A theological position in regard to salvation founded by Jacobus Arminius (Hermansz) (1560–1609), professor at the University of Leiden, Netherlands. Focusing his attack principally on the Calvinist position that God has predestined some to salvation and others to damnation, Arminius declared that salvation is theoretically possible for all. As the Arminian doctrine developed, his followers (known in Holland as Remonstrants), denied that any guilt pertains to a child before the age of accountability and that because individuals are not completely depraved they can cooperate with God. Conversely, they also can fall from grace. Probably the most significant theological tenet of Arminianism is that election is based on the foreknowledge of God concerning individuals’ choice, rather than upon the sovereign decree of God, as taught by Calvin. At this point, it has been objected, too great stress on the Arminian position runs the risk of making salvation primarily a question of human decision and thus underemphasizing the sovereignty of God, as manifested in the election of Jesus Christ. Although condemned by the Calvinists at the Synod of Dort in 1619, Arminianism lived on. In some areas it developed far beyond Arminius’ original doctrine. The basic evangelical form of Arminianism later became the soteriological position of Wesley and the Methodist Church. While Seventh-day Adventists do not formally identify themselves as Arminians, the general Arminian point of view has come to characterize their doctrine.