| Pelagianism |
|---|
| History |
| Proponents |
| Opponents |
| Doctrines |
|
Semi-Pelagianism (orsemipelagianism) is a historicalChristiantheological andsoteriological school of thought about the role of free will insalvation. In semi-Pelagian 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 offree will, with grace supervening only later.[1]
The term "semi-Pelagianism", a 16th-century coinage, is considered amisnomer by many modern scholars. "Semi-Pelagianism" has frequently been used in a pejorative sense.
Semi-Pelagianism was, in the theory, originally developed as a compromise between Pelagianism and the teaching ofChurch Fathers such asSaint Augustine. Adherents toPelagianism hold that people are born untainted by sin and do not need salvation unless they choose to sin, a belief which had been dismissed asheresy. In contrast, Augustine taught that people cannot come to God without the grace of God. Like Pelagianism, what is now called semi-Pelagianism was labeledheresy by theWestern Church at theSecond Council of Orange in 529.
In contrast,most Christian communions teach that the initiative for faith comes from God. Some, notably Catholics and Orthodox, teach that it then requires free collaboration on the part of man (synergism): "The fatherly action of God is first on his own initiative, and then follows man's free acting through his collaboration".[2] "Since the initiative belongs to God in the order of grace, no one can merit the initial grace of forgiveness and justification at the beginning of conversion. Moved by the Holy Spirit and by charity, we can then merit for ourselves and for others the graces needed for our sanctification, for the increase of grace and charity, and for the attainment of eternal life."[3]
Pelagianism is the teaching that people have the capacity to seekGod in and of themselves apart from any movement of God or theHoly Spirit, and therefore that salvation is effected by their own efforts. The doctrine takes its name fromPelagius, a British monk who was accused of developing the doctrine (he himself appears to have claimed in his letters that man does not do good apart from grace, claiming only that all men have free will by God's gift); it was opposed especially byAugustine of Hippo and was declared aheresy byPope Zosimus in 418. Rejecting the existence oforiginal sin, it teaches that man is in himself and by nature capable of choosing good.[4]
In so-called semi-Pelagian thought, both God and the human person always participate in the salvation process. Humans make free will choices, which are aided by God through creation, natural grace, "supernatural" grace, God's restrictions on demonic invasion; God continually brings the human person to real choices, which God also aids, in the process of spiritual growth to be saved. The entire process is grace; snapshot focus on the specific moments of decision are always in the context of the overarching grace of God. Semi-Pelagianism is similar tosynergism, which is the traditionalpatristic doctrine.[5]
The term "semi-Pelagianism" was unknown in antiquity, appearing for the first time only in the last quarter of the 16th century in connection withLuis de Molina's doctrine of grace: opponents of this theologian believed they saw a close resemblance to the views advocated by monks of Southern Gaul at and around Marseille after 428.
Even after this confusion between the ideas of Molina and those of the monks of Marseille had been exposed as an error, the newly coined term "semi-Pelagianism" was retained in learned circles as an apt designation for the views of those monks, most notablyJohn Cassian, which were said to have aimed at a compromise between Pelagianism andAugustinism. It was condemned as heresy at the localCouncil of Orange (529) after disputes extending over more than a hundred years.[6] The monks, however, consistent with theDesert Fathers, considered their teaching to be the ancient teaching of the Church.
Several historical teachings have been wrongly claimed to be semi-Pelagian without actually being about the issue of the priority of grace before human will. In particular, in the late 400s Gallic BishopFaustus of Riez had answered a parishioner's question about whether a deathbed confession by someone in mortal sin was legitimate: in Faustus' opinion there could be no effective absolution despite the decision to repent because there had been no satisfaction (public repudiation of sin, reparation, prayer, etc.) attempted. Faustus' formulation contradicted e.g. the declaration of Pope Celestine I in 1428 against "despair in God's mercy" and was rebutted by the writings of BishopAvitus of Vienne, that the intention to give satisfaction (if the sinner lived, in accordance with canon 13 of theFirst Council of Nicaea) was perfectly adequate for a genuine repentance.[7] So Faustus' claims concern faith versus the necessity of penitence, not the priority of grace before human will.
