AMYRAUT AFFIRMED
or 'Owenism, a caricature of Calvinism'
By Alan C. Clifford. Charenton Reformed Publishing
64 pages. ISBN 0 9526716 7 0
Alan Clifford is a man with a mission, to champion the theologian Moise Amyraut (1596-1664) as the 'authentic expression' of the theology of John Calvin against the many who say that Calvin's theological descent passes through the likes of John Owen and the Westminster Confession of Faith. Not so, says Dr. Clifford, that is 'Owenism', not 'Calvinism'. A dispute over the family silver, you might say.
Amyraut held that Christ intended his death for all without exception (were they to believe), hence the phrase 'hypothetical universalism' sometimes used to describe the position. Nevertheless, God the Father eternally decreed the salvation of the elect, and the Spirit effectively applies Christ's victory to them. Clifford claims that Amyraut alone does justice to the universal scope of the gospel to be found in Calvin's thought.
