Introduction
Christianity has been a subject of much debate and controversy for many years. There have been many theologians who have studied Christianity and created doctrine of their own interpretation of Scripture. The doctrines that have caused much debate and have been argued for centuries would be Calvinism and Arminianism. There has been opposing views by churches and other theologians that has caused much controversy over these two doctrines. Calvinism is based on the theological beliefs and teachings by John Calvin and Arminianism is based on the views of Jacobus Arminius. Arminius was once a strict Calvinist who studied under John Calvin and later studies led him to doubt and reject many of the Calvinistic doctrines. To label oneself as either a Calvinist or Arminianist would need to fully understand each of their doctrines.
PART ONE
Calvinism
”The theological system of John Calvin and his followers marked by strong emphasis on the sovereignty of God, the depravity of humankind, and the doctrine of predestination.”
-Merriam-Webster Dictionary
John Calvin was a great reformation theologian who lived from 1509-1564. “The system of Calvinism adheres to a very high view of scripture and seeks to derive its theological formulations based solely on God’s word. It focuses on God’s sovereignty, stating that God is able and willing by virtue of his omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence, to do whatever He desires with His creation. It also maintains that within the Bible are the following teachings: That God, by his sovereign grace predestines people into salvation; that Jesus died only for those predestined; that God regenerates the individual where he is then able and wants to choose God; and that it is impossible for those who are redeemed to lose their salvation.” (Slick) Calvinism has five points which can be known by this acronym: T.U.L.I.P.
Total Depravity
Unconditional Election
Limited Atonement
Irresistible Grace
Perseverance of the Saints
Total Depravity
“Sin has affected all parts of man. The heart, emotions, will, mind, and body are all affected by sin. We are completely sinful. We are not as sinful as we could be, but we are completely affected by sin. Man is unable to save himself and, therefore, God must initiate salvation.” (Slick)(Fairchild)
Scripture basis:
Mark 7:21-23
“For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”
Jeremiah 17:9
“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure...”
Unconditional Election
“Before the foundation of the world, God unconditionally chose some to be saved. Election has nothing to do with man's future response.”(Fairchild)
Scripture basis:
Romans 9:11-13
“Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God’s purpose in election might stand: not by works but by him who calls—she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
Romans 9:15
” For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”
Ephesians 1:4-8
“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding…”
John 15:6
“Ye have not chose Me. I have chosen you.”
Limited Atonement
“Jesus Christ died to save only those who were given to him (elected) by the Father in eternity past. Since Christ did not die for everyone, but only for the elect, his atonement is wholly successful.”(Fairchild)
Scripture basis:
Matthew 26:28
“This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”
John 17:9
“I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.”
John 3:16
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Irresistible Grace
“While God extends his common grace to all mankind, it is not sufficient to save anyone. Only God's irresistible grace can draw the elect to salvation and make a person willing to respond. This grace cannot be obstructed or resisted.”(Fairchild)
Scripture basis:
Romans 9:16
“It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.”
Philippians 2:13
“For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”
John 6:28-29
“Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
John 1:12-13
“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”
Perseverance of Saints
“Believers will persevere in salvation because God will see to it that none will be lost. Believers are secure in the faith because God will finish the work he began.”
Scripture basis:
John 10:27-28
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.”
John 6:47
“Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life.”
Romans 8:1
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 1:6
“being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
Practical Application
The sovereignty of God and His grace are amazing characteristics of our God. The ability to share this information with others and apply it to one’s life is priceless. Calvinism is a great resource to allow one to understand and interpret the Scripture. Believers who are trying to share the gospel to non-believers would be able to use Calvinism’s acronym T.U.L.I.P. to guide them and the non-believer. A believer should be wise when implementing this theory in their approach to sharing the gospel and should likely start with the letter I instead of the letter U to share about God’s irresistible grace before sharing about the unconditional election. Non-believers are sometimes very resistant and have their own ideas of what Christianity is about and should be regarded with sensitivity and patience.
PART TWO
Arminianism
“Relating to Jacobus Arminius and his doctrines opposing the absolute predestination of strict Calvinism and maintaining the possibility of salvation for all”
-Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Jacobus Arminius was a theologian who lived from 1560 to 1609. “Arminianism maintains that God predestined, but not in an absolute sense. Rather, He looked into the future to see who would pick him and then He chose them. Jesus died for all peoples' sins, who have ever lived and ever will live, not just the Christians. Each person is the one who decides if he wants to be saved or not. And finally, it is possible to lose your salvation, although some Arminians believe you cannot lose your salvation.”(Slick) Like Calvinism, Arminianism also has five points which describes the doctrine. These five points are: Free Will, Conditional Election, Universal Atonement, Resistible Grace, and Falling from Grace.
Free Will
“Sin does not control man’s will. He is sick and near-sighted, but still able to obey, believe and repent. He does not continually sin, for his nature is not completely evil.”(Tenth)
Scripture basis:
Acts 2:38-39
“Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
Acts 16:31
“They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”
Romans 10:9
“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved”
Conditional Election
“God chose the elect on the basis of their foreseen faith. He loves all men equally. God passed over no one, but gives everyone an equal chance to be saved.”(Tenth)
Scriptural basis:
1 Peter 1:2
“…who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.”
Romans 11:2
“God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew.”
Mark 1:15
“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
Mark 11:22-23
“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.”
John 5:24
“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.”
Universal Atonement
“Christ died equally for all men, and paid a provisional price that made salvation possible for all but guaranteed it for none.”(Tenth)
Spiritual basis:
2 Peter 3:9
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
John 6:37
“All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.”
Acts 10:43
“All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

