De Achttiende Eeuw 30 (1998) 2
Jan Wim Buisman
'Balthasar Bekker, the theory of accommodation and Dutch protestant
theologians, 1750-1800'.
The Frisian protestant
minister Balthasar Bekker (1634-1698) is primarily known as author of
De betoverde Weereld (The World Bewitched) 1691-1693.
Nevertheless, his long-term influence is not based on his demonology
as such, but on his exegetical method. More frequently than many other
theologians of his day, Bekker applied the theory of accommodation,
especially on demonology.
In 1996, the philosopher Michiel Wielema concluded that Bekker's influence
in Dutch calvinist circles during the first half of the eighteenth century
must have been rather slight. Wielema's conclusions, I found, hold good
for the second half of the eighteenth century as well, at least when
Bekker's direct theological impact is concerned. Paradoxically, his
indirect influence grew steadily during the age of Enlightenment. Especially
after 1750 the theory of accommodation became rather popular in certain
theological circles, and in the wake of it the nitty-gritty of Bekkerian
exegesis gained ground, too. According to the enlightened interpretation,
the possessed people occurring in the New Testament simply have to be
considered psychically or physically ill. Particularly in Dutch learned
societies this kind of exegesis and the underlying accommodation-theory
were discussed explicitly.
Furthermore, it is significant that even in (relatively) orthodox circles
Bekker was gradually hold in somewhat higher esteem. Thoroughly enlightened
spirits (like Paulus van Hemert and others) however, preferred to engage
the debate with more radical thinkers like the German Neologians. In
their minds the essence of Bekker's thoughts was internalized to such
a degree that they did not feel the need to refer to him explicitly
at all. Perhaps they were yet only slightly aware of their theological
indebtedness to Bekker. But even so, it remains one of the best examples
of Bekker's lasting indirect influence that it was just the Neologian
J. S. Semler who edited the German translation of Bekker's disputed
book.
omhoog
Wiep van Bunge
'Quelle extravagance': Balthasar Bekker in Germany and France
In this paper
the French and German reception of Balthasar Bekker's De betoverde
Weereld (1691-1693) are analysed. In Germany in particular Die
bezauberte Welt (1693) provoked many furious reactions. This seems
to have been due to the absence of any sceptical tradition as regards
the supernatural and to the fact that in Germany belief in witchcraft
remained strong throughout the eighteenth century. Finally, Bekker's
'modernity' is assessed.
omhoog
Jacob van Sluis
Balthasar Bekker in 1683: Comets, Travelling and the Early Enlightenment
The present essay
analyses two texts from 1683 as part of a biographical sketch of Balthasar
Bekker (1634-1698), minister of the Reformed Church in Amsterdam. The
first text is Bekker's Ondersoek van de betekeninge der kometen
('Investigation in the meaning of comets'), written after the appearance
of a few comets, followed by panic and the raise of superstition within
his congregation. He is quite sceptical about various contemporary philosophical
and scientific explanations for the appearance of comets. Since, according
to the Holy Scripture, comets are not omens given by God, neither as
warnings nor as exhortations to repentance. A comparison with Pierre
Bayle's Pensées diverses sur la comètes, a book
on the same issue published in the same year 1683, shows that Bekker
wrote his book in his capacity as minister, in order to eliminate superstition
and to strengthen the true belief in the real God.
The second text is the diary of the journey Bekker made in the summer
of 1683. Accompanied by three friends Bekker travelled in a two-month-trip
to England and France. The recently published diary shows that this
was a holiday-trip. However, the text also shows that Bekker could be
as critical of the things he saw and persons he met while on holiday
as he was of superstition and of common prejudices about comets. Both
in the daily practice as a minister and in his role as traveller his
attitude reflects the ideas of the Early Enlightenment.
omhoog
Edwina Hagen
Anti-Catholicism, National consciousness and the Dutch spectatorial
weeklies in the second half of the eighteenth century.
On the basis of
spectatorial weeklies published between 1750 and 1800, about fifty in
total, this article examines the development of Dutch anti-Catholicism
under the influence of nascent representations of the nation-state.
As elsewhere, modern Dutch nationalism spread successfully because of
the emergence of a periodical press. The spectatorial weeklies contributed
to the creation of a national 'communication society' in which a new
image developed of an enlightened Dutch society, an 'imagined community'
in the phrase of Benedict Anderson. In literature they are characterised
as typical representers of the Dutch Christian Enlightenment who in
religious matters followed a moderate course. Nevertheless, their interdenominational
views did not stop them from making antipapist remarks and comments.
Not that they attacked Catholics in an extreme or radical way. Their
anti-Catholicism could be described as a natural part of their religious
attitude which largely manifested itself only in the form of metaphorical
expressions, cliches and casual remarks.
In the spectatorials the battle against superstition was an important
one. Superstition was regarded as something that undermined the religious
moral of the citizens. Roman Catholicism served as the ultimate example
of superstition. Most spectatorial journalists argued that popish superstition
belonged to the past but it is perhaps significant that they did not
actively state that it no longer existed. A small number of them cited
popish superstition as a valid reason for the political exclusion of
Catholics, while others merely implied that such superstitious practices
were the domain of other countries, not those of enlightened Dutch.
Within the spectatorial articles examples of popish superstitious excrescences
nearly only appeared within the context of underlining the importance
of reason in religion. A second frequently appearing counterimage was
the inquisition represented as the opposite of what Protestants regarded
as their most important achievements, freedom of press, thought and
of investigation. A third counterimage was monasticism. Even though
there were hardly any monasteries in the country, monks were depicted
as exactly what virtuous individual citizens were not supposed to be:
lazy, economically unproductive and hedonistic.
In conclusion, the spectatorial picture of Catholicism is highly stereotypical.
It offered a negative mirror image which reflected the specific nature
of what the spectatorial authors believed was the core of their own
religion: Reason. With that, the spectatorial portrayal of Catholicism
does not say so much about the 'Catholic other' but much more about
the spectatorial definition of Dutch national self-esteem and of religion.
Finally, the analysis of the Dutch spectatorials threw new light on
the current opinion that anti-Catholicism was just a traditional phenomenon
that only played a role within the pursuit of for the unity of the nation.
The spectatorials illustrated that under the influence of the rise of
the nation-state, the age-old religious prejudices of anti-Catholicism,
adopted other, more modern forms.
omhoog
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