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Definition:
Armenian Theology is a Protestant development which occurred in reaction to the
more extreme Calvinism which held sway at the beginning of the 17th century.
Arminian Theology, named after James Arminius (1560-1609), emphasizes human
freedom of choices, whereas traditional Calvinism emphasizes the absolute
sovereignty of God - even to the point that humans are predestined either to
heaven or to hell, regardless of what they might want to do.
The distinction runs deeper than that, however. According to traditional Calvinism, whatever God wills is automatically just, merely because he wills it - that is why it is just that some are predestined to heaven and some to hell. Arminius, on the other hand, argued that God's will is constrained by justice, and as a result can only will that which is independently right or good. Thus, God does not condemn someone to hell or heaven, but instead merely sees how they make free choices which in turn causes them to go to heaven or hell.
Arminius' ideas spread widely and became a part of the doctrines of a number of Protestant sects, like the Methodists. It is largely from this viewpoint that tolerance was able to gain a foothold in Protestantism because tolerance requires the allowance that people have some say in their own destiny. Arminian, rather than Calvinist, ideas gained much wider support in the United States due to the fact that a belief in self-determination and free will have always been critical premises in American culture and politics.
During the early 19th century, Arminiam Christianity was slowly transformed into a new Christian denomination which became known as Unitarianism. According to Unitarianism, there does exist a God, but the role of Jesus Christ is more that of a great moral teacher rather than a literal Son of God.
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