The first use of the term "semi-Pelagian" was byTheodore Beza. The Epitome of the LutheranFormula of Concord (1577) rejects "the false dogma of the Semi-Pelagians, who teach that man by his own powers can commence his conversion, but can not fully accomplish it without the grace of the Holy Spirit".[8]
Between 1590 and 1600, the term "semi-Pelagianism" was applied toLuis de Molina's doctrine of grace, which at that time was accused of similarity to the teaching of the Massilians.[6]
TheOrthodox Church generally emphasizes thesynergistic doctrine oftheosis in its conception of salvation as a process of personal transformation to the likeness of God in Christ through the Spirit. Theosis closely links the ideas ofjustification andsanctification; salvation is acquired through the divinization of man. This doctrine is sometimes dismissed as semi-Pelagian by theologians of the classical Protestant traditions on the grounds that it suggests that man contributes to his own salvation.[9] The accusation is rejected by Orthodox Christianity, which unlike the established Western traditions remained for the most part uninfluenced by Augustinian theology and holds that "for the regenerated to do spiritual good – for the works of the believer being contributory to salvation and wrought by supernatural grace are properly called spiritual – it is necessary that he be guided and prevented [preceded] by grace … Consequently, he is not able of himself to do any work worthy of a Christian life".[10]
John Cassian, known particularly for his teachings ontheosis, is considered a Saint in the Eastern Churches as well as in Roman Catholicism. He is generally considered to have been an early proponent of semi-Pelagianism.[11][12][13][14] But some recent scholars deny that his views were in fact semi-Pelagian. Lauren Pristas writes: "For Cassian, salvation is, from beginning to end, the effect of God's grace. It is fully divine."[15] Augustine Casiday states that Cassian "baldly asserts that God's grace, not human free will, is responsible for 'everything which pertains to salvation' – even faith".[16] Others hold that "the view of Cassian as the ringleader of 'semi-Pelagianism' rests on a conjectural chronology".[17] The Roman Catholic Church includes John Cassian in itsofficial list of recognized saints, with a feast day on 23 July,[18] and cites him in theCatechism of the Catholic Church.[19] It did not endorse Augustine entirely[20] and, while later Catholic theologians accepted Augustine's authority, they interpreted his views in the light of writers such as Cassian.[21] West and East consider both John Cassian andAugustine of Hippo as saints.
In more recent times, the term "semi-pelagian" has been used by someReformedProtestants to label anyone who deviates fromAugustinian doctrines of sovereignty, original sin and grace – most notablyArminian Protestants and Roman Catholics. Although Calvinist and Lutherantheologies of salvation differ significantly on issues such as the nature of predestination and the salvific role of thesacraments (seemeans of grace), both branches of historic Protestantism claim the theology of Augustine as a principal influence.
Many Arminians have disagreed with this generalization, believing it is libelous toJacobus Arminius (from whose nameArminianism derives) and theRemonstrants who maintained his "Arminian" views after his death.John Wesley (anAnglican defender of Arminianism and founder ofWesleyan Methodism) and other prominent classical andWesleyan Arminians maintain a doctrine of sin that he called "total corruption" and "entire deprivation" of the human race, which is close but not identical to the Calvinist doctrine of original sin andtotal depravity.[22] For Wesley, God is constantly seeking to recover his lost sheep, "not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9, NIV). As theologian Thomas Oden describes Wesley's view,prevenient grace "begins toenable [not justaid, as in semi-pelagianism] one to choose further to cooperate with saving grace. By offering the will the restored capacity to respond to grace, the person then may freely and increasingly become an active, willing participant in receiving the conditions for justification."[23][24]
The Roman Catholic Church, as mentioned above, condemned semi-pelagianism at theCouncil of Orange (529), but also does not accept the Calvinist interpretation of Augustine.[25] In the 18th century, theJesuits accused theJansenists of affirming the radical Augustinian doctrines of Calvinism; the Jansenists, in turn, accused the Jesuits of semi-Pelagianism.[26] For exampleBlaise Pascal did so in hisEcrits sur la grace.[27] The 1713 papal bull ofPope Clement XI,Unigenitus, in declaring Jansenism heretical, upheld the Jesuits' objections.[28]
Semi-Pelagianism is common in popularevangelicalism,[29] as opposed to scholarly evangelical theology. The term "semi-Pelagianism", a 16th-century coinage, is considered amisnomer[30][31][32][33][34][35][36] by many modern scholars. Proposed alternatives include semi-Augustinianism, anti-Augustinianism, and antipredestinarianism. The historical theological dispute is also known as the Augustinian controversy.[37] "Semi-Pelagianism" has frequently been used in a pejorative sense.[31][38][35]
The gospel preached and the doctrine of salvation taught in most evangelical pulpits and lecterns, and believed in most evangelical pews, is not classical Arminianism but semi-Pelagianism [....] Today, semi-Pelagianism is the default theology of most American evangelical Christians. This is revealed in the popularity of clichés such as 'If you'll take one step toward God, he'll come the rest of the way toward you'
