569:
consistory and government of Zwolle, and proclaimed from the pulpits of the city's largest three churches on the first Sunday of
November. Again, this failed to placate his critics. The States and Synods outside of Overijssel continued to pressure Zwolle to condemn and ban Leenhof's 'Spinozistic' last three books, which the States of Holland imposed in their own province on 18 December 1706. During a meeting of the States General on 29 December 1706, the other provinces urged Overijssel to impose a similar ban on the books, but the delegates of Overijssel responded that 'this would only provide further encouragement to read them', and stressed their province's autonomy in the matter. In 1708, the Synod of Overijssel called for Leenhof to be fired and excommunicated from the Reformed Church, lest his views led his congregation and others astray, and discussed tighter controls against 'licentious books' in general. The call of censorship of radical writings was echoed by religious and sometimes secular authorities in other provinces as well, although the
574:
deadlock in the States of
Overijssel was resolved in March 1709, when the majority ruled against the wish of Zwolle that Leenhof had to sign additional Articles of Satisfaction drafted by the synod to utterly repudiate Spinozism. At a synod and States' commissioners' meeting in Deventer in June 1709, Leenhof defiantly denied having ever taught Spinozism, but only orthodoxy, and that he could not retract more than he had already done, and not recant his last three books. After this, Leenhof's books were banned in Overijssel, but the Zwolle magistrate refused to strip him from his pastoral position. In December 1710, they finally requested him to resign, which Leenhof did. However, he remained a popular figure within Zwolle, receiving both salary and
49:
467:. Writings suggest the controversial book was a hot topic amongst common people, remarking that only few had not heard about it. Although a handful of laymen warmly welcomed it, the entire theological, ecclesiastical and political establishment condemned it, and not one of his former Cocceian colleagues defended him. However, an unknown Spinozist by the mysterious pseudonym of "E. D. M." wrote a scathing critique of Leenhof's detractors, titled
493:
471:("Rhetorical Remarks"). It alleges many of the attacks on Leenhof's work are nothing more than attempts to compare it to anything Spinoza wrote and condemn it for that reason, whilst showing even declared anti-Spinozists have adopted some of his ideas. Leenhof's greatest critic, Taco Hajo van den Honert, accused both him and his publisher Barend Hakvoord (also
376:) thought, although he always denied being an adherent of the then hugely controversial Spinoza. In fact, the book did not 'refer explicitly to any forbidden philosopher or doctrine', but the unorthodox way in which he presented his ideas, one after the other, almost devoid of any Christian context, caused uproar amongst his readers.
419:
means by 'heaven' and 'hell' are not places or locations, but states of mind. The former is attained when one acquires knowledge of God, which results in a state of stable, enduring happiness. 'Hell' is the feeling when a person does not have adequate knowledge of God, and is therefore unhappy; it is
513:, which he acknowledged were the true path to Salvation, and formally declared that 'I reject whatever is harmful, directly or indirectly, to our teaching in the writings of Spinoza or others'. The consistory backed Leenhof, but the regional classis did not and called for his suspension. Here the
517:
of Zwolle intervened that nobody from outside the city could decide who could or could not preach what without even having consulted the magistrate, resulting in a great conflict between secular and religious authorities. In May, it reached the provincial level, with Synod of
Overijssel claiming
573:
feared this would strengthen the Church's power at their disadvantage. Sanctions against Zwolle were imposed by several provincial synods in 1708, including that of North
Holland and Guelders that no preacher from Zwolle could participate in any church gathering in their regions. Finally, the
568:
Meanwhile, the Zwolle consistory drafted, with
Leenhof's help, the ten Articles of Satisfaction, published in August 1704, clarifying that his thought differed from Spinozism, that is to be utterly condemned for its incongruity with Christianity. The Articles were ratified unanimously by the
578:
and retaining his preacher's seat in church. His still favoured position led to continued debates and harsh words around the country against the consistory and magistrate of Zwolle. Eventually, a majority in the consistory of Zwolle voted to excommunicate
Leenhof in 1712.
389:
Noble truth fails to triumph in the world and ignorance and superstition prevail. Everywhere one encounters false ideas, such as that comets are portents of pending doom, that there are ghosts and demons, and that gold can be obtained through alchemy.
