--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Calvinism emphasizes divine sovereignty…" description: "\"“Calvinism emphasizes divine sovereignty and free grace; Arminianism emphasizes human responsibility. The one restricts the saving grace to the elect: ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f4/philip-schaff-16413_saving-grace_calvinism-emphasizes-divine-sovereignty_271575.jpg" --- # Calvinism emphasizes divine sovereignty and free grace… ![“Calvinism emphasizes divine sovereignty and free grace; Arminianism emphasizes human responsibility. The one restricts the saving grace to the elect: the other extends it to all men on the condition of faith. Both are right in what they assert; both are wrong in what they deny. If one important…” quote by Philip Schaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f4/philip-schaff-16413_saving-grace_calvinism-emphasizes-divine-sovereignty_271575.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f4/philip-schaff-16413_saving-grace_calvinism-emphasizes-divine-sovereignty_271575.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f4/philip-schaff-16413_saving-grace_calvinism-emphasizes-divine-sovereignty_271575.jpg) > ““Calvinism emphasizes divine sovereignty and free grace; Arminianism emphasizes human responsibility. The one restricts the saving grace to the elect: the other extends it to all men on the condition of faith. Both are right in what they assert; both are wrong in what they deny. If one important truth is pressed to the exclusion of another truth of equal importance, it becomes an error, and loses its hold upon the conscience.”” [Philip Schaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-schaff/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote critiques exclusive theological claims, urging balance between divine sovereignty and human responsibility, warning against dogmatic exclusion of equally important truths. **In simple terms:** Both theological systems have merit but become flawed when they deny each other's truths. Key Takeaway Seek inclusive understanding that respects both divine and human aspects. Themes theology balance dogmatism Mood thoughtful reflective Type philosophical theological When to use this quote - interfaith dialogue - academic theology - personal belief formation - ecumenical discussions Key Concepts Calvinism Arminianism exclusive truth Questions to Reflect On - How can we hold both divine sovereignty and human responsibility without conflict? - What practical steps foster theological inclusivity? A Different Perspective It may oversimplify complex doctrines and ignore nuanced interpretations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arminianism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arminianism/) [Calvinism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calvinism/) [Saving grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saving-grace/) ## Related quotes > [Calvinism emphasizes divine sovereignty and free grace; Arminianism emphasizes human responsibility. The one restricts the saving grace to the elect; the other extends it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-schaff/calvinism-emphasizes-divine-sovereignty-and-free-grace-arminianism-2/) [Philip Schaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-schaff/) > [“Although upon doctrines of grace our views differ from those avowed by Arminian Methodists, we have usually found that on the great evangelical truths…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-h-spurgeon/although-upon-doctrines-of-grace-our-views-differ-from-those-avowed/) [Charles H. Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-h-spurgeon/) > [“God sovereignly decreed that man should be free to exercise moral choice, and man from the beginning has fulfilled that decree by making his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-w-tozer/god-sovereignly-decreed-that-man-should-be-free-to-exercise-moral/) [A.W. Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-w-tozer/) > [“How is it more for the glory of God to save man irresistibly, than to save him as a free agent, by such grace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wesley/how-is-it-more-for-the-glory-of-god-to-save-man-irresistibly-than-to/) [John Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wesley/) > [“I believe we best say yes to God's glory and sovereignty by saying no to Calvinism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-fischer/i-believe-we-best-say-yes-to-god-s-glory-and-sovereignty-by-saying-no/) [Austin Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-fischer/) > [“To explain the matter I will employ a simile, which yet, I confess is very dissimilar; but its dissimilitude is greatly in favour of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arminius/to-explain-the-matter-i-will-employ-a-simile-which-yet-i-confess-is/) James Arminius > [“If God is love (1 John 4:7) but intended Christ’s atoning death to be the propitiation for only certain people so only they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-e-olson/if-god-is-love-1-john-4-7-but-intended-christ-s-atoning-death-to-be/) [Roger E. Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-e-olson/) > [“No man that ever lived, not John Calvin himself, ever asserted either original sin, or justification by faith, in more strong, more clear and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wesley/no-man-that-ever-lived-not-john-calvin-himself-ever-asserted-either/) [John Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wesley/) > [“The Bible gives us a theology which is more human than Calvinism, and more divine than Arminianism, and more Christian than either of them.1243”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-schaff/the-bible-gives-us-a-theology-which-is-more-human-than-calvinism-and/) [Philip Schaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-schaff/) > [“Calvinism, as we have seen, starts from a double decree of absolute predestination, which antedates creation, and is the divine program of human history.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-schaff/calvinism-as-we-have-seen-starts-from-a-double-decree-of-absolute/) [Philip Schaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-schaff/) > [“There seems to be the utmost danger, that the younger generation will be carried away with Arminianism as with a flood.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-edwards/there-seems-to-be-the-utmost-danger-that-the-younger-generation-will/) [Jonathan Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-edwards/) > [I think Arminianism is death to Christianity!