Hermann Witsius (Herman Wits or in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

Hermannus Witsius; 12 February 1636 – 22 October 1708, aged 72) was a Dutch

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

Life

He was born at

Enkhuizen Enkhuizen () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and the region of West-Frisia. History Enkhuizen, like Hoorn and Amsterdam, was one of the harbour-towns of the VOC, from where overseas trade ...

. He studied at the

University of Groningen The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; , abbreviated as RUG) is a Public university#Continental Europe, public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen (city), Groningen, Netherlands. Founded in 1614, th ...

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

, and

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

. He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

in the ministry, becoming the

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

Westwoud Westwoud is a village in the Netherlands. It is located in the region of West Friesland in North Holland, about 4 kilometers northeast of Hoorn. The town is part of the municipality of Drechterland and has a population of 1,785. Westwoud re ...

in 1656 and afterwards at

Wormer Wormer is a town in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Wormerland, and lies about 13 km northwest of Amsterdam. The town is situated in the Zaan district, on the eastern side of the river Zaan, across ...

Goes The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES), operated by the United States' National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service division, supports weather fo ...

, and

Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; ; ; ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 127,073 (2023). It is the provincial capital and seat of the Provin ...

. He became professor of divinity successively at the

