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Examined Doctrine

John Duns Scotus on Extent of the atonement

C. 1266 – 1308 · SCHOLASTIC
STANDARD SCHOLARLY ACCOUNTAFFIRMS°
STANCE

Sufficient for all, efficient for the elect

THE POSITION

Sufficient for all, efficient for the elect — the common medieval formula. His distinctive move is about the ground rather than the extent: against Anselm he denies that satisfaction was strictly necessary or that Christ's merit has infinite intrinsic worth, holding instead that its value rests on God's free acceptance of it.

WHY THERE IS NO QUOTATIONNo quotations. Scotus died in 1308 and the Latin is public domain, but the usable English translations are modern and in copyright, so these positions are paraphrased from standard scholarly accounts rather than reproduced.

3 OTHERS HOLD THIS

AquinasCalvinCharles Haddon Spurgeon
Definite — for the elect, effectuallyVODDIE BAUCHAM · JONATHAN EDWARDS · SECOND LONDON BAPTIST CONFESSION · JOHN MACARTHUR · JOHN OWEN · JOHN PIPER · R.C. SPROUL · WESTMINSTER CONFESSION · GEORGE WHITEFIELD
Universal — for all, applied on faithJACOBUS ARMINIUS · ATHANASIUS · CHRYSOSTOM · CHARLES GRANDISON FINNEY · BILLY GRAHAM · LUTHER · PHILIP MELANCHTHON · WESLEY
Never framed in these termsAUGUSTINE · JOSH HOWERTON · NICAEA I · ZWINGLI
See all 29 figures on extent of the atonement →

ABOUT THIS FIGURE

Franciscan, the Subtle Doctor. Argued for the univocity of being and for a will free in its own right rather than moved by the intellect's judgment — the point where the Franciscan schools part from Aquinas.

READ ACROSS 18 LOCI, NONE QUOTED
Everything John Duns Scotus holds →
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"John Duns Scotus on Extent of the atonement", Examined Doctrine, July 2026 edition, https://examineddoctrine.com/position/scotus/atonement-extent (archived at https://examineddoctrine.com/editions/2026-07/position/scotus/atonement-extent).

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