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Synergism

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For a whole being more than the sum of its parts, see synergy.

In Christian theology, synergism refers to the cooperative effort between God and humanity in the process of salvation. Before Augustine of Hippo (354–430), synergism was almost universally endorsed. It characterized the so-called Semi-Pelagian position. It also characterized the position of the Second Council of Orange (529), often referred to as Semi-Augustinian. Synergism is affirmed by both the Catholic Church, and Eastern Orthodoxy. It is also present in various Protestant denominations, such as Anabaptist Churches, and is particularly prominent in those influenced by Arminian theology, such as the Methodist Churches.

Definition

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Synergism comes from the Greek syn (with) and ergon (work) and refers to two or more sources working together.[1] In Christian theology, it describes the cooperative effort between God and humanity in the process of salvation.[2][3] It implies a free human participation in salvation.[4]

Theological developments linked to synergism

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Before Augustine (354–430), the synergistic view of salvation was almost universally endorsed.[5]

Pelagius (c. 354–418), however, argued that humans could perfectly obey God by their own will.[6] The Pelagian view is therefore referred to as "humanistic monergism".[7][8] This view was condemned at the Council of Carthage (418) and Ephesus (431).[9]

In response, Augustine proposed a view in which God is the ultimate cause of all human actions, a stance that aligns with soft determinism.[10] The Augustinian view is therefore referred to as "divine monergism".[11] However, Augustinian soteriology implied double predestination,[12] which was condemned by the Council of Arles (475).[13]

During this period, a moderate form of Pelagianism emerged, later termed Semi-Pelagianism. This view asserted that human will initiates salvation, rather than divine grace.[14] The Semi-Pelagian view is therefore described as "human-initiated synergism".[15]

In 529, the Second Council of Orange addressed Semi-Pelagianism and declared that even the inception of faith is a result of God’s grace.[16][17][18] This highlights the role of prevenient grace enabling human belief.[19][20] This view, often referred to as "Semi-Augustinian," is therefore described as "God-initiated synergism".[21][22][23][24] The Council also rejected predestination to evil.[25]

Semi-Pelagianism view

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Semi-Pelagianism holds that a person can initiate faith independently, without prevenient grace.[26] This view holds that faith begins with human will, while its continuation and fulfillment depend on God’s grace,[14][27] giving it the label "human-initiated synergism".[15] After the Reformation, Reformed theologians used "Semi-Pelagianism" to describe both "Semi-Pelagianism" and "Semi-Augustininianism," a divine-initiated synergism.[24][28]

Catholic theology

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Synergism is an important part of the salvation theology of the Catholic Church.[29] Following the Second Council of Orange (529),[20] the Council of Trent (1545–63) reaffirmed the resistibility of prevenient grace and its synergistic nature.[30] The Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992) teaches that the ability of the human will to respond to divine grace is itself conferred by grace.[31][32] This synergistic process applies to both justification and sanctification.[33][34] The sacraments of the Catholic Church such as baptism and the Eucharist, are part of God's grace and are thus a vital element in the synergistic process of salvation.[35]

Eastern Orthodox theology

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In Eastern Orthodox theology, God's grace and the human response work together in a "cooperation" or "synergy".[36] This perspective has historically presented less theological tension on this issue compared to the Christian West.[37] In the salvation process, divine grace always precedes any human action.[38] Man possesses libertarian freedom (as implied by the Gnomic will) and must consciously respond to divine grace.[39] This understanding is similar to the Arminian protestant synergism.[40] The Orthodox synergistic process of salvation includes baptism as a response to divine grace.[41] Deification, or theosis is also an integral part of this process.[42]

 
Synergists compare God's role in salvation to Christ "standing at the door"[43] (The Light of the World by William Holman Hunt).

