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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Who constitutes the church? | Eph 4:3 | Morant61 | 206091 | ||
Greetings Doc! I apologize if I misunderstood you my friend. I thought that when you wrote: "The Church of the Nazarene, has its roots in the Holiness movement, which had roots in the Wesleyan tradition, which had roots in Arminianism, which had roots in Semi-Pelegianism." that you were saying that the Church of the Nazarene was semi-pelegian. :-) As far as Wikipedia is concerned, that may be the first time I have ever quoted it. :-) But, I have heard other Calvinists attempt to make a connection between Arminianism and the heresy of semi-pelegianism. Since the Church of the Nazarene is Arminian in theology, I am glad to hear that you were not making that connection. Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |
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2 | Who constitutes the church? | Eph 4:3 | hopalong | 206096 | ||
Hi Tim, Although the church generally agreed that Pelagius' teachings were not correct, Augustine's teachings were not universally accepted either. Whereas Pelagius was condemned for being too positive in his views concerning human nature, Augustine was said by some to be too negative. Vitalis of Carthage and a community of monks at Hadrumetum, Africa (about 427 A.D.), contested some of Augustine's principles, asserting that they destroyed freedom of the will and all moral responsibility. The issue became heated in the fifth century when some monks in southern Gaul, led by John Cassian, joined in the controversy. These men objected to a number of points in the Augustinian doctrine of sin and grace, namely, the assertion of the total bondage of the will, of the priority and irresistibility of grace, and of rigid predestination. Hence a compromise was sought, leading to what later became known as "Semi-Pelagianism." On three primary points of issue, Semi-Pelagianism settled for the following positions: 1.Human nature is neither good nor bad, but injured. Just as an injured person can't quite do whatever he'd like to do, so likewise because of original sin, man's moral abilities became restricted. His free will remained, but was weakened by the Fall. Man, then, can still decide to seek and receive help. 2.Man's need for grace: Although Semi-Pelagianism believes in man's need for God's grace (for man is too weak to help himself), man by his own free will is able to decide whether he wants God's grace. Whereas Pelagius taught that salvation is totally man's own doing, and Augustine taught that salvation is totally from God, Semi-Pelagianism teaches that salvation is a combination of the efforts of both man and God. According to Semi-Pelagianism, salvation is accomplished when man decides to co-operate with God and accepts the grace God offers him. This is often viewed as a synergistic concept of salvation. 3.God's sovereignty: Semi-Pelagianism essentially maintains that the sovereignty of God is limited by man's decision to co-operate with God or not. God's gospel of salvation in Christ can be rejected by man and so return to God empty. Though God may wish to save someone, He can only do so if that person chooses to accept it and cooperate with grace. Over the course of time, Semi-Pelagian doctrine (although couched in terms of grace) became the dominant theological perspective of the Roman Catholic Church, and essentially remains so today. (theopedia) I hope that the above will be helpful in our defining our terms Hoppy |
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