抗辩者The Remonstrant

*What's new? Updated/更新: 29 June 2009*

Site’s Purpose 网站宗旨:
By lovingly and respectfully, 以爱心和尊重,

(1) Promoting and advancing sound, biblical Arminian theology 发扬和提倡健全、合乎圣经的亚米纽斯神学
(2) Refuting Calvinism and diminishing the number of its adherents 反驳加尔文主义并减少其拥护者的人数
I pray that the Lord will guide you into his truth. 我祈愿主将您带入祂的真理中。
To God be the glory, forever and ever! Amen! 荣耀归于上帝，直到永远！阿们！

Society of Evangelical Arminians:
www.evangelicalarminians.org

Online Arminian Apologists:
• Arminian Chronicles of Godismyjudge (Dan), and his other site
• kangaroodort's (Ben's) Arminian Perspectives & J.C. Thibodaux' In Death or Life
• Arminian Today of The Seeking Disciple (Roy)
• Classical Arminianism of William Birch, and his Jacobus Arminius site
• Examining Calvinism of Richard Coords, and his companion site
• Introspectives of an Arminian Christian of Travelah (A.M. Mallett)
• Wesleyan Arminian of Pizza Man (Kevin Jackson)

We Confess Newsletters (May/June 2009) (188kb pdf doc)
by The Confessing Movement Within the United Methodist Church

Feature artilces include:
* Methodists Say "No" to Their Leaders
* Thoughts on Proposed Constitutional Amendments
* Abraham on Outler

作者：大卫罗勒（Bishop David Roller为北美循理会Free Methodist Church of North America的会督之一）
译者：抗辩者
文章来源：Armenian, Armanian or Arminian?

你大概不是亚美尼亚人（Armenian）…除非你来自那个在公元301年首先成为“基督教国”的欧亚国家。我不曾到过那儿，不过历史课本是如此说的。

但你或许是阿玛尼人（Armanian），这称号源自享名已久的乔治阿玛尼（Giorgio Armani），意大利服装设计师。阿玛尼（Armani）品牌的衣服与“昂贵”划上等号（某个网购提出1,300美金的建议价）。

我希望你是亚米纽斯人（Arminian）。你是，如果你认为人选择【注一】上帝。亚米纽斯人是酷家伙，而我不单单因为自己是就那样说。他们酷因为他们也叫“抗辩者”( “Remonstrants”)。我们亚米纽斯人是反对或抗辩“上帝将祂旨意强加在人身上，使人无法决定是否跟随祂”的说法的家伙。我们循理人（Free Methodists）认为，因着上帝对人重视的缘故就赐予我们选择祂，或者不选择祂的能力。

亚米纽斯人的称号源自雅各布斯亚米纽斯（Jacobus Arminius），那位强调上帝的意愿是“让人来选择祂”的荷兰人。我想这也牵涉堕落前预定论（supralapsarianism）和堕落后预定论（sublapsarianism）。只是我离开神学院好久，庆幸地已经忘记了其论证。亚米纽斯在49岁就离世了；相当年轻。或许这跟他不辞劳苦抗辩有关系。

我特别要指出，亚米纽斯人酷因为我们相信“上帝爱每个人就赐予我们选择的能力–来选择耶稣”。人们并非预先已经被分为“得救”和“败坏失丧”两类。我们起初都是“败坏失丧”的，不过我们皆可以转入耶稣的救恩怀抱里。这样，分享耶稣的任务不是更令人兴奋吗？这是很重要的。

因此，出去并疯狂地抗辩!

【注一】
Articles of Religion of the Free Methodist Church: VII. Free Moral Persons, A/111.
… [Humans] are unable by their own strength and work to restore themselves in right relationship with God and to merit eternal salvation. God, the Omnipotent, provides all the resources of the Trinity to make it possible for humans to respond to His grace through faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

中文翻译（抗辩者）
循理会宗教信仰条款：柒、自由的道德人，A/111
…【人类】无法靠本身的力量和善行来恢复他们与神的正确关系和获取永远的救恩。上帝、全能者，透过三一神的完全资源使人类可以藉著信耶稣基督为救主和上帝，来回应祂的恩典。

==========

注：文章中的【注一】不在原文出现，是我加上为注解的。

The House Fire中文版
来源：The House Fire, Wesleyan Arminian部落格
作者：Kevin Jackson
译者：抗辩者

房子的火（亚米纽斯派版）：
从前有一所房子着火了。有三个孩子在房子内。房子外的父亲进去拯救他的孩子们。他协助一个孩子出去，但另外两个拒绝跟随。这两个死于火中。
后记：法医研究鉴定火是由孩子们引起的。他们玩火柴。

