Defining "Semi-Pelagianism" by Theodore Beza

My debate opponent (in an upcoming debate), Dr. T. Kurt Jaros, has suggested that we should define "Semi-Pelagianism" as Beza did.  For example, in an interview with Warren McGrew, Dr. Jaros stated: "I think that the term should just be wiped from history and -- you know -- the new definition of 'Semi-Pelagianism' should be what Theodore Beza thought about certain Roman Catholics, not what the fifth century Gallic monks believed." (link)

What Beza thought is not always the most readily accessible things.  One of the oft-cited works in the history of the evolution of the term "Semi-Pelagianism," is the work of Backus and Goudriaan: ‘Semipelagianism’: The Origins of the Term and its Passage into the History of Heresy, Backus and Goudriaan, Jnl of Ecclesiastical History, Vol. 65, No. 1, January 2014. doi:10.1017/S0022046912000838 (link)  I'm reliant on their work to summarize the material on Beza, as I have not done my own independent research.  With that caveat, here are their findings:

"[Beza] identifies the Semipelagians as those who think that human nature is prone to sin but not totally dependent on God’s grace for its regeneration." (pp. 35-36)

(p. 36)

(p. 37) 

And from Markus Widler's notes:

(p. 39)

(p. 40)

Based on the above, my own summary is this.  Beza used the term "Semi-Pelagian" to refer to something "infra-Pelagian," something that did not go as far as the Pelagians, but (in Beza's view) in the same direction.  There does not seem to be a rigid standards, but the general errors that Beza identifies as "Semi-Pelagian" seem to include:

• On the Nature of Man: A denial that man's nature is altogether dead in sin due to Adam, while simultaneously falling short of the fully Pelagian error that man's nature was not affected by Adam's sin.  Thus, it is "Semi-Pelagian" to describe man as merely "half dead," "debilitated," or the like.
• On the Will: a denial that man's will is evil and contrary to God, while simultaneously acknowledging that it is weak. 
• On Grace before Faith: A denial that grace does all the preparation for faith, while simultaneously falling short of the fully Pelagian error that man does not require any grace before faith.  Thus, it is "Semi-Pelagian" to suggest that grace merely assists or helps nature or the like. Likewise, it is "Semi-Pelagian" to suggest that faith is "partly a gift of God" but also "partly brought forth by the choice of our will."
• On Original Sin: an affirmation that baptism removes some of the effect of original sin, but that some concupiscence remains and human effort is needed to overcome it.  Thus, it is "Semi-Pelagian" to suggest that God's grace merely brings man part of the way of toward faith. 
• On Merit in Salvation: A denial that our justification is entirely by faith, while simultaneously falling short of the fully Pelagian error of suggesting that man is justified solely on the basis of good works.  Thus, it is "Semi-Pelagian" to suggest that good works play any role in meriting salvation.

Beza seems to treat these errors as somewhat independent from another, rather than requiring all three to be present for the label to apply.  B&G note: "Beza’s invention of the term did not imply, however, that its meaning was fixed from the outset. Most likely, different authors devised new uses for it, applying it to a variety of contemporary positions that postulated a greater or lesser degree of human free will in the process of salvation." (p. 45)

B&G conclude that "Semi-Pelagianism" is "a term invented by Theodore Beza to denote the Roman Catholic doctrine of grace and original sin... ." (p. 46)  While a bit compact of a summary, it seems roughly right, with the caveat that it does seem to primarily relate, as B&G previously noted, to the connection between human free will and salvation.

This sense seems to have been picked up by subsequent Reformed authors.  For example, as R. Scott Clark reports (link)(link to Perkins), "William Perkins (1558-1602), in his 1595 Exposition of the Apostles’ Creed, on the question of effectual call, wrote:

Againe, if the Vocation of every man be effectual, then faith must be common to all men either by nature, or by grace, or both: now to say the first, namely, that the power of believing is common to all by nature, is the heresie of the Pelagians, and to say it is common to all by grace, is false. All men have not faith, saith Paul. 2. Thess. 3. 2. nay many to whom the Gospel is preached, doe not so much as understand it and give assent unto it; Satan blinding their minds that the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ should not shine unto them, 2. Cor. 4. 4. And to say that faith is partly by nature and partly by grace, is the condemned heresie of the semi Pelagian: for we cannot so much as thinke a good thought of our selves, 2. Cor. 3. 5."

Notice that "faith is partly by nature and partly by grace" is quite similar to Beza's explanation set forth above.

R. Scott Clark explains (in the same post):

Further, Perkins spoke for the entire Reformation when he distinguished between full-blown Pelagianism and “semi-Pelagianism” which admits the federal relationship and original sin but which tends to downplay the effects of sin. As Perkins observed, semi-Pelagianianism also affirmed the necessity of grace but just as it watered down the effects of sin so it weakened the necessity of and the power of grace. Like Pelagius, for the semi-Pelagians, which included some of Augustine’s opponents in the early 5th century and much of the medieval church, faith is “partly by nature and partly by grace.” The semi-Pelagian view is that grace helps but it is not decisive. The free exercise of the human will, or in some cases, the human intellect or affections is decisive and essential for faith, justification, and salvation. According to semi-Pelagianism, from a Pauline and Protestant point of view justification is no longer by grace alone, through faith (trusting) alone, but now through grace and works (our cooperation with grace).

RSC's summary is, perhaps, even more succinct and to the point than B&G's: "The semi-Pelagian view is that grace helps but it is not decisive."