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/i-think-arminianism-is-death-to-christianity/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) > [Arminianism is 'natural' in one sense, in that it represents a characteristic perversion of Biblical teaching by the fallen mind of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/arminianism-is-natural-in-one-sense-in-that-it-represents-a/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) > [“The Spirit of God draws or leads the sinner from one phase to another, gradually, in proportion as one is found having a disposition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-oden/the-spirit-of-god-draws-or-leads-the-sinner-from-one-phase-to-another/) [Thomas C. Oden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-oden/) > [I believe that very much of current Arminianism is simply ignorance of gospel doctrine; and if people began to study their Bibles, and to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/i-believe-that-very-much-of-current-arminianism-is-simply-ignorance/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) ## More by Philip Schaff > [“Luther, the hero of Worms, the champion of the sacred rights of conscience, was, in words, the most violent, but in practice, the least…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-schaff/luther-the-hero-of-worms-the-champion-of-the-sacred-rights-of/) [Philip Schaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-schaff/) > [“Some plant wild fig trees near cultivated fig trees, and there are others who, to remedy the weakness of the productive fig tree of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-schaff/some-plant-wild-fig-trees-near-cultivated-fig-trees-and-there-are/) [Philip Schaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-schaff/) > [The apostolic writings are of three kinds: historical, didactic, and prophetic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-schaff/the-apostolic-writings-are-of-three-kinds-historical-didactic-and/) [Philip Schaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-schaff/) > [“Henceforth we find woman no longer a slave of man and tool of lust, but the pride and joy of her husband, the fond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-schaff/henceforth-we-find-woman-no-longer-a-slave-of-man-and-tool-of-lust/) [Philip Schaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-schaff/) > [“Paul was the only scholar among the apostles. 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Fearing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-schaff/calvin-sets-the-absolute-sovereignty-of-god-and-the-infallibility-of/) [Philip Schaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-schaff/) > [“If ever a monk got to heaven by monkery," says Luther, "I ought to have gotten there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-schaff/if-ever-a-monk-got-to-heaven-by-monkery-says-luther-i-ought-to-have/) [Philip Schaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-schaff/) > [The resurrection of Christ is therefore emphatically a test question upon which depends the truth or falsehood of the Christian religion. It is either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-schaff/the-resurrection-of-christ-is-therefore-emphatically-a-test-question/) [Philip Schaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-schaff/) > [In our country we ask no toleration for religion and its free exercise, but we claim it as an inalienable right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-schaff/in-our-country-we-ask-no-toleration-for-religion-and-its-free/) [Philip Schaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-schaff/) > [It is more than a book, it is an institution which rules the Christian world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-schaff/it-is-more-than-a-book-it-is-an-institution-which-rules-the-christian/) [Philip Schaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-schaff/) > [“But because this man listens and that man scoffs, and most are enamored of the blandishments of vice rather than the wholesome severity of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-schaff/but-because-this-man-listens-and-that-man-scoffs-and-most-are/) [Philip Schaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-schaff/) [Explore all 40 Philip Schaff quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-schaff/) ## More Arminianism quotes > [I believe that very much of current Arminianism is simply ignorance of gospel doctrine; and if people began to study their Bibles, and to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/i-believe-that-very-much-of-current-arminianism-is-simply-ignorance/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [“No man that ever lived, not John Calvin himself, ever asserted either original sin, or justification by faith, in more strong, more clear and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wesley/no-man-that-ever-lived-not-john-calvin-himself-ever-asserted-either/) [John Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wesley/) > [“The Spirit of God draws or leads the sinner from one phase to another, gradually, in proportion as one is found having a disposition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-oden/the-spirit-of-god-draws-or-leads-the-sinner-from-one-phase-to-another/) [Thomas C. Oden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-oden/) > [Arminianism is 'natural' in one sense, in that it represents a characteristic perversion of Biblical teaching by the fallen mind of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/arminianism-is-natural-in-one-sense-in-that-it-represents-a/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) > [“To explain the matter I will employ a simile, which yet, I confess is very dissimilar; but its dissimilitude is greatly in favour of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arminius/to-explain-the-matter-i-will-employ-a-simile-which-yet-i-confess-is/) James Arminius > [I think Arminianism is death to Christianity!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/i-think-arminianism-is-death-to-christianity/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) > [“How is it more for the glory of God to save man irresistibly, than to save him as a free agent, by such grace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wesley/how-is-it-more-for-the-glory-of-god-to-save-man-irresistibly-than-to/) [John Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wesley/) > [“There seems to be the utmost danger, that the younger generation will be carried away with Arminianism as with a flood.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-edwards/there-seems-to-be-the-utmost-danger-that-the-younger-generation-will/) [Jonathan Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-edwards/) > [“reason to fear that Arminianism, Arianism, and even Socinianism, in destruction to the doctrines of free grace, are daily propagated in the New England…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-edwards/reason-to-fear-that-arminianism-arianism-and-even-socinianism-in/) [Jonathan Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-edwards/) > [“Faith itself is an act of human willing enabled and disciplined by grace.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-oden/faith-itself-is-an-act-of-human-willing-enabled-and-disciplined-by/) [Thomas C. Oden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-oden/) > [“Although upon doctrines of grace our views differ from those avowed by Arminian Methodists, we have usually found that on the great evangelical truths…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-h-spurgeon/although-upon-doctrines-of-grace-our-views-differ-from-those-avowed/) [Charles H. Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-h-spurgeon/) > [Calvinism emphasizes divine sovereignty and free grace; Arminianism emphasizes human responsibility. 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Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-e-olson/) > [“The Bible gives us a theology which is more human than Calvinism, and more divine than Arminianism, and more Christian than either of them.1243”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-schaff/the-bible-gives-us-a-theology-which-is-more-human-than-calvinism-and/) [Philip Schaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-schaff/) [Browse all 20 Arminianism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arminianism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Calvinism emphasizes divine sovereignty and free grace; Arminianism emphasizes human responsibility. The one restricts the saving grace to the elect: the other extends it to all men on the condition of faith. Both are right in what they assert; both are wrong in what they deny. 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