Resistible Grace
“Saving grace is resistible, for God does not overrule man’s free will. Man is born again after he believes, for faith and repentance are not gifts of God.”(Tenth)
Spiritual basis:
John 1:12
“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God…”
John 3:36
“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.”
John 3:18
“Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
Falling from Grace
“Only a few Christians continue in faith and obedience to the end.”(Tenth)
Spiritual basis:
Galatians 5:4
“You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.”
Hebrews 6:4-6
“It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.”
Practical Application
Arminianism gives a different perspective than Calvinism. There is much to be learned by studying the Scripture. Each passage and verse that is read can be interpreted a different way depending on the context and how God is delivering the message. Like Calvinism, Arminianism should be used as a resource and a guide to deliver the gospel and to grow spiritually. One can use Arminianism to base their faith off of and to find more information on. There are a lot of followers of Arminianism and they can lead one to more resources or pastors who will communicate sermons based off of this theory.

Conclusion
Theologians have made great findings and have studied immensely to better understand Christianity. Calvinism and Arminianism are both great doctrine to base and guide one’s faith and life. One doctrine is not greater than the other. Both of these theologians were human, and as any Christian should know is that no human is perfect regardless of how smart they may seem. We should use their theories as guides to Scripture, not the other way around. There is a possibility that people who are strictly a Calvinist or strictly an Arminianist could possibly be focusing too much on the theologian and not the gospel. To label oneself as either a Calvinist or an Arminianist, one must first understand that Scripture is our tool and our ultimate guide, not a theologian’s theory of what they interpreted.
Works Cited

Fairchild, M. (n.d.). Calvinism and arminianism. Retrieved from http://christianity.about.com/od/denominations/a/calvinarminian.htm
Slick, M. J. (n.d.). The five points of calvinism. Retrieved from http://www.calvinistcorner.com/tulip.htm
Tenth. (n.d.). The five points of calvinism. Retrieved from http://www.tenth.org/fileadmin/files_for_download/New_Member_Articles/5pointsofcalvinism .pdf

Student: | Criteria | PointsPossible | PointsEarned | Instructor’s Comments | Content: Does the paper cover the subject as thoroughly as possible? Are 2 topics covered? Does it demonstrate a personal understanding of the subject? | 65 | | Introduction: Is there a clear introductory paragraph including a thesis? | 10 | | | Structure: Are there headings provided for each section? | 10 | | | Conclusion: Is a concluding paragraph given? | 10 | | | Mechanics: Is paper free of glaring errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation and is it posted by the deadline? | 30 | | | Grading Rubric: Is this page provided as the last page of the paper? | 10 | | | Format: Is the paper 12-point, Times New Roman font, 1-inch margins, and double-spaced? | 15 | | | Total | 150 | | |