房子的火（加尔文派版）：
从前有一所房子着火了。有三个孩子在房子内。房子外的父亲进去拯救其中一个孩子。他带了一个孩子出去，留下另外两个。这两个死于火中。
后记：法医研究鉴定火是父亲故意点燃的。父亲承认他策划了整个事件因为他想成为英雄。他也声称火是他所引起的，不过是用一种不是他的错的方式。

哪位父亲，你认为是英雄？哪位父亲的动机比较良好？哪位父亲口是心非？

以上的比喻虽然非完美，不过却能清楚的带出要点。加尔文派宣称他们的系统更能荣耀上帝。事实刚好相反。加尔文主义使上帝真正的动机受到质疑，也贬低了祂的荣耀。任何一个故意点火焚烧自己孩子的父亲是不值得被称为英雄的。

Source: WESLEYAN WISDOM: Reclaim Arminian heritage!

Donald W. Haynes, Jun 12, 2008

Donald W. Haynes

By Donald W. Haynes
UMR Columnist

(Emphasis in bold text added)

We Methodists are Arminian, not Calvinist or Pelagian. 

Methodism rejects the Reformed theology of Swiss reformer John Calvin, whose concept of God’s total sovereignty is summed up with the acronym TULIP: total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace and perseverance of the saints. 

We believe instead that depravity never makes us beyond the reach of God’s grace, that “election” is conditional upon our free will, that Jesus’ atonement is unlimited, that we can resist God’s love and that we can backslide. 

While at Oxford in 1725, Wesley questioned Calvinism in a letter to his mother: “What shall I say then of predestination? Is it merciful to ordain a creature to everlasting misery?” 

Susanna responded that the doctrine was “very shocking” because it “directly charges the Most High God with being the author of sin.” She added: “I think you reason well and justly against it; it is certainly inconsistent with the justice and goodness of God to lay any man under either a physical or moral necessity of committing sin, and then to punish him for doing it.” 

Wesley went on to become history’s most avid advocate of Arminianism. 

James Arminius taught that God permits evil through God’s gift of human liberty, but does not ordain it. Armimius and Wesley insisted that salvation begins with the universal gracious gift of a loving God—prevenient grace. 

God’s grace convicts us of our sin, calling us to repentance and saving grace. From the moment we repent and accept God’s gracious salvation through faith, we grow in grace—perfecting grace. But this grace is resistable at every point: We can always say “no” to God. 

On the other hand, Pelagius, a contemporary of Augustine, believed that human will, not God’s grace, initiates salvation. Pelagius denied original sin and elevated humankind to possessing natural moral ability: having “free will” to choose right or wrong. His teachings were condemned in 431 A.D. by the third Ecumenical Council because they affirmed human ability to do God’s will apart from the prevenience of divine grace. 

Wesley was repeatedly accused of being Pelagian. The distinction was that for Pelagius, human free will is inherent; for Wesley, human free will is a gift of God’s grace. Consequently, we are not saved by our faith; we are saved by God’s grace through our responsive faith! 

Scriptural insights can be seen in the parable of the Prodigal Son who “came to himself.” Somewhere in his psyche he knew himself to be a son, not the degenerated human keeper of a pigsty! 

Wesley considered conscience as one dimension of this prevenient grace. As Paul writes in Romans 2: “Do you despise the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience? Do you not realize that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?” Methodism does not see God’s essential nature as wrath, but love. 

I am saddened today when I see the term “grace” appearing in book after book without the author even knowing that the shaper of grace theology was John Wesley! The challenge of United Methodism is to re-dig our old wells. We are children of God, corroded and corrupted by a culture of sin. 

We have an unprecedented number of superb books today by United Methodists and other Wesleyan scholars—Randy Maddox, Kenneth Collins, Charles Yrigoyen, Roger Olsen, Ted Campbell, Bishop Scott Jones, William Abraham and Andy Langford, to mention a few. 

We have the Works of John Wesley, begun by Albert Outler and continued by Richard Heitzenrater, Reginald Ward and Jean Schmidt. 

We have recent books (some out of print) by Robert Cushman, Colin Williams, Mildred Bangs Wynkoop and Thomas A. Langford. We have superb historical work done by Richard Heitzenrater, Russell Richey, Kenneth Rowe, Robert Chiles, Peter Murray and David Hempton. 

Perhaps we need a reprint of Bishop Edwin Mouzon’s Fundamentals of Methodism (1923). 

This is the core of our new “Methodist Library.” Pastors might have to get the word out as our circuit riders once did! 

Every local church should have an annual seminar on the doctrine, history or discipline of our Wesleyan heritage. Where are those who will lead us in lifting high the voice of Methodism?

Dr. Haynes is a retired clergy member of the Western North Carolina Conference. e-mail: dhaynes11@triad.rr.com.