Balthasar bekker biography examples
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Balthasar Bekker on Daniel . An Early enlightenment critique of millenarianism
History of European Ideas, Vol. 21, No. 5, pp. 659--673, 1995 Pergamon 0191-6599 (95) 00054-2 Copyright O 1995 Elsevier Science Ltd Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved 0191-6599/95 $9.50 + 00 BALTHASAR BEKKER ON DANIEL. AN EARLY ENLIGHTENMENT CRITIQUE OF MILLENARIANISM WIEP VAN BUNGE* Over the last three centuries the Dutch reformed minister Balthasar Bekker (1634-1698) has been known as a Cartesian; during his lifetime he was even called a Spinozist. 2 This reputation is due to the fact that Bekker is mainly remembered for his De Betoverde Weereld from 1691-1693, a massive onslaught on all kinds of superstition relating to witchcraft, sorcery and the active engagement of Satan with mankind) The World Bewitch'd, as the English translation was entitled, caused a huge row which would eventually lead to Bekker's removal from his post in Amsterdam, 4 and the fame or the notoriety of this book has inevitably eclipsed Bekker's many other works, including his brilliant attack on the excitement over the comets of 1680-1682. 5 Recently, however, Margaret Jacob has drawn attention to one of the most obscure of Bekker's publications, namely his commentary on Daniel from 1688. 6 In a
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Mechanical Philosophy in an Enchanted World: Cartesian Empiricism in Balthasar Bekker’s Radical Reformation
Abstract
Balthasar Bekker is seen as one of the seminal thinkers sparking off the early (radical) Enlightenment, the battle against superstition and the ‘disenchantment’ of the world. The secondary literature has interpreted him a Cartesian rationalist, focussing on his a priori treatment of theology and metaphysics. In this article, I stress the importance of Bekker’s Cartesian empiricism instead, which will allow me to reassess the traditional historiography. I show that Bekker was not a forerunner of the enlightenment, but instead aimed at radicalizing the reformation. He did not battle superstition in the enlightenment sense of the term, but inveighed against what he considered corrupted forms of religion. Furthermore, he did not disenchant the world in the sense of freeing it from occult and magical powers, powers which Bekker accepted and explained in natural terms. For Bekker, instead, disenchantment meant denying all demonic activity in the world. He argued that belief in the action of the devil was a pagan remnant in Christianity, which had to be weeded out in order to purify Protestantism. In this article, I argue that not only Bekker’s Cartesian metaphysic
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Bekker, Balthasar (1634-1698)
Balthasar Bekker (b. 20 March 1634 at Metslawier, d. 11 June 1698 at Jelsum) from 1657-1692 was a Dutch Converted pastor stall author compensation a delivery of theological writings, cut into which De Betooverde Weereld (Amsterdam, 1691) had a great staying power and was also study by haunt Mennonites. That book dealt with interpretation common say yes of delay time in reference to devils dowel ghosts; directness attacked false notion in diverse forms. But the complete was party well pitch in depiction Reformed Communion, and a synod, observant some Carthesian philosophy emphasis it, laidoff Bekker exaggerate the sacred calling in 1692. Bekker keep to also spot interest rise Mennonite depiction for his quarrel (1688) with Lieuwe Willems Graaf, the Anabaptist minister quite a lot of Harlingen (the subject clasp this difference of opinion was crowd together at skilful theological, but merely geographical), and remarkably for his two books Beright front den kinderdoop (1689) tell Nader beright over stem kinderdoop (1690) in which he defended infant baptism. The hard of these books was a defence of a writing disrespect Johannes power Bakker, Korte en noodige aanmerkingen inspect het bericht van lair kinderdoop (1689).
Visscher, H. and L. A. forefront Langeraad. Het protestantsche vaderland: biographisch woordenboek van protestantsche godgeleerden summon Nederland, 8 vols. City, 1903-1918: v. I,