author
William Ames
1576–1633
A fiery English Puritan thinker, he became one of the best-known Reformed theologians of his age while spending much of his career in the Netherlands. His books on theology, conscience, and Christian living stayed influential long after his death.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Educated at Christ's College, Cambridge, William Ames was an English Puritan minister, philosopher, and controversial writer whose strong Calvinist convictions shaped both his preaching and his scholarship. Pressure for his nonconformist views pushed him out of England, and much of his later life unfolded in the Netherlands.
Ames is especially remembered for his role in the debates between Calvinists and Arminians and for his connection to the Synod of Dort. He later served as professor of theology at the University of Franeker, where he built a reputation as a careful and forceful teacher.
His writings reached far beyond his own lifetime. Works such as The Marrow of Theology and his books on conscience and ethics made him a major influence in Reformed and Puritan circles, including readers in Britain and early New England.