Pelagius

Pelagius was a British monk who denied Original Sin, exalted free will as the primary ingredient in salvation, and taught the moral perfectibility of the human race.

Pelagius was a man of considerable learning and austere moral character. About 390 he went to Rome, where, appalled by the lax morals of Roman Christians, he preached Christian asceticism and recruited many followers. His strict moral teaching had particular success in southern Italy and Sicily.

Pelagius settled in Palestine about 412 and enjoyed the support of the bishop of Jerusalem. His views were popular in the East, especially among the followers of Origen. Later, his disciples Celestius and Julian were welcomed in Constantinople by the patriarch Nestorius, who sympathized with their doctrine of the integrity and independence of the will.

Starting in 412, Augustine wrote a series of works in which he attacked the Pelagian doctrine of human moral autonomy and developed his own subtle formulation of the relation of human freedom to divine grace. Because of Augustine's criticisms, Pelagius was accused of heresy, but he was acquitted at synods at Jerusalem and Diospolis. In 418, however, a council at Carthage condemned Pelagius and his followers.

Pelagius denied the existence of Original Sin and the need for infant baptism. He argued that the corruption of the human race is not inborn, but is due to bad example and habit, and that the natural faculties of humanity were not adversely affected by Adam's fall.

Pelagius asserted that true grace lies in the natural gifts of humanity, including free will, reason, and conscience. He also recognized what he called external graces, including the Mosaic Law and the teaching and example of Christ, which stimulate the will from the outside but have no indwelling divine power. For Pelagius, faith and dogma hardly matter because the essence of religion is moral action.

Five Essential Tenets of Pelagianism:

• Adam's sin harmed only himself, not the human race.
• Newborn children are in the same state as Adam before his fall.
• Man’s will is free and he has the ability to choose what is good.
• Man can take the first steps toward God apart from divine grace.
• Christ’s death provides an example of obedience to inspire reform.