Davenant Bookstore
On the Death of Christ
And Other Atonement Writings
For whom did Christ die?
John Davenant’s
Death of Christ
remains the most significant and comprehensive example of English hypothetical universalism. Coming on the heels of the Synod of Dordt, Davenant’s
Death of Christ
is a scholastic treatise dealing with the question of the extent of Christ’s atonement-for whom did Christ die? Avoiding both the Scylla of Arminianism and Charybdis of certain strands of Reformed theology, Davenant employs Scripture, reason, and testimonies from ecclesiastical history in defense of the so-called Lombardian formula: Christ died for all people sufficiently; efficaciously for the elect alone.
John Davenant’s
On the Death of Christ
, a classic of English Reformed thought on the atonement, is now available in a new translation by Dr. Michael Lynch–the first in modern English. This book also features two shorter letters which Davenant wrote on this topic to both the French Reformed churches and to Herman Hildebrand.
Publication Details
- Publisher: Davenant Press
- ISBN: 978-1-949716-26-9
- Author: John Davenant
Endorsements
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“Bishop John Davenant was one of the best moderate Calvinist divines of Stuart Anglicanism. His Dissertation on the Death of Christ is a classic. Yet it is not widely known today. For this reason, Dr. Michael Lynch is to be congratulated for preparing this new edition of the work for the Press, alongside some related writings that help throw light on the intellectual context in which Davenant laboured. I hope this volume receives the attention that it justly deserves.”
— Professor Oliver Crisp, Principal of St Mary’s College, Head of the School of Divinity, University of St Andrews
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“This new translation by Michael Lynch of the classic work of John Davenant on the death of Christ is much to be welcomed. By way of four precise theses, scripturally supported and carefully argued, Davenant offers a way of navigating both the universal and the particular dimensions of the atonement that is both judicious and insightful. Lynch has done the contemporary reader a great service, providing a crisp and clear translation that will give them much to ponder as they consider this central doctrine of the Christian faith.”
— Paul T. NimMO, King’s Chair of Systematic Theology, University of Aberdeen
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“John Davenant’s classic treatise on the extent of the atonement has long lingered in a twilight zone of semi-availability for most readers: a dated translation in archaic type face, appended to a two-volume commentary. Only the most motivated students would ever finish this reading, no matter how crucial it may prove to be for their theological interests. Lynch offers us now an edition that sets a clean, smooth translation in the midst of clear references and helps. An essential tool for pondering the atonement as Christ’s universal remedy for fallen human nature, while recognizing the ordained limits of its application”
— Fred Sanders, Torrey Honors College, Biola University
