The Beautiful Gospel of WHEAT (Not TULIP, DAISY, or ROSES)

Acronyms — love ’em or hate ’em. They may be cheesy, but they work. They can summarize complex concepts and make them easy to remember and repeat.

In the realm of Christian theology, perhaps no other acronym is as well known as the infamous TULIP, which aims to describe the “five points of Calvinism.” In response to TULIP, others have come up with DAISY to describe Arminianism and ROSES to describe Molinism.

The explanation of these acronyms can sometimes vary (especially for the latter two), but for our purposes, I’m going to follow the versions summarized by Aaron Earls in his post, “Theological Flower Bed: TULIP, DAISY & ROSES.”

TULIP (Calvinism):

T: Total depravity — Every facet of every person everywhere has been marred by sin.

U: Unconditional election — God chooses those to be saved based solely on His will.

L: Limited atonement — Christ died only for those who are elect.

I: Irresistible grace — The elect cannot resist God’s call to salvation.

P: Perseverance of the saints — The elect cannot lose their salvation.

DAISY (Arminianism):

D: Diminished depravity — Humanity is depraved, but God uses prevenient grace to restore man’s ability to respond to Him.

A: Abrogated election — God bases His election on His foreknowledge of those who freely choose Him.

I: Impersonal atonement — Christ died for everyone, making salvation possible for everyone.

S: Sedentary grace — God calls everyone to salvation, but many freely reject it.

Y: Yieldable justification — The saved can fall from grace and lose their salvation.

ROSES (Molinism):

R: Radical depravity — Every aspect of humanity is depraved, but we are not always as bad as we could be.

O: Overcoming grace — God’s grace is persistent in the life of the believer, but it can be resisted.

S: Sovereign election — God desires the salvation of all, but our salvation is based on His choice not ours.

E: Eternal life — God grants believers eternal security in their salvation.

S: Singular redemption — Christ died sufficiently for all people, but efficiently only for the saved.

A Clarification on DAISY, Plus a Few Other Acronyms…

Many Arminians don’t approve of the DAISY acronym. (There are Calvinists who dislike TULIP too.) I admit that the version of DAISY I use above is actually a Calvinist formulation, explaining Arminianism from their perspective. I felt it necessary, however, to list this version of Daisy first since it tends to be the one most notably seen in the Christian community. One version of DAISY, with different wording, explains this alternative formation:

D: Deliberate sin — Humans choose to sin based on their own will, not their sinful nature.

A: All-encompassing call — Salvation is available to everyone who seeks or desires it.

I: Infinite love — God desires for everyone to be saved, not just the “elect.”

S: Spontaneous faith — Faith, while a gift of God, is brought about by a human choice.

Y: Yieldedness of the Saints — It is possible for someone who is “saved” to lose their salvation.

There is also the FACTS acronym, which comes directly from the Society of Evangelical Arminians:

Freed by Grace (to Believe)

Atonement for All

Conditional Election

Total Depravity

Security in Christ

Also worth noting is the Anabaptist’s GRACE acronym:

God’s Broken Image.

Reborn through Faith.

Atonement for All.

Chosen and Choosing.

Empowered to Grow.

I’m not sure whether it would be accurate to suggest a single Anabaptist view of such things. In my experience, Anabaptists tend to vary widely on their individual theological beliefs. You’ll find Calvinistic Anabaptists, Arminian Anabaptists, and Anabaptists who hold to the Beautiful Gospel. That said, I do like the GRACE acronym for the most part, and I’d say it’s a lot closer to the Beautiful Gospel than any of the others I’ve seen.

None of this actually affects WHEAT or my explanation thereof, but I do want to make sure I’m contrasting it accurately against the other systems. And it’s fun to take a look at these other acronyms. With that out of the way, we’ll get back to the Beautiful Gospel in the next post.