Davenant on the Will of God and the Divine Decrees

This chapter discusses another important doctrine relative to John Davenant’s hypothetical universalism: the divine will. Observing that the doctrine of God’s will in early modern scholastic theology, including among Reformed theologians, involved a plethora of scholastic distinctions, the chapter shows that Davenant’s theology of the divine will was heavily influenced by these distinctions, which were themselves ways of making sense of apparent contradictory claims in Scripture. Davenant’s employment of these medieval distinctions, such as between God’s love of simple complacency and his absolute will, are given extended treatment. This chapter also gives attention to the difference between a divine conditional and an absolute will. Finally, tying all these distinctions together, this chapter explains how Davenant employs them to buttress his hypothetical universalism.

John Davenant on the Extent of Christ’s Atoning Work

Being the central chapter of the book, this chapter provides the first comprehensive exposition of John Davenant’s hypothetical universalism to date. It centers on his controversial work De Morte Christi. By way of a detailed examination at each of propositions of this treatise, this chapter shows how Davenant pushed back against a significant segment of Reformed theologians who denied that Christ died for all. On the other hand, as this chapter makes clear, the chapter also demonstrates how Davenant also distanced himself from the Remonstrant denial that Christ died for the elect. Instead, as the chapter proves, Davenant, citing a plethora of Reformed and Roman Catholic sources, understood his doctrine to be biblical, catholic, and Reformed.

John Davenant’s Covenant Theology

This chapter situates John Davenant’s covenant theology into his broader Reformed context. Against certain misinterpretations of Reformed covenant theology, and of Davenant in particular, this chapter shows that Davenant’s covenant theology—even as it was used to defend his hypothetical universalism—was not especially noteworthy relative to other Elizabethan Reformed theologians, nor to the broader European Reformed community. To that end, the chapter details how Davenant understood both the so-called covenant of works and the covenant of grace. Special focus is given to Davenant’s insistence on the universality of the covenant of grace and the role played by his doctrine of an absolute covenant, corresponding to predestination.

The Lombardian Formula in the Sixteenth and Early Seventeenth Century

This chapter, continuing the historical survey of the previous chapter, slows down and focuses on the reception of the so-called Lombardian formula in the Reformation and early Post-Reformation period, especially among the Reformed churches. After looking at how well-known Reformers such as Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Zachary Ursinus understood the Lombardian formula, concentration shifts to a few critical events that provide important background to the Synod of Dordt and intra-Reformed debates on the extent of the atonement. More specifically, the chapter covers a late sixteenth-century debate between the Lutheran Jacob Andreae and the Reformed theologian Theodore Beza on the extent of Christ’s work. Next, it looks at the back-and-forth between Jacob Arminius and William Perkins. Finally, it gives a thorough examination of the Hague Conference of 1611, which featured a discussion of the various doctrines of grace among the Remonstrants and Contra-Remonstrants.

Conclusion

This final chapter concludes this study of John Davenant’s hypothetical universalism. It reiterates the various arguments made throughout the work, especially revolving around Davenant’s relationship to the Reformed tradition. It concludes, based on the evidence of the work as a whole, that Davenant’s hypothetical universalism carries on a significant trajectory of Reformed theology reaching back into Augustinianism itself. Moreover, the chapter reckons that interpreters of English hypothetical universalism have too often lumped it together with French Amyraldianism. Finally, the chapter registers the difficulty De Morte Christi poses for the modern interpreter. It is hoped that this study alleviates some of that difficulty.

The Extent of Christ’s Work from the Early Church to Gottschalk

This chapter begins by observing the important precedent that patristic and medieval theology played in the development of Protestant theology, especially in Britain during the early modern period. It observes that early modern debates regarding the extent of Christ’s atoning work were, in many ways, grounded on the catholicity of one’s position. More important, this chapter surveys John Davenant’s own understanding of the history of the doctrine as it was exposited and debated in the patristic and medieval period. The final section of the chapter focuses on the so-called Lombardian formula and the scholastic consensus on the extent of Christ’s death.

John Davenant and the Synod of Dordt

This chapter has as its focus the British delegation’s role in the formation of the Second Main Doctrine—on the extent of Christ’s atoning work—at the Synod of Dordt. After expositing a couple of key documents by James Ussher and John Overall, the chapter carefully inspects and summarizes never-before-studied manuscripts tracing the role of the British delegation in shaping the actual form of the Canons of Dordt on the extent of Christ’s work. Indeed, by looking at the British suffrage and their comments on the various early drafts of the Canons, this chapter undoubtedly proves that the Canons were written in such a way as to allow space for English hypothetical universalism within its confessional bounds.

Prolegomena

After giving a brief biographical sketch of the life and work of John Davenant, this chapter explores the various secondary literature regarding Davenant and hypothetical universalism. This survey of literature looks not only at a vast array of writings on hypothetical universalism but also at the many misinterpretations of Davenant’s hypothetical universalism. This chapter also examines an assortment of important terms relative to this thesis. It includes an investigation into the various early modern language of what historians of theology have called hypothetical universalism. Finally, this chapter gives an outline of each chapter making up the rest of the study.