Within each of the three branches of Christianity there are theological differences. While Protestants have many different denominations, each with their own particular view of certain doctrines, we will highlight three important distinctions:
Arminianism and Calvinism
1. A main theological distinction among Protestants is between the “reformed” or “Calvinist” school of theology, and the “Arminian” school. The followers of Jacob Arminius, a Dutch theologian, disagreed with the Calvinist view of predestination, irresistible grace, limited atonement, and security of salvation.
The Arminians redacted the "Five Articles of Remonstrance" in 1610, and the Calvinists answered each of the five points in the Synod of Dort in 1618-1619, which came to be known as the "Five Points of Calvinism."
The Arminians held that God's predestination is based on His foreknowledge of who would believe, while the Calvinists argued that predestination is based only on God's sovereign mercy and grace. The Arminians believed that the atonement made salvation possible for all people, and that all people have been given a special grace enabling them to exercise their free will to accept or reject the gospel. The Calvinists believed that the atonement was limited to the elect, but that it makes salvation actually effective for them, and that the Holy Spirit does a special supernatural work only in the hearts of the elect which is irresistible, bringing them to saving faith. The Arminians sustained that a believer can lose his or her salvation by failing to continue believing, while the Calvinists argued that true believers will never lose their salvation, because the Holy Spirit will always keep them from losing their faith.
