Church History in Plain Language

by Bruce L. Shelley

In his tireless preaching 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 appear arbitrary. He insisted that God willed the salvation of all men and that men could receive or refuse divine grace. This conviction brought his friendship with Whitefield to the breaking point. Whitefield defended the doctrine of predestination because it underscored God’s sovereign authority. He felt Wesley’s “Arminianism” dulled the all-important sense of sin and compromised the vital concept of an almighty God. Both men sought to advance the work of the awakening, so they agreed to differ in mutual respect. In Wesley’s sermon at Whitefield’s funeral in 1770, he spoke of the evangelist’s “most generous and tender friendship.” But the controversy did lead to two camps among the Methodists: Arminian societies following Wesley and Calvinist societies following Whitefield.