475:
at St. Michael's Church in Zwolle) of having written it, which they denied. During the ongoing controversy about his book, Leenhof often defended himself in writing against numerous accusations concerning his book (the most notable being
503:
On 20 March 1704, Leenhof took the initiative to convene the Zwolle church council to ask his colleagues' support, and declared that nothing he had written contradicted the teachings of the dominant
336:
are to be abolished, lest they be used to oppress the king's subjects; instead, the state should train its citizens and form a militia to be able to defend the common good. Leenhof also opined that
281:
would violate God's perfect nature. Also, a pure spirit could not logically create substance, therefore God must be one with or present in the physical world, claimed
Leenhof, rejecting
267:. When pressed, he admitted having written them, so by 1681 Leenhof must have already been familiar with Spinoza's thought, and accepted important core concepts of it. His 1684 work
239:
in 1681. During his first period of writing from 1673 until 1684, he fervently chose the side of the
Cartesio-Cocceians against Voetian fundamentalism. He accused his opponents of
463:
for quite some time, whilst both
Voetians and Cocceians demanded Leenhof to retract it, because it did not refer to God as the saviour, to the Christian faith or
1088:
697:
587:
Although discharged honourably from his pastoral position in 1710, and excommunicated disgracefully in 1712, Leenhof's ideas spread far and wide.
288:
Whilst studying his religion and exploring modern ethics during his second period of writing (1700–04), Leenhof came into contact with the early
1093:
1068:
1063:
639:, "The Preacher of the Wise and Mighty King Solomon: Explained Briefly and Informatively, and Applied to Our Times and Ethics.").
448:
those opinions without taboo, which will allow the common people to emancipate and enlighten themselves from their ignorance.
263:'s views on substance and creation, was published after Wittich's death in 1687 without Leenhof's permission under the name
637:
De
Prediker van den wijzen en magtigen Konink Salomon: Kort en leerzamelijk verklaart, en op onze tijden en zeden toegepast
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436:, is a precondition for peace of mind and joy. To achieve this, authorities need to implement a policy of
282:
1073:
881:
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and Leenhof's later defences, arguing the denial of the true religion would also undermine the State.
305:
1003:
748:
274:
In his correspondence with Wittich, Leenhof argues that the universe must always have existed; a
650:
Den hemel op aarden; of een korte en klaare beschrijvinge van de waare en stantvastige blydschap
608:
522:
was full of the "soul-destroying ideas in the writings of the damned atheist Spinoza" that the
504:
1021:
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542:, whose synods all condemned Leenhof's work as basically a refurbishment of Spinoza. Then
8:
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424:, but mental suffering that they should try to avoid. The eradication of false ideas and
252:
72:
652:, "Heaven on Earth; or a Short and Clear Description of True and Steadfast Happiness").
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531:
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208:
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on Earth, by judging the world according to "God's order" (=nature), expressed in the
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provides legitimacy, and true sovereignty is the common good of the community. Royal
271:("Chain of Biblical Theology") was later found to contain typically Spinozist views.
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Biographisch woordenboek van protestantsche godgeleerden in Nederland. Deel 3
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Radical Enlightenment. Philosophy and the Making of Modernity 1650–1750
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Radical Enlightenment. Philosophy and the Making of Modernity 1650–1750
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stood by the burgomasters of Zwolle. Next, the controversy spread to
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373:
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had previously forbidden because of their "godlessness", whilst the
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was translated in many languages and spread all across Europe, via
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of other people's (non)religious and philosophical views, and the
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994:(2001). "Leenhof and the 'Universal Philosophical Religion'".
739:(2001). "Leenhof and the 'Universal Philosophical Religion'".
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429:
416:
459:
His book was hotly debated by the Zwolle government and the
223:
during the Voetian–Cocceian dispute. He served as pastor in
296:
around 1650. Amongst other things, he tried to formulate a
421:
352:(1632–77), Leenhof eventually came to reject belief in a
312:("Preacher"). Politically, it advocates the rejection of
179:, who caused an international controversy because of his
451:
247:, denying the claim 'that out of Descartes' school come
499:(1703), that stirred up religious debate across Europe.
487:
251:
and libertines'. However, a letter correspondence with
187:(1703). This controversy is extensively discussed in
698:
Huygens Institute for the History of the Netherlands
403:
Leenhof opined that every human being could realise
372:in June 1703, is written completely in Spinozist (
324:instead. Hereditary succession is worthless; only
1045:
259:shortly before 1681), in which Leenhof defended
659:, "Heaven on Earth Clarified", better known as
550:head of state of the Dutch Republic during the
880:Jan Pieter de Bie & Jacob Loosjes (1931).
379:
53:Portrait from 1709. Engraving by P. van Gunst.
582:
415:. He claimed on linguistic grounds that what
1089:People excommunicated by Protestant churches
838:
836:
561:
164:(1 September 1647 – 13 October 1715) was a
718:Joris van Eijnatten & Fred van Lieburg
628:("Chain of Biblical Theology"), 2 volumes.
343:
340:, and knowable through the use of reason.
