Unitarian Arminians
~HISTORIC ARMINIAN AUTHORS AND DOCUMENTS~
Daniel Whitby, Discourses on the 5 Points -- Warning: Whitby slighted the doctrine of original sin. But besides that, he had the loudest voice against Calvinism in his day. His classic work from 1735, which provides detailed scriptural explanations of large numbers of scriptural texts brought up in the Calvinist/Armininian debate, drew famous responses from Calvinsits John Gill (The Cause of God and Truth) and Jonathan Edwards (Inquiry into the Will).
Meanwhile his busy pen was engaged (1710-11) in refuting the Calvinistic positions of John Edwards (1637-1716) [q.v.] He is usually ranked as an Arminian, but his strenuous denial of the imputation of Adam's sin soon carried him beyond Arminian lines. In the Bangorian controversy he wrote (1714 and 1718) in defence of Hoadly. On the doctrine of our Lord's deity, which he had defended in 1691 and had firmly upheld throughout his New Testament commentary (1703), he was shaken by the treatise (1712) of Samuel Clarke (1675-1729) [q. v.] Of this there are marked evidences in his criticisms of Bull and Waterland, but the extent of his departure from 'the received opinion' was not revealed till the posthumous publication ('by his express order') in April 1727 of his 'Last Thoughts,' which he calls his 'retractation,' and which 'clearly shows his unitarianism' (letter of 17 July 1727 by Samuel Crellius, in 'Thesaurus Epistolicus La-Crozianus,' quoted in Wallace's Anti-trinitarian Biography, 1850, iii. 471).
Our dear friends at SEA apparently think it's better to be a unitarian Arminian than a Calvinist. Revealing priorities.
I read Whitby's book. He is certainly not a unitarian. He questions if a numerically one divine essence is unitarian and moves away from that idea to hold that the Father, Son and Spirit have three numerically distinct essences.
ReplyDeleteIf anything, perhaps he could be charged with Arianism, because he pushes the subordination of the Son to the Father. But He says Christ is God and denies Christ was created so I don't think he is Arian either.
I don't like Whitby's views on the Trinity but I would not call him a heretic (at least with seeing the evidence).
God be with you,
Dan
Are you referring to the same material that the Dictionary of National Biography references?
ReplyDeleteYes, his "Last Thoughts". Here's a link to the Google book:
ReplyDeletehttp://books.google.com/books?id=MHdPAAAAYAAJ
God be with you,
Dan