Simon Oomius or ''Ooms'' (1 March 1630 – 25 November 1706) was a Dutch reformed minister and theologian. He played an important role in the ''

Nadere Reformatie ''Nadere Reformatie'' (Dutch Second Reformation or Further Reformation) is the period of church history in the Netherlands, following the Reformation, from roughly 1600 until 1750. History The period and its representatives are known for thei ...

''. He was born on 1 March 1630 in the village of Heenvliet, on the island of

Voorne-Putten Voorne-Putten is an island between the North Sea, the Brielse Meer and the rivers Oude Maas, Spui and Haringvliet in the province of South Holland. Voorne-Putten consists of the two former islands Voorne (the larger, western part) and Put ...

. He was the youngest of the twenty-one children of Cornelis Oomius, a preacher in Heenvliet and a native of

Turnhout Turnhout () is a Belgian municipality and city located in the Flemish province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises only the city of Turnhout proper. In 2021, Turnhout had a total population of 45,874. The total area is . The agglomeration, how ...

. He studied theology and philosophy, as well as oriental languages, in

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Nethe ...

and

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

, and then started his ministry in

Purmerland Purmerland () is a village of 395 (January 2007) in the municipality of Landsmeer, North Holland, the Netherlands. It is located just north of Den Ilp and just south of the housing estate of Weidevenne, part of the city of Purmerend. It is direct ...

in 1654. In 1674 he obtained is doctorate degree in Hardewijk. He was one of the most prolific authors of his day, publishing a total of 41 works between 1650 and 1707. For Oomius, a theology beginning and ending with speculation was useless, while the ultimate end of theology ought to be ''praxis''. Thus, according to Oomius, "the object of theology subsumes the realms of this life," which he divided in four: domestic, moral, political or civil, and legal. His dogmatic magnum opus was ''Instutiones theologiae practicae''. Among his other works is the first earnest Dutch-language research on Islam.

References

1630 births 1706 deaths Dutch theologians 17th-century Dutch Calvinist and Reformed ministers People from Turnhout People from Voorne-Putten {{Netherlands-reli-bio-stub