Anabaptist theology

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Further information: Anabaptist theology

Anabaptists hold to synergism,[44] teaching that "both God and man play real and necessary parts in the reconciling relationship which binds them."[45] Anabaptists have a high view of the moral capacities of humans when "enlivened by the active agency of the Holy Spirit".[45]

Lutheran theology

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Martin Luther (1483-1546) limited monergism strictly to soteriological aspects.[46] He asserted that monergism applied to both election (to salvation) and reprobation.[47][48] Philip Melanchthon (1497-1560), however, rejected monergism after Luther's death in favor of synergism.[49] Melanchthon's stance influenced many Lutherans of his time throughout Europe to adopt synergism.[50] The Book of Concord (1580), by contrast, affirms soteriological monergism solely in relation to election (to salvation), explicitly rejecting its application to reprobation.[51] Accordingly, the contemporary Lutheran Church continues to uphold this view.[52][53] While monergism remains the official stance, Lutheran history includes both monergist and synergist views.[54][52]

Reformed theology

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In orthodox Reformed theology, divine monergism is understood as operating through an exhaustive divine providence.[55] For example, Huldrych Zwingli (1484–1531) viewed that everything, including human salvation and reprobation, was determined by God.[56] In contrast, "libertarian Calvinism", a revision described by Oliver D. Crisp in his book Deviant Calvinism (2014), is a soteriological monergism.[57] Historically, this perspective has remained a minority view within Calvinism.[58]

Anglican theology

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In Anglican Churches there is a reformed monergistic view of salvation,[59] but also a synergistic one.[60]

Arminian theology

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Christians who adhere to Arminian theology, such as Methodists, believe that salvation is synergistic.[61] Jacobus Arminius first emphasized the role of prevenient grace, which involves a monergistic act of God, followed by "subsequent" act involving a synergistic work.[62] Thus, for Arminians, prevenient grace involves a synergistic process.[63] Similarly, John Wesley held that salvation begins with divine initiative.[64] Additionally, Wesleyan-Arminian theology teaches that both justification and sanctification are synergistic.[65] The Arminian perspective on salvation is often described as "God-initiated synergism".[64] This perspective aligns closely with the main characteristic of the early Semi-Augustinian thought.[66][24]

