Synergism

Template:Short description Template:For Template:Salvation 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. Later, it came to be reflected in the so-called Semi-Pelagian position and the Semi-Augustinian stance affirmed by the Second Council of Orange (529). 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.

DefinitionEdit

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

TheologyEdit

Historical developmentsEdit

Before Augustine (354–430), the synergistic view of salvation was almost universally endorsed.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

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

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

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

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.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn This highlights the role of prevenient grace enabling human belief.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn This view, often referred to as "Semi-Augustinian," is therefore described as "God-initiated synergism".Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn The Council also rejected predestination to evil.Template:Sfn

Characterization of the Pelagian-Augustinian salvation frameworkEdit

The Pelagian-Augustinian framework serves as a key paradigm for understanding contemporary forms of synergism.Template:Sfn Augustine argued that prevenient grace is necessary to prepare the human will for conversion.Template:Sfn He maintained that God predetermined parents to seek baptism for their newborns, linking water baptism to regeneration.Template:Sfn Furthermore, he viewed the divine grace that brings about conversion as unfailing.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

The Semi-Augustinian stance builds upon Augustinian thought, also associating regeneration with water baptism.Template:Sfn However, it rejects predetermination, allowing space for human decision, particularly in the act of faith.Template:Sfn Thus, it maintains that vocation and the gift of faith are divine actions through prevenient grace, while faith itself is a human action, and regeneration remains a divine action.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn The Semi-Pelagian position holds that vocation and conversion through faith are human actions, while the "increase of faith" bringing regeneration is a divine action.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn In Pelagianism, humans possess the innate capacity to obey God. Consequently, all steps of salvation are voluntary human actions.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

Comparison of the authors' actions in the Pelagian - Augustinian salvation frameworks
Framework	Augustinianism	Semi-Augustinianism	Semi-Pelagianism	Pelagianism
Salvation process type	Divine monergismTemplate:Sfn	God-initiated synergismTemplate:Sfn Template:Sfn	Human-initiated synergismTemplate:Sfn	Humanistic monergismTemplate:Sfn Template:Sfn
Vocation	God	God	Human	Human
Conversion (gift of faith)	God	God	Human	Human
Conversion (faith)	God	Human	Human	Human
Regeneration	God	God	God	Human

Views among Christian denominationsEdit

File:Hunt Light of the World.jpg

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

Denominations traditionally upholding synergismEdit

Catholic theologyEdit

Synergism is an important part of the salvation theology of the Catholic Church.Template:Sfn Following the Second Council of Orange (529),Template:Sfn the Council of Trent (1545–63) reaffirmed the resistibility of prevenient grace and its synergistic nature.Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn This synergistic process applies to both justification and sanctification.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn

Eastern Orthodox theologyEdit

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

Anabaptist theologyEdit

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

Arminian theologyEdit

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

Semi-Pelagian viewEdit

Semi-Pelagianism is present in many current evangelical denominations.Template:Sfn It holds that a person can initiate faith independently, without prevenient grace, while its continuation through regeneration depends on God’s grace.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn This has led to its characterization as "human-initiated synergism".Template:Sfn After the Reformation, Reformed theologians used the term "Semi-Pelagianism" to describe both "Semi-Pelagianism" and "Semi-Augustininianism," the latter being a divine-initiated synergism.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

Denominations traditionally upholding monergismEdit

Lutheran theologyEdit

Martin Luther (1483-1546) limited monergism strictly to soteriological aspects.Template:Sfn He asserted that monergism applied to both election (to salvation) and reprobation.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Philip Melanchthon (1497-1560), however, rejected monergism after Luther's death in favor of synergism.Template:Sfn Melanchthon's stance influenced many Lutherans of his time throughout Europe to adopt synergism.Template:Sfn The "synergistic controversy" arose when Gnesio-Lutherans, citing Luther's monergistic stance, opposed John Pfeffinger's synergistic views on the role of human will in conversion.Template:Sfn

By 1580, Melanchthon's view had lost prominence, and the Book of Concord (1580) affirmed soteriological monergism in relation to election (to salvation), but explicitly rejected its application to reprobation.Template:Sfn Accordingly, the contemporary Lutheran Church continues to uphold this view.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn While monergism remains the official stance, Lutheran history includes both monergist and synergist views.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

Reformed theologyEdit

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

Anglican theologyEdit

Anglicanism originally inclined toward monergism due to its Lutheran and Calvinist heritage, but it eventually accommodated both monergistic and synergistic interpretations.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn The Thirty-nine Articles of Religion, finalized in 1571, serve as the confession of faith for the Anglican tradition.Template:Sfn They reflect a complex interplay of Calvinist influence, Catholic practice, and intentional ambiguity within individual articles.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Today, in some Anglican denominations, clergy are required to acknowledge the Articles, while in others, they are not.Template:Sfn

Anglicanism has historically leaned more toward monergism, particularly in its early phases.Template:Sfn Early Anglican leaders such as Thomas Cranmer (1489–1556) held Reformed views that significantly shaped the Church’s initial doctrinal direction.Template:Sfn However, following the Stuart Restoration (1660) through the mid-18th century, Calvinist theology became less prominent within Anglicanism.Template:Sfn Afterward, the Evangelical movement within Anglicanism revived and emphasized its Reformed roots.Template:Sfn Related groups like the Church Society tend to interpret Article 10 of the Thirty-nine Articles in a monergistic sense.Template:Sfn

Conversely, High church and Anglo-Catholic traditions have tended toward synergism, drawing on the theology of the early Church Fathers and emphasizing the sacramental life, human free will, and cooperation with divine grace. Proto-Arminian figures like Lancelot Andrewes (1555–1626) and Jeremy Taylor (1613–1667) upheld the importance of the human response to God’s call.Template:Sfn In the 18th and 19th centuries, theologians such as George Pretyman Tomline (1750–1827) and Harold Browne (1811–1891) also interpreted Article 10 in a synergistic light.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

Notes and referencesEdit

CitationsEdit

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SourcesEdit

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