This is a fascinating book that greatly enlightens some of the major polemical battles that troubled the post-Reformation Church of England. At the heart of Collier's study is an analysis of how divergent views on the doctrine of perseverance—largely influenced by divergent readings of Augustine—played a pivotal role in English doctrinal formulation and the battle for the established church's identity.

Central to Collier's thesis is his identification of a minority Reformed position on the doctrine of perseverance (henceforth, “minority view”), which, stated simply, affirmed the possibility that some nonelect people, despite ultimately not persevering in it, may nevertheless be regenerate and possess justifying faith—in other words, that not all believers, but only the elect, would ultimately persevere. This view was contested against the majority Reformed position, which held regenerate and justified believers to be synonymous with the elect, and accordingly affirmed the final perseverance of all true believers. Collier stresses that the minority view was not formulated on semi-Pelagian grounds, but within a Reformed framework that affirmed unconditional election. Furthermore, its proponents consistently appealed to Augustine.

Collier traces advocates of this minority view and exhibits how they featured in key doctrinal debates in the post-Reformation Church of England. In chapter 2 he considers how debates on perseverance influenced the Lambeth Articles (1595). He contends that scholars have so focused on the apparent semi-Pelagian views of Baro and Barrett that they have overlooked the fact that there were also key differences on perseverance among the Reformed—informed by different readings of Augustine—which decisively shaped the Lambeth Articles. Collier argues convincingly that the final phrasing of the Lambeth Articles was formulated in such a conciliatory way as to recognize the minority Reformed view on perseverance, espoused by such prominent churchmen as Hutton, Saravia, and Overall, all of whom affirmed unconditional election and effectual calling. There was, therefore, a broadness to the English Reformed tradition that allowed for this minority view on perseverance. This broadness would, however, be dealt a blow at the Synod of Dort (1618–19). Collier demonstrates in chapter 3 how the British delegates to Dort, with instructions from King James, attempted to be as conciliatory as possible within Reformed parameters, and strove, in recognition of the minority view espoused by some of their brethren, to secure some concessions for the minority view in the drafting of the Synod's canons. Despite their best efforts, however, the majority Reformed view was codified in the canons, and the minority view rejected as error.

Chapter 4 shows how Dort's exclusion of the minority view as a legitimate Reformed option caused trouble in England, as traditionalist proponents of the minority view felt alienated from the Continental Reformed and campaigned against the Dort-sanctioned majority view. One of Collier's most striking claims—and most likely to be contested—is that Richard Montagu, commonly seen as “the face of English Arminianism,” was, upon closer inspection, actually an advocate of this minority Reformed view. Instead of seeing the controversy surrounding Montagu as pitting Arminians against the Reformed, Collier contends that it should rather be regarded as a continuation of this intra-Reformed English debate on perseverance in which divergent readings of Augustine were pivotal. Continuing the focus on Montagu, chapter 5 considers how the contested views on perseverance tied in with debates on the Church of England's position on the nature and efficacy of infant baptism. Chapter 6 offers a further investigation on how mid-seventeenth-century Puritans were divided on the perseverance question, with different readings of Augustine again at the center.

Collier's major contribution is his more nuanced depiction of the English theological landscape than simply pitting Calvinists against Arminians, and his convincing demonstration that the minority report on perseverance among the English Reformed—an enlightening discovery in itself—played such a key role at crucial points in English post-Reformation theological development that future scholars cannot ignore it. He also highlights the problematic use of the term “Augustinian,” given the variety of ways that Augustine was employed on different sides of the debates. Collier's engagement with the primary sources is acute and his overall thesis compelling. In sum, this book will be a must read for anyone with an interest in the development of post-Reformation English theology.