316:("without doubt the most imperfect ") and
47:
850:
848:
480:, "Heaven on Earth Clarified", or simply
368:, published simultaneously in Zwolle and
1022:"Biographical data Frederik van Leenhof"
833:
776:"Biographical data Frederik van Leenhof"
491:
198:
1046:
990:
845:
735:
420:not a physical, divine punishment for
235:(1680–81), before finally settling in
1002:. Oxford University Press. pp.
770:
768:
747:. Oxford University Press. pp.
648:("Heaven on Earth". Original title:
488:Secular versus religious authorities
1030:National Library of the Netherlands
784:National Library of the Netherlands
546:, Grand Pensionary of Holland (the
304:system of ethics, with no role for
13:
626:Keten der Bybelsche Godgeleerdheit
269:Keten der Bybelsche Godgeleerdheit
14:
1105:
765:
694:Biografisch portaal van Nederland
1094:People from Middelburg, Zeeland
1069:18th-century Dutch philosophers
1064:17th-century Dutch philosophers
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954:
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726:(2006), p. 214. Second Edition.
723:Nederlandse Religiegeschiedenis
824:
815:
806:
797:
729:
711:
682:
446:freedom to express and discuss
1:
984:
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635:("Preacher". Original title:
552:Second Stadtholderless Period
322:republican form of government
7:
538:(in August) and especially
10:
1110:
1079:Enlightenment philosophers
657:Hemel op Aarde Opgehelderd
583:Outside of the Netherlands
478:Hemel op Aarde Opgehelderd
292:, which originated in the
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469:Redenkundige Aanmerkingen
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139:
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83:
58:
46:
39:
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563:Articles of Satisfaction
395:– Frederik van Leenhof,
554:), called for a ban on
356:, which was considered
344:The Leenhof controversy
690:"Frederik van Leenhof"
500:
392:
1026:Poortmans repertorium
780:Poortmans repertorium
505:Dutch Reformed Church
495:
484:or "Clarification").
455:attacked and defended
387:
255:(briefly his host in
193:Radical Enlightenment
859:Triptiek van de Tijd
528:States of Overijssel
461:States of Overijssel
428:, such as belief in
338:morals are universal
199:Education and career
162:Frederik van Leenhof
41:Frederik van Leenhof
861:(2010), p. 244–245.
663:or "Clarification".
320:, and argues for a
308:, in his 1700 work
306:Christian salvation
253:Christopher Wittich
501:
438:freedom of thought
348:In agreement with
209:Utrecht University
1074:Dutch republicans
882:"Barend Hakvoord"
670:, "Short Answer".
544:Anthonie Heinsius
510:Confessio Belgica
411:, and by reading
364:. Leenhof's book
217:Leiden University
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409:laws of nature
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231:(1672–78) and
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1033:. Retrieved
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942:Israel, 419.
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902:
890:. Retrieved
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875:
870:Israel, 412.
866:
858:
855:Harry Jansen
842:Israel, 411.
830:Israel, 410.
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817:
808:
799:
787:. Retrieved
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701:. Retrieved
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89:(1715-10-13)
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1059:1715 deaths
1054:1647 births
661:Opheldering
624:1678–1682:
482:Opheldering
362:Christendom
334:mercenaries
318:aristocracy
227:(1670–71),
173:philosopher
130:Cocceianism
114:philosopher
99:Netherlands
77:Netherlands
28:van Leenhof
1084:Pantheists
1048:Categories
985:Literature
677:References
597:Baltic Sea
595:along the
576:sacraments
465:revelation
442:toleration
413:the gospel
229:Nieuwvliet
175:active in
73:Middelburg
65:1647-09-01
20:Dutch name
473:precentor
417:Scripture
374:pantheist
370:Amsterdam
302:Epicurean
278:ex nihilo
276:creation
245:straw men
225:Abbeville
215:, and at
181:Spinozist
134:Spinozism
1035:11 March
789:11 March
703:11 March
633:Prediker
613:Portugal
571:regenten
548:de facto
536:Guelders
314:monarchy
310:Prediker
249:atheists
221:Cocceius
205:theology
150:theology
18:In this
593:Germany
540:Holland
430:witches
283:dualism
213:Voetius
32:Leenhof
24:surname
1010:
1006:–436.
892:20 May
888:. DBNL
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751:–436.
666:1704:
655:1704:
642:1703:
631:1700:
532:Frisia
507:, the
434:ghosts
405:heaven
358:heresy
326:reason
257:Leiden
237:Zwolle
233:Velsen
219:under
211:under
177:Zwolle
169:pastor
146:Ethics
125:School
110:Pastor
95:Zwolle
30:, not
22:, the
619:Works
609:Spain
605:Italy
298:Stoic
183:work
166:Dutch
1037:2016
1008:ISBN
894:2016
791:2016
753:ISBN
705:2016
611:and
300:and
243:and
171:and
84:Died
59:Born
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332:of
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