part of the Ostrogothic Kingdom. It affirmed much of the theology of Augustine of Hippo and synergism, and made numerous proclamations against what later would come to be known as semi-Pelagian doctrine.
Augustinianism is the philosophical and theological system of Augustine of Hippo and its subsequent development by other thinkers, notably Boethius, Anselm of Canterbury and Bonaventure. Among Augustine's most important works are The City of God, De doctrina Christiana, and Confessions.
The Gift of perseverance is the doctrine of Augustine of Hippo that persevering in the faith is a gift given by God, but a person can never know if they have the gift. According to Augustine, without having the gift of perseverance a person is damned, even if he seems to have been elected by grace. Augustine himself also believed that Cyprian held a similar view about perseverance being a work of God, and thus foreshadowing the Augustinian view. Some Calvinists argue that the Augustinian view foreshadows the Calvinist doctrine of perseverance of the saints.