Cartesianism and reformed scholastic theology: a comparative study of the controversy between Christoph Wittich and Petrus van Mastricht

["Dissertation (M.A. (Philosophy))--University of the Free State, 2013","Religious disputations","Protestant Scholasticism","Cartesian linguistics","Reformed Church -- Doctrines"]

Schlebusch, Jan Adriaan ; ["Rossouw, J. H.","Zietsman, J. C.","Goudriaan, A."]

University of the Free State

Others  :  http://scholar.ufs.ac.za/xmlui/bitstream/11660/885/1/SchlebuschJA.pdf

瑞士|英语

来源: University of Iowa

【 摘 要 】

English: The significance of the dispute between the two 17th century DutchReformed Scholastics, Christoph Wittich and Petrus van Mastricht, withinthe theological and philosophical context of Post-Reformation ProtestantScholastic Theology can scarcely be overestimated. The issue of theauthority of Scripture, itself the epistemological standard upon which theReformation was built, is at the very core of the dispute. From thehistorical context of their dispute as well as the philosophicalpresuppositions with which they approach the issue at hand, one canglean the differing philosophical lines of thought present in the exegeticalapproaches of the two respective authors. An epistemological battleregarding the foundation and nature of true knowledge is at the heart ofthis dispute. Cartesianism gained increasing popularity in 17th centuryDutch academic circles, and René Descartes's Accommodation Theory, i.e.his attempt to reconcile his epistemological methodology of liberationfrom deception via hyperbolic doubt with Divine Revelation, plays acentral role in Wittich's dealings with Scripture. Wittich's acceptance ofthis element of Cartesian epistemology should be seen in light of hisdesire to reconcile Copernican physics with the revelation of the HolyScripture. Van Mastricht on the other hand, responds with an attempt toprove that the application of the Accommodation Theory in the field ofBiblical exegesis, particularly with regard to passages where moral andpractical matters are adressed, is heresy, since he regards Wittich'sapproach is fundamentally rooted in the presupposition that humanreason is not fallen and enslaved to sin as Reformed Theology hashistorically taught, and that this forms the premises from which Wittichunderstands its ability to function perfectly well without the need of beingredeemed and sanctified first. The net effect of these differingphilosophical and theological presuppositions is that the authors'respective interpretations of the same Biblical texts radically differ, as what Wittich constantly sees as the Holy Spirit's accommodation ofabsolute truths to the beliefs of the original audience to whom the booksof the canon were adressed, is viewed by Van Mastricht as the mererendering of absolute truths by the Holy Spirit within the particularhistorical and social context in which they were written. Therefore VanMastricht views Wittich's application of Cartesianism to the exegesis ofScripture via the Accommodation Theory to be at odds with the historicCalvinist doctrine of Divine Accommodation in special revelation. VanMastricht defends Scripture's absolute authority in the midst of potentialskepticism caused by an incorporation of Cartesianism into ReformedTheology.