Daniel Whitby

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Daniel Whitby (1638–1726) was an English theologian. An Arminian minister in the Church of England, Whitby was known for being strongly anti-Calvinistic and later gave evidence of strong Arian and Unitarian tendencies. In 1710 he had written his Discourse on the Five Points [of Calvinism] which eventually drew Calvinist responses from English Baptist John Gill in his The Cause of God and Truth (1735) and American Congregationalist Jonathan Edwards in his Freedom of the Will (1754).

Whitby is considered by many to be the one who systemetized postmillennialism although seeds of this millennialist belief were sown long before with persons such as Augustine. Although Whitby may have been an Arminian minister, postmillennialism is now commonly associated with Calvinist and Covenantal churches, specifically Reconstructionist churches.[1]