What are Calvinism and Arminianism?

With regard to salvation, Scripture presents two essential elements: The sovereignty of God, and the responsibility of man. For lack of better term, Calvinism and Arminianism are two extreme views regarding these. Although neither side can be legitimately seen as heretical, both sides are flawed in that they place an unhealthy emphasis on one of the two elements. Calvinism places a heavy emphasis on the sovereignty of God, whereas Arminianism places far too heavy an emphasis on the responsibility of man.

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Both philosophies are complex, yet it is possible to reduce them to 5 key points. For Calvinism, these 5 points form the acronym "TULIP", which stands for:

- Total Depravity

- Unconditional Election

- Limited Atonement

- Irresistible Grace

- Perseverance of the Saints (a.k.a. Eternal Security)

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Arminianism, as far as I can tell, does not have its own "official" 5 point acronym, but rather, answers Calvinism's 5 points with the following:

- Partial Depravity

- Conditional Election

- Unlimited Atonement

- Resistible Grace

- Conditional Security

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Although the most extreme believers in these philosophies tend to take a very black and white view of each other, saying you are either a Calvinist or an Arminian, the 5-point nature of each means it is possible to reject both. Indeed, many Christians do, and even some believers call themselves 4 point Calvinists/Arminians. For Calvinists, the most commonly rejected point is Limited Atonement, and for Arminians, the most commonly rejected point is Conditional Security. I am tempted to suggest, especially since it corresponds to my own views as a Molinist, that this says a lot about how Biblical those particular points are.