Comparison among Protestants

Protestantism is a form of Christian faith. It started in the Holy Roman Empire (HRE) in the 16th century, when some Christians opposed various aspects of the Roman Catholic Church (RCC). Together with the Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism, Protestantism became the third-largest force in Christianity. Protestantism has a significant impact on the culture, beliefs and economy of places in which it became important.

Protestant beliefsThis table summarizes the classical views of three Protestant beliefs about salvation.Table drawn from, though not copied, from Lange, Lyle W. God So Loved the World: A Study of Christian Doctrine. Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 2006. p. 448. Topic  Calvinism  Lutheranism  Arminianism Human will  Total depravity: Everyone has free will,John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, trans. Henry Beveridge, III.23.2. but is in bondage to sinJohn Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, trans. Henry Beveridge, II.3.5. until the person is "transformed".John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, trans. Henry Beveridge, III.3.6.  Total depravity:Morris, J.W., The Historic Church: An Orthodox View of Christian History, p267, "The Book of Concord became the official statement of doctrine for most of the world's Lutherans. The Formula of Concord reaffirmed the traditional Lutheran doctrine of total depravity in very clear terms"Melton, J.G., Encyclopedia of Protestantism, p229, on Formula of Concord, "the 12 articles of the formula focused on a number of newer issues such as original sin (in which total depravity is affirmed)" Everyone has free will in regard to "goods and possessions" but is sinful by nature and unable to contribute to the person's own salvation.* 
 Augsburg Confessional, Article XVIII, Of Free Will , saying: "(M)an's will has some liberty to choose civil righteousness, and to work things subject to reason. But it has no power, without the Holy Ghost, to work the righteousness of God, that is, spiritual righteousness; since the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God (1 Cor. 2:14); but this righteousness is wrought in the heart when the Holy Ghost is received through the Word."
 Henry Cole, trans., Martin Luther on the Bondage of the Will (London, T. Bensley, 1823), 66. The controversial term liberum arbitrium was translated "free-will" by Cole. However Ernest Gordon Rupp and Philip Saville Watson, Luther and Erasmus: Free Will and Salvation (Westminster, 1969) chose "free choice" as their translation.Total depravity:Everyone has the freedom from necessity but not "freedom from sin" unless the person is enabled by "prevenient grace".  Election  Unconditional election. Unconditional election.The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Lutheran Church, XI. Election. "Predestination" means "God's ordination to salvation". Conditional election in view of foreseen faith or unbelief. Justification and atonement  Justification by faith alone, with controversies about the extent of the atonement.The Westminster Confession, III:6, says that only the "elect" are "effectually called, justified, adopted, sanctified, and saved." However in his Calvin and the Reformed Tradition (Baker, 2012), 45, Richard A. Muller observes that "a sizeable body of literature has interpreted Calvin as teaching "limited atonement", but "an equally sizeable body . . . [interprets] Calvin as teaching "unlimited atonement". Justification for all men,  completed at Christ's death, and effective through faith alone. 


 Augsburg Confession, Article V, Of Justification. People "cannot be justified before God by their own strength, merits, or works, but are freely justified for Christ's sake, through faith, when they believe that they are received into favor, and that their sins are forgiven for Christ's sake. ..."  Justification is made possible for everyone via Christ's death but is completed only upon choosing faith in Jesus. Conversion  Monergistic,Paul ChulHong Kang, Justification: The Imputation of Christ's Righteousness from Reformation Theology to the American Great Awakening and the Korean Revivals (Peter Lang, 2006), 70, note 171. Calvin generally defends Augustine's "monergistic view". by means of grace, and irresistible.  Monergistic,Monergism; thefreedictionary.com through the means of grace, and resistible. Synergistic and resistible by the common grace of free will.  Perseverance and apostasy  Perseverance of the saints: the eternally elect in Christ will certainly persevere in faith.The Westminster Confession of Faith, Ch XVII, "Of the Perseverance of the Saints". Falling away is possible, but God's gospel gives assurance.  Preservation is conditional upon continued faith in Christ, with the chance of a final apostasy.

Related pages

 Catholicism
 Protestantism
 Baptist
 Calvinism
 Anglicanism
 Lutheranism
 Eastern Christianity
 Greek Orthodox Church
 Eastern Orthodox Church
 Orthodox Church of Ukraine
 Oriental Orthodoxy
 Armenian Apostolic Church
 Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria

References

Category:Protestantism
Category:History of Europe
Category:Protestant Reformation
Category:History of Christianity
Category:Protestant denominations