Balthasar Bekker - Wikipedia Balthasar Bekker From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search Balthasar Bekker by J. Hilarides (1691) Balthasar Bekker (20 March 1634 – 11 June 1698) was a Dutch minister and author of philosophical and theological works. Opposing superstition, he was a key figure in the end of the witchcraft persecutions in early modern Europe. His best known work is De Betoverde Weereld (1691), or The World Bewitched (1695). Contents 1 Life 2 Works 3 Later life 4 Selected publications 5 Notes 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External links Life[edit] Bekker was born in Metslawier (Dongeradeel) as the son of a German pastor from Bielefeld. He was educated at Groningen, under Jacob Alting, and at Franeker. Becoming the rector of the local Latin school, he was appointed to his satisfaction in 1657 as a pastor in Oosterlittens (Littenseradiel), and started as one of the first to preach on Sunday afternoon. From 1679 he worked in Amsterdam, after being driven from Friesland. In 1683 he travelled to England and France. In two months time Bekker visited London, Cambridge, Oxford, Paris and Leuven, with a great interest in the art of fortification.[1] Works[edit] An enthusiastic disciple of Descartes, he wrote several works on philosophy and theology, which by their freedom of thought aroused considerable hostility.[2] In his book De Philosophia Cartesiana Bekker argued that theology and philosophy each had their separate terrain and that Nature can no more be explained through Scripture than can theological truth be deduced from Nature.[3] Cover of De betoverde weereld His apllication of Cartesian metaphysics and reproach of Biblical literalism put him at odds with the Dutch Reformed Church.[4] His best known work was De Betoverde Weereld (1691), or The World Bewitched (1695), in which he examined critically the phenomena generally ascribed to spiritual agency. He attacked the belief in sorcery and "possession" by the devil. Indeed, he questioned the devil's very existence.[2] He applied the doctrine of accommodation to account for the biblical passages traditionally cited on the issue.[5] The book had a sensational effect and was one of the key works of the Early Enlightenment in Europe. It was almost certainly the most controversial.[6] The publication of the book led to Bekker's deposition from the ministry. The orthodox among Dutch theologians saw his views as placing him among notorious atheists: Thomas Hobbes, Adriaan Koerbagh, Lodewijk Meyer and Baruch Spinoza. Eric Walten came to his defence, attacking his opponents in extreme terms.[7] Bekker was tried for blasphemy, maligning the public Church, and spreading atheistic ideas about Scripture. Some towns banned the book, but Amsterdam and the States of Holland never did, continuing his salary, without formally stripping him of his post.[8] The World Bewitched is now considered interesting as an early study in comparative religion.[2][9] Later life[edit] In July 1698 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London.[10] He died in Amsterdam[2] Selected publications[edit] De philosophia Cartesiana admonitio candida & sincera. Bekker, Balth. / Vesaliae / 1668 The world bewitch'd; or, An examination of the common opinions concerning spirits: their nature, power, administration, and operations. As also, the effects men are able to produce by their communication. Divided into IV parts; Bekker, Balthasar / Translated from a French copy, approved of and subscribed by the author's own hand / printed for R. Baldwin in Warwick-lane / 1695 Notes[edit] ^ Bekker, Balthasar (1998) Beschrijving van de reis door de Verenigde Nederlanden, Engeland en Frankrijk in het jaar 1683. Fryske Akademy. ^ a b c d Chisholm 1911, p. 661. ^ Israel 1995, p. 895. ^ Fallen Angels: Balthasar Bekker, Spirit Belief, and Confessionalism in the Seventeenth Century Dutch Republic, Andrew C. Fix, 1999. ^ Wiep van Bunge et al. (editors), The Dictionary of Seventeenth and Eighteenth-Century Dutch Philosophers (2003), Thoemmes Press (two volumes), article Bekker, Balthasar, p. 74–7. ^ Israel 1995, p. 925. ^ Wiep van Bunge et al. (editors), The Dictionary of Seventeenth and Eighteenth-Century Dutch Philosophers (2003), Thoemmes Press (two volumes), article Walten, Eric, p. 1065–8. ^ Israel 1995, p. 930. ^ Nooijen, Annemarie (2009) "Unserm grossen Bekker ein Denkmal?" Balthasar Bekkers 'Betoverde Weereld' in den deutschen Landen zwischen Orthodoxie und Aufklärung ^ "Library and Archive Catalogue". Royal Society. Retrieved 12 December 2010. References[edit] Israel, Jonathan I. (1995), The Dutch Republic. Its Rise, Greatness, and Fall, 1477–1806 Attribution  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain:  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911), "Bekker, Balthasar", Encyclopædia Britannica, 3 (11th ed.), Cambridge University Press, p. 661 Further reading[edit] Evenhuis, R. B. (1971), Ook dat was Amsterdam, deel III. De kerk der hervorming in de tweede helft van de zeventiende eeuw: nabloei en inzinking (in Dutch), pp. 258–305 External links[edit] Ten portraits of Balthasar Bekker Voltaire, The Works of Voltaire, Vol. III (Philosophical Dictionary Part 1) [1764] chapter on Bekker Authority control BNE: XX5040292 BNF: cb130108120 (data) BPN: 04807432 GND: 119016915 ISNI: 0000 0001 1470 5253 LCCN: n85196197 NKC: ola2008459768 NLI: 000017425 NTA: 068191960 PLWABN: 9810661441905606 SELIBR: 210066 SNAC: w6w99nkw SUDOC: 033800618 VcBA: 495/233571 VIAF: 34592037 WorldCat Identities: lccn-n85196197 Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Balthasar_Bekker&oldid=998553404" Categories: 1634 births 1698 deaths 17th-century Dutch Calvinist and Reformed ministers 17th-century Dutch philosophers Age of Enlightenment Christian philosophers Critics of witch hunting Demonologists Dutch Calvinist and Reformed theologians Early Modern philosophers Enlightenment philosophers Fellows of the Royal Society Philosophers of mind People from Dongeradeel Rationalists René Descartes University of Groningen alumni University of Franeker alumni Hidden categories: EngvarB from July 2017 Use dmy dates from July 2017 Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica CS1 Dutch-language sources (nl) Wikipedia articles with BNE identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Wikipedia articles with BPN identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with NKC identifiers Wikipedia articles with NLI identifiers Wikipedia articles with NTA identifiers Wikipedia articles with PLWABN identifiers Wikipedia articles with SELIBR identifiers Wikipedia articles with SNAC-ID identifiers Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers Wikipedia articles with VcBA identifiers Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers Navigation menu Personal tools Not logged in Talk Contributions Create account Log in Namespaces Article Talk Variants Views Read Edit View history More Search Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Donate Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Tools What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Page information Cite this page Wikidata item Print/export Download as PDF Printable version In other projects Wikimedia Commons Languages Dansk Deutsch Español Français Frysk Íslenska مصرى Nederlands Polski Русский Svenska Українська Edit links This page was last edited on 5 January 2021, at 22:38 (UTC). 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