Amyraldianism – Amyraldianism is named after Moise Amyraut (1596-1664) who was a French Huguenot theologian in Saumur. Amyraut started life as a lawyer, who became a theologian after reading Calvin’s Institutes. He was a four-point Calvinist (see Arminianism) as he believed in hypothetical universalism. Hypothetical universalism is the view that all people can be saved without exception by faith and that the death of the Lord Jesus provided an unlimited atonement. Amyraldianism is common among many Evangelical Baptists and in the Southern Baptist Convention in America. It is often taught at seminaries and universities like the Dallas Theological Seminary and the Moody Bible Institute. The Reformed and Evangelical diocese in Sydney holds these views, as does the GotQuestions.org website that is a popular source of Christian answers to theological questions.
Antinomianism – the theological doctrine or view that rejects the necessity of obedience to moral laws, religious legalism, or social norms, arguing instead that salvation is attained through divine grace and faith alone.
The German reformer Martin Luther coined the term in 1539 in his treatise Against the Antinomians. He used it to rebuke his former collaborator, Johannes Agricola, who argued that the law of Moses had no place in the Christian life. The term is derived from the Ancient Greek words anti (“against”) and nomos (“law”), the term represents the polar opposite of legalism (the belief that salvation is earned through strict adherence to laws or good works). Antinomians argue that because Jesus Christ fulfilled the Old Testament Mosaic Law on the cross, believers are entirely released from any ongoing obligation to follow biblical moral laws or command codes. Rather than following rules out of external compulsion or fear of punishment, true antinomian theory suggests that obedience should flow purely from an internal principle of faith. Critics often accuse antinomianism of creating “cheap grace”—the idea that because a person’s eternal salvation is secured, they have a license to behave immorally without needing repentance or fear of consequence. Because of this, it is rarely used as a self-label and is almost always levelled as a theological insult or charge of heresy.
Arianism – Arianism is named after Arius (250-336AD), who was from Alexandria in Egypt. He taught that the Lord Jesus was a created being. He thought that the Lord Jesus was the first and greatest of all creations, but that he was not eternal. This created discussion in the Alexandrian church, and Arius was opposed by Athanasius and later excommunicated at the Council of Nicaea. It has reappeared in modern times in the form of the ‘Jehovah’s Witness’ movement, which holds other errors, but its theology of the Trinity is Arian.
Arminianism – Arminianism is named after Jacobus Arminius (1560-1609), who was a minister in Amsterdam and a Professor at Leiden. Arminius had studied under Beza at Geneva, and his followers were called Remonstrants. His views were condemned at the Synod of Dort (1618-19), and in response to his 5 points of Arminianism, we now have the 5 points of Calvinism (Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace and the Perseverance of the Saints). His views were very influential with the Wesley brothers in the UK and are still widely held in many Baptist and Pentecostal churches.
Modalism – This was a popular belief in the 2nd and 3rd centuries and was an error in relation to the Trinity. It taught that God is one person appearing in three different forms. There are various types of modalism. Noetus of Smyrna held the view that God the Father suffered and died on the cross, and this is often called Patripassianism. Both Praxeas and Sabellius believed in this modalism and so sometimes books refer to modalism as Sabellianism. It has reappeared in modern times in the form of ‘Oneness Pentecostalism’ and the Jesus Only movement.
Pelagianism – Pelagianism is named after Pelagius (354-418), who was a British monk who moved to Rome and then to Hippo in North Africa. He taught that human beings are born sinless and can be perfect without the need for divine grace. He felt that the law and the Lord Jesus were just giving us examples of how we should live. You see this type of error in modern times when people speak of the Lord Jesus as a role model and say that we should earn our own salvation. Pelagian error was opposed by Augustine and led to its views being condemned at Synods in Carthage and Ephesus. You see this error in modern times in a lot of self-help books that teach bad behaviour is a product of our environment or education and that what we need to do is to self-actualise. Pope Francis has spoken about New Pelagianism being a problem in the modern Roman Catholic church.
Socinianism – Socinianism is named after Lelio and Fausto Sozzini, who were two Italian rationalists at the time of the Reformation. The Sozzinis rejected the Trinity and the deity of the Lord Jesus. They taught that the Lord Jesus was just a man and that his death wasn’t an atonement (but an example of Love to God). They said that we have a totally free will and nothing is predestined. Socinianism remains in Poland and Transylvania, and its views devastated the English Presbyterian Church as it turned Unitarian. There remain many Unitarian Churches in England (that were often originally English Presbyterians), and it also appears in the Christadelphian churches that you see on some streets in the UK.