Anyway, here are the "Order of God's Decrees" as commonly held.
Supralapsarian (Hyper-Calvinism)
- To elect some to eternal life and the rest to eternal separation
- To permit the fall of man
- The atonement of Christ - where satisfaction is made for the elect thus securing their redemption
- The gift of the Holy Spirit to regenerate and sanctify the redeemed
Supralapsarianism puts God's decree to elect some to eternal life prior to His decree to permit the Fall. This view is usually associated with High Calvinism. Hyper-Calvinism, a variation places the decree to elect prior even to the decree to create man.
The question raised between the Supra- and Infra-lapsarian views boils down to this: Does God discriminate between men in order to save some, or does He save some in order to discriminate between men?
While there have been logical arguments articulated for the Supra-views, opponents contend there is little scriptural support. Therefore, election should be viewed as logically subsequent to the Fall. See also John 15:19 and Romans 11:5–7. Scripture also declares that the elect are chosen unto sanctification and to the sprinkling of the blood of Christ. They must therefore have been regarded as guilty and defiled by sin when they were chosen. See 1 Pet. 1:2, and Eph. 1:4–6.
Infralapsarian (sublapsarian)
- To permit the fall of man
- To elect some to eternal life, leaving the rest to their just deserts
- The atonement of Christ - where satisfaction is made for the elect thus securing their redemption
- The gift of the Holy Spirit to regenerate and sanctify the redeemed
Infralapsarianism recognizes that election has to do specifically with salvation. It maintains that the principle of particularism, in the sense of distinguishing grace, belongs to the sphere of God's plan of redemption. Therefore, Infralapsarians place election at the head of those decrees that look to salvation and subsequent to the decrees of creation and the Fall. In the order of thought, election falls subsequent to the decrees of creation and the Fall because these refer to all men alike, since all men are certainly created and all men have certainly fallen. Likewise, election falls prior to the decrees of redemption and its application because it is just as certain that all men are not redeemed and all men are not saved.
The Infralapsarian view is that of historic Calvinism (the heart of Reformed Theology). According to Warfield, this is the only view that is self consistent and consistent with the facts of Scripture.
John Calvin said in the final edition of the his Institutes, "No one who wishes to be thought religious dares simply deny predestination, by which God adopts some to hope of life, and sentences others to eternal death. But our opponents, especially those who make foreknowledge its cause, envelop it in numerous petty objections. We indeed, place both doctrines in God, but we say that subjecting one to the other is absurd." Institutes III.21.5 (Translation Battles & McNeill)
Amyraldian
- To permit the fall of man
- The atonement of Christ - where all men are made savable, with salvation conditioned on individual faith.
- To elect some to receive moral ability and the necessary grace to believe
- The gift of the Holy Spirit to sanctify believers
Amyraldism developed historically following the Synod of Dort as a compromise between Calvinism and the early Arminianism by giving up what was perceived as some of the harshness of Calvinism. The Amyraldian view is associated with Calvinism because it retains a particularistic element by acknowledging God's distinguishing grace in the election of individuals.
The logic the of Amyraldians, however, places divine election after the decree to provide an atonement. This makes the atonement universal in nature and the application of the atonement particular in nature through divine election. This view is sometimes referred to as Four-Point Calvinism since it gives up the Calvinist doctrine of limited atonement in favor of a universal atonement. Although Amyraldianism may be a recognizable form of Calvinism because it retains the principle of particularism in election, it is not necessarily a good form of Calvinism as it turns away from a substitutionary atonement, which is as precious to the Calvinist as his particularism,"
This view maintains that Christ died for all men alike, making all men savable, with actual salvation conditioned on individual faith. Then God, seeing that no one would respond because of their depravity, chose (or elected) some to receive the grace to believe. Some see this as inconsistent, for how is it possible to contend that God gave His Son to die for all men alike and equally, and at the same time to declare that when He gave His Son to die, He already fully intended that His death should not avail for all men equally, but only for some which He would select.
The primary characteristic of the Amyraldian scheme is the placement of election after the atonement. However, opponents contend that Scripture indicates Christ came in order to execute the purpose of election. He came to die for and give eternal life to as many as the Father had given Him. See John 10:15 and 17:2, 9. If this point is true, then the decree to elect some of mankind should necessarily precede the decree to provide an atonement. The Amyraldian scheme assumes the reverse to be true.
Arminian
- To permit the fall of man
- The atonement of Christ - where satisfaction is made for all men and all are given sufficient grace to believe, if they will
- To predestine to eternal life those whom He foresaw would believe of their own free will
- Sanctification of all who cooperate with the sufficient grace
Biblical Christianity was revived in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. However, it didn't take long after the Reformation for some of the same theological issues that Augustine faced to resurface, e.g. the sovereign grace of God versus the free will of man. This is not surprising since variations of free will Semi-Pelagianism had become the accepted position of both the Eastern and Roman churches.
At the Synod of Dort, 1618–1619, the Reformed churches of the day officially condemned what was perceived as the revived Semi-Pelagianism of the Dutch Remonstrants in favor of a strict Calvinistic position as expressed in the Belgic and Helvetic Confessions. Although officially rejected, this view continued to exist and grow in the Protestant churches under the name of Arminianism from Jacob Arminius, 1560–1609.
Arminianism sees itself as a fundamental improvement over the Pelagian and Semi-Pelagian views in that it is supernaturalistic, attributing the primary work of salvation to God at all points. However, it maintains that by virtue of God's universal prevenient grace all men have a free will and the ability to savingly respond to God. It also maintains that predestination is based on God's divine foreknowledge, where foreknowledge is erroneously equated with foresight.
Arminianism is "universalistic" since in its view God does no more for any man than He does for all. This reduces to the point where the deciding factor in salvation is in man himself, which thus approaches Semi-Pelagianism where man saves himself with God's help. Reformed theologians therefore see a rather gray line that distinguishes Arminianism from Semi-Pelagianism.
Semi-Pelagian
- To permit the fall of man - physical and moral deterioration
- The atonement of Christ - to make possible the gift of sufficient grace and give this grace to all
- Salvation of all who freely cooperate with this grace
- Sanctification by cooperation with God's grace
Semi-Pelagianism is only a mild improvement over blatant Pelagianism. According to this view, man is not by nature totally depraved, but does suffer a physical and moral deterioration resulting from the Fall. In this view, man has retained his natural free will and the ability to improve on the grace God has provided to all.
Like Pelagianism before it, Semi-Pelagianism was condemned at the Council of Orange in 529 in favor of a moderate Augustinian view. Even though the sovereignty of God's grace in salvation was upheld by Augustinianism to this point, compromises made at the Synod of Orange left an incipient semi-Pelagianism which was eventually revived and accepted by the church at large during the middle ages.
Pelagian
- Gift of free will whereby each may do all that is required of him
- Gift of the law and gospel to illuminate the way and persuade men to walk in it.
- Gift of Christ to (expiate past sin and) set a good example
- Acceptance of all who walk in the right way
This view is basically a naturalistic view of salvation as opposed to a supernaturalistic view. The primary issue between the naturalist and the supernaturalist may be summed up in one question: Does man save himself or does God save him? In its purity, Pelagianism affirms that all the power exerted in saving man is native to man himself. It is basically a salvation by works mentality that continues to show up in various forms today.
Molinism: ?????
You skipped giving us the "low down" of this theological/philosophical position which is gaining in acceptance among christian thinkers, philosophers, apologists and theologians.
