I recently read an article by James B. Torrance titled “The Incarnation and ‘Limited Atonement'” [Evangelical Quarterly 55 (1983): 83-94]. Torrance takes a position against the doctrine of ‘limited atonement’ as he understands it. While I remain finally unpersuaded concerning his arguments against limited atonement, there was still a lot of good stuff in his article. Here are my two main take-aways: (1) He has an excellent discussion about the consequences of starting with the doctrine of the incarnation vs. the doctrine of election, and the divergent implications this starting point has for how we construct our doctrine of God. (2) Regarding historical theology there is a fascinating sketch of the emerging of “so-called ‘federal Calvinism’ or Covenant Theology which was to develop in England, Scotland, and Holland” (see pgs. 88-93).