Meet a Reformed Arminian

The first time I heard Matt Pinson speak, he repeatedly dropped a term that rolled around in my mind for several days: “Reformed Arminian.” Such a phrase seems an oxymoron along the lines of jumbo shrimp, heated ice, or left-wing conservative.

As a trained church historian, I was fairly certain that by “Reformed Arminian” he meant one who affirms the teaching of Jacob Arminius, a figure who arose out of the Protestant Reformation, a figure whose theology departs at numerous key points from much popular Arminian theology today. Was I correct? I had to know more, and the interview below is a product of my query.

Pinson, president of Welch College in Nashville (a Free Will Baptist school), is a graduate of Yale Divinity School and holds a PhD from Vanderbilt University. He is the author or editor of numerous books including Perspectives on Christian Worship (B&H Academic), Four Views on Eternal Security (Zondervan), and, most recently, Arminian and Baptist: Explorations in a Theological Tradition (Randall House). We discussed how one could claim to be Reformed and Arminian, contrasted contemporary Arminian doctrine with that of Arminius, and more. Read More

Also See:
Why Arminians Should Celebrate Reformation 500
Carl Henry: Not Just for Calvinists

Classical Arminianism is an offshoot of early and Calvinist Reformed theology. It would influence the thinking of a number of the Caroline High Churchmen and later Anglican theologians.