William Ames

Born in Ipswich in 1576, William Ames was educated at Christ's College, Cambridge, where he came under the influence of the Puritan theologian William Perkins. He became known as a forceful preacher and scholar, but his nonconformist views brought him into conflict with church authorities.

Much of his later career unfolded in the Netherlands. There he taught theology, took part in the major Calvinist-Arminian controversies of the period, and built a reputation as one of the most important English-speaking Reformed divines of his generation. He died in Rotterdam on November 14, 1633.

Ames is especially remembered for works on theology and Christian ethics, including The Marrow of Theology and Conscience with the Power and Cases Thereof. His writing is practical as well as scholarly, which helps explain why it remained influential long after his lifetime.