See also

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Notes and references

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Citations

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  1. ^ Allison 2021, p. 209.
  2. ^ Bordwell 1999, p. 766. "[Synergism involves] a kind of interplay between human freedom and divine grace".
  3. ^ Kirkpatrick 2018, p. xiii. "[synergism is] the belief that salvation is a cooperative work between God and humans".
  4. ^ Olson 2009, p. 17. "Synergism is any theological belief in free human participation in salvation."
  5. ^ Schaff 1997, § 173. "In anthropology and soteriology [Lactantius] follows the synergism which, until Augustine, was almost universal."
  6. ^ Puchniak 2008, p. 124.
  7. ^ Barrett 2013, p. xxvii. "[H]umanistic monergism is the view of Pelagius and Pelagianism".
  8. ^ Peterson & Williams 2004, p. 36. "[T]he humanistic monergism of Pelagius."
  9. ^ Teselle 2014, p. 6.
  10. ^ Rogers 2004, p. 1.
  11. ^ Barrett 2013, p. xxvii, ‌. "[D]ivine monergism is the view of Augustine and the Augustinians."
  12. ^ James 1998, p. 103. "If one asks, whether double predestination is a logical implication or development of Augustine's doctrine, the answer must be in the affirmative."
  13. ^ Levering 2011, p. 37.
  14. ^ a b Stanglin & McCall 2012, p. 160.
  15. ^ a b Barrett 2013, p. xxvii, ‌‌. "[H]uman-initiated synergism is the view of Semi-Pelagianism".
  16. ^ Denzinger 1954, ch. Second Council of Orange, art. 5-7.
  17. ^ Pickar 1981, p. 797.
  18. ^ Cross 2005, p. 701.
  19. ^ Olson 2009, p. 81.
  20. ^ a b Stanglin & McCall 2012, p. 153.
  21. ^ Oakley 1988, p. 64.
  22. ^ Thorsen 2007, ch. 20.3.4.
  23. ^ Bounds 2011.
  24. ^ a b c Barrett 2013, p. xxvii, ‌‌‌. "God-initiated synergism is the view of the Semi-Augustinians".
  25. ^ Denzinger 1954, ch. Second Council of Orange, art. 199. "We not only do not believe that some have been truly predestined to evil by divine power, but also with every execration we pronounce anathema upon those, if there are [any such], who wish to believe so great an evil."
  26. ^ Pohle 1912.
  27. ^ Lambert 2005.
  28. ^ Marko 2020, p. 772. "Those who did not think a prevenient grace was necessary for initial human response or that it was resistible came to be called semi-Pelagians by Protestants in the post Reformation period."
  29. ^ Bordwell 1999, p. 766, ‌.
  30. ^ Reymond 2010, ch. Who saves men?.
  31. ^ John Paul II 1993, item 2001. "The preparation of man for the reception of grace is already a work of grace."
  32. ^ John Paul II 1993, item 1742. "By the working of grace the Holy Spirit educates us in spiritual freedom in order to make us free collaborators in his work in the Church and in the world".
  33. ^ Kirkpatrick 2018, p. 223. "[Sungenis] is showing how baptism is the entry point into justification, that righteousness is something progressively attained synergistically, and that sanctification and justification belong together as one in the same end."
  34. ^ LWF&RCC 2019. "When Catholics say that persons 'cooperate' in preparing for and accepting justification by consenting to God's justifying action, they see such personal consent as itself an effect of grace, not as an action arising from innate human abilities."
  35. ^ Reymond 2010, ch. How does God saves men?. "Rome holds that through the foundational sacraments of baptism the sinner is delivered from the liability of original sin, and through the sacraments of the Mass and of penance the liabilities of postbaptismal sins are removed. The institutional church becomes then through its sacramental ministrations the sources and conveyer of saving grace to men [...]".
  36. ^ Ware 1993, PT274. "To describe the relation between the grace of God and human freedom, Orthodoxy uses the term cooperation or synergy (synergeia); in Paul's words, 'We are fellow-workers (synergoi) with God' (1 Corinthians iii, 9). If we are to achieve full fellowship with God, we cannot do so without God's help, yet we must also play our own part: we humans as well as God must make our contribution to the common work, although what God does is of immeasurably greater importance than what we do."
  37. ^ Payton Jr. 2010, p. 151. "In Eastern Christian understanding of synergy, God's grace and human response work together without the questions of rivalry that have bedeviled the Western Christian disagreement about monergism and synergism."
  38. ^ Robertson 1899, Decree 14. "For the regenerated to do spiritual good — for the works of the believer being contributory to salvation and wrought by supernatural grace are properly called spiritual — it is necessary that he be guided and prevented [preceded] by grace."
  39. ^ Payton Jr. 2010, p. 151, ‌. "[H]uman beings always have the freedom to choose, in their personal (gnomic) wills, whether to walk with God or turn from Him".
  40. ^ Stamoolis 2010, p. 138. "A further concession is made, one that could easily be made by an Arminian Protestant who shared the Orthodox understanding of synergism (i.e., regeneration as the fruit of free will's cooperation with grace): 'The Orthodox emphasis on the importance of the human response toward the grace of God, which at the same time clearly rejects salvation by works, is a healthy synergistic antidote to any antinomian tendencies that might result from (distorted) juridical understandings of salvation'."
  41. ^ Stamoolis 2010, p. 74. "In orthodox baptismal theology, [...] the candidate for baptism merely responds to and cooperates with that divine grace by actively welcoming it into his or her heart by faith and then living out the baptism through active obedience on that same principle of unmeritable synergism."
  42. ^ Stamoolis 2010, p. 74, ‌. "Faith is both a divine gift and the free response of the human person. [...] This is the basis for Orthodox asceticism and its goal of deification (theosis) as the content of salvation."
  43. ^ Pugh 1860, p. 58.
  44. ^ Bloesch 2005, p. 362. "Yet the polarity seems to fall between Reformation monergism (esp. Calvinist) and Anabaptist and Wesleyan synergism."
  45. ^ a b Hill 2020, p. 129.
  46. ^ Straton 2020, p. 159. "Luther: A person's will is in bondage to sin and cannot, without the grace of God, respond to the gospel. However, apart from salvation-related issues, people can choose freely".
  47. ^ Horton 2011, ch. 9.2. "In fact, Luther affirmed both election and reprobation in the strongest terms."
  48. ^ Sammons 2020, p. 60. "Luther presents double predestination clearly, basing it on his understanding of God."
  49. ^ Bente 1921, ch. 14.154. "Melanchthon repudiated the monergism of Luther, espoused and defended the powers of free will in spiritual matters, and thought, argued, spoke, and wrote in terms of synergism. Indeed, Melanchthon must be regarded as the father of both synergism and the rationalistic methods employed in its defense, and as the true father also of the modern rationalistico-synergistic theology represented by such distinguished men as Von Hofmann, Thomasius, Kahnis, Luthardt."
  50. ^ Olson 2009, p. 14. "Because of Melanchthon's influence on post-Luther Lutheranism, many Lutherans throughout Europe adopted a synergistic outlook on salvation, eschewing unconditional predestination and affirming that grace is resistible".
  51. ^ Horton 2011, ch. 9.2. "In fact, Luther affirmed both election and reprobation in the strongest terms. The Lutheran confessions, however, affirm God's unconditional election of those on Whom he will mercy but deny his reprobation of the rest as an actual decreee. The confessional Lutheran and Reformed theologies differ with respect to the decree of reprobation, the extent of atonement, and the resistibility of God´s grace, they are united in their defense of soteriological monergism (i.e., God alone working in salvation), grounded in his unconditional election of sinners in Jesus Christ." [emphasis in original].
  52. ^ a b Horton 2011, ch. 9.2, n. 11.
  53. ^ Sammons 2020, p. 62. "While there are some in the Lutheran tradition who adhere to single predestination, it is apparent that Luther himself did not."
  54. ^ Pinson 2022, p. 147. "Despite the fact that many scholars neatly divide Lutherans into "monergistic" and "synergistic" camps, no good Lutheran ever wanted to be known as a synergist. This include famous scholastic Lutherans such as Aegidius Hunnius, Johann Gerhard, and Johannes Andreas Quendstedt. Most Lutherans throughout history have believed like Melanchthon, that [...] God personally elects individuals in eternity past intuitu Christi meriti fide apprehendi. This is precisely what Arminius believed."
  55. ^ Robinson 2022, p. 379. "[T]he heart of Calvinism is as monergism that effectively makes God the sole actor in human history [...]".
  56. ^ James 1998b. "Zwingli attributes both to the divine will in the same way, constructing an absolutely symmetrical doctrine of double predestination. The cause and means of both election and reprobation are precisely the same. For Zwingli, God is the exclusive and immediate cause of all things."
  57. ^ Olson 2015. "Crisp’s “libertarian Calvinism” is not consistent with the vast majority of modern and contemporary Calvinisms in the U.S., [...] And it is not acceptable to Arminians because of its soteriological monergism [...]".
  58. ^ Moreland 2001, p. 155. "Indeed, throughout history there have been Calvinists who have accepted libertarian freedom for non-moral or non-salvific decisions".
  59. ^ Salter 2018. "The code and creed of Anglicanism is richly Trinitarian (divine self-disclosure), soteriologically monergistic (grace alone), and warmly pastoral (godly care) in its approach to the people it serves within and beyond the bounds of its membership."
  60. ^ Olson 1999, p. 535. "Many Anglicans follow Richard Hooker's brand of synergism [...]".
  61. ^ Olson 2002, p. 281. "John Wesley, founder of the Methodist tradition, was also a synergist with regard to salvation."
  62. ^ Stanglin & McCall 2012, p. 152.
  63. ^ Olson 2009, p. 18. "When Arminian synergism is referred to, I am referring to evangelical synergism, which affirms the prevenience of grace to every human exercise of a good will toward God, including simple nonresistance to the saving work of Christ."
  64. ^ a b Lowery 2008, ch. A more Naturalized Interpretation of Grace. "Although Wesley believes that salvation begins with divine initiative, he still places great emphasis on human responsibility. As such, salvation itself should be viewed as a synergism initiated by God".
  65. ^ Fahlbusch 2008, p. 272. "Methodist 'synergism' is grounded in the conviction that in the justification begun in the new birth (the beginning of the divine work), there will have to be 'appropriate fruits'."
  66. ^ Bounds 2011, pp. 39–43.

Sources

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