Wesley stressed what we now call “Arminian” beliefs; he was the only prominent leader of the Awakening who did. The name came from Jacob Arminius (1560 –1609), a Dutch professor who tried to modify the Calvinism of his time. Wesley felt no special debt to Arminius, but he did staunchly oppose Calvin’s doctrine of predestination. He thought the belief made God an arbitrary devil. He insisted that God willed the salvation of all men and that men had enough freedom of will to choose or refuse divine grace.
