Two Dissertations · §413 · John Davenant

Cap. V Obj. 3 Sol: preconsidered as to-be-faithful for reception, not as already faithful for destinating

So whoever will receive eternal life was preconsidered by God as about to be faithful — antecedent to receiving eternal life — but not foreseen as already existing faithful — antecedent to destinating eternal life. Likeness: a man of good estate sees a wretched needy infant and at once decrees to adopt him and gift an excellent inheritance, yet not to enter it before puberty and cultivation in letters and manners. Truly that inheritance was destinated to him considered unlearned, uncultivated, an infant; yet the same inheritance was gifted to him considered cultivated, learned, of age — from the adopter's destinating purpose.

Latin

Quicunque igitur vitam aeternam accepturus est, a Deo fuit praeconsideratus ut fidelis futurus, idque antecedenter ad acceptionem vitae aeternae: sed non fuit praevisus ut fidelis existens, idque antecedenter ad destinationem vitae aeternae. Hoc simili rem explicemus: Si quis in re bene lauta, conspecto misero et inope infante, statim apud animum suum decernat illum adoptare et optima haereditate donare, ita tamen ut non adeat hanc haereditatem priusquam ad annos pubertatis pervenerit, ac bonis literis et moribus excultus fuerit; vere dicamus hanc haereditatem tali personae consideratae ut indoctae, ut incultae, ut infanti, fuisse destinatam; at eadem haereditas tali personae consideratae ut excultae, ut doctae, ut puberi, fuit donata, idque ex destinato proposito adoptantis.

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John Davenant argues from Scripture that Christ's death is a remedy offered to every person, so that anyone who hears the Gospel may be called to believe, and then opens a second dissertation on predestination.

John Davenant (1572–1641) was Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity at Cambridge, bishop of Salisbury from 1621, and England's leading delegate to the Synod of Dort. A Reformed theologian of the moderate school, he defended universal atonement language within a Calvinist frame.

The Two Dissertations (1650) press two theses: that Christ died sufficiently for all, and that God sincerely calls all who hear the gospel — against the novel claim that Christ died only for the elect in every sense. They are Davenant's mature statement of the hypothetical-universalist position that divided English Calvinists.

This volume covers the opening of the first dissertation through the close of chapter 3, with the theses on the extent of Christ's death.

Date1572–1641 AD (Bishop of Salisbury; 1650 Cambridge imprint)

The 1683 reprint was not used as base text. No modern English was copied.

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