Arminianism: New Age Beliefs

If you are a Christian who believes in the five points of Arminianism (from Jacobus Arminius) against the five points of the Dutch Reformed, often referred to as "Calvinism" and known simply as TULIP, let me say this: You reject the teachings of Scripture and embrace the teachings of the New Age. Do not believe me? Pick any of your favourite verses you attempt to use against "Calvinism" and follow it to its logical end. You believe in Universalism, which is a New Age teaching.

First Example:
In John 6, Jesus repeatedly talks about those whom He will raise up unto eternal life on the last day. If Jesus is calling all men to Himself, as you teach and believe, then according to John 6 He is going to raise all men unto eternal life. This is Universalism, which is a New Age teaching.

Second Example:
In 2 Peter 3, Peter says that the Lord is not willing that any should perish but that all would come to repentance. If this refers to all men, as you teach and believe, then no one is going to perish because Scripture says that God accomplishes all that He purposes and wills. This is Universalism, which is a New Age teaching.

You can deny it all you want, but if you bothered to follow your beliefs to their ultimate end, you believe in Universalism, which is a clear teaching of the New Age. If you bothered to pay attention to your Bible, you would find that at least three (if not all) of the five points of the Dutch Reformed are found in John 6.

In case you are not familiar with the five points of Arminianism, they are: Human Free Will, Conditional Election, Universal Atonement, Resistable Grace, and Fall From Grace (the idea you can lose or forfeit your salvation). The first point, Human Free Will, is dismantled and destroyed when you consider Nebuchadnezzar, Jonah, Judas, Paul, and Romans chapter 6, where it says our will is slave to sin and the devil before salvation. The second point, Conditional Election, is dismantled and destroyed when you know anything about God, man's condition, and election. Try reading Romans 9, which refutes this idea. The third point, Universal Atonement, is dismantled and destroyed when you bother to read and pay attention to your Bible. What does John 6:44, 65, and 14:6 say? Also, if the atonement is universal, does that mean it applies to angels as well? If not, then the atonement is clearly limited. It is even limited amongst humanity. The fourth and fifth points, Resistable Grace and Fall From Grace, are dismantled and destroyed when you know anything about God's sovereignty and man's corrupt and fallen nature. If you could resist God's grace, that puts you equal or greater than God, which means He is not God. You are born spiritually dead, dead in trespasses and sins, unregenerate, possessing a heart of flesh. When someone preaches the Gospel to you, what in and of yourself can change any of those? Nothing! God must do it, and when He does, you cannot resist it. Once God has changed all of that, you cannot change any of it back. You cannot make yourself spiritually dead, unregenerate, and turn your heart of flesh to a heart of stone. If God did not save any of us, then none of us would be saved! It is that simple. If it were left up to you, you would curse God and go straight to Hell. He chose to save you for His good pleasure, so show what a great God He is. It has nothing to do with you. You have nothing to boast about. Your repentance and faith and obedience are all gifts from God.

There may be legitimate concerns with some of the things Calvin and the Reformers taught, individually or collectively, but the five points of the Dutch Reformed are not among them. They are biblically sound. Arminianism tends to its beliefs by being ignorant of anthropomorphisms, not realizing that God is not like us and that when Scripture speaks of God using anthropomorphisms, it is doing so in order to make God relatable to us. But God does not change His mind. From our point of view, it may seem like He does, but God knows the end from the beginning. God is not a magic genie. We do not have some insight into a problem that God is unaware of. We cannot manipulate God or make Him change His position on something. God's decision is already made, and when we pray, if it appears that our prayers and bending God to our will, it was already God's intention to respond to our prayers in the way He did. God allows us to partake in it by our prayers, but we did not change God's mind. Our prayers were in line with His will.

You need to come to grips with the fact that God is sovereign, whether you like it or not. He answers to no one. He does whatever He likes, and His will is always accomplished. If He wished that no one would perish, then no one would. But that is not what Scripture teaches. To claim it does, and to follow that belief to its ultimate end, is to believe in Universalism, which is New Age teaching.

The argument that the New Age did not exist during the 17th century is sheer ignorance. All these teachings have existed for centuries. They are nothing new. The teachings of the Jehovah's Witnesses existed in the first 500 years of the church. These false teachings rear their ugly heads repeatedly through history at different times and with different names, but it is always the same. There is nothing new under the sun. It has all been done. It has all been said. The arguments that Atheists think are so clever against Christianity are nothing new. They are about 2000 years old. Whether you want to accept it or not, if you believe in the five points of Arminianism, you are following beliefs of the New Age teachings. Your beliefs ultimate lead to Universalism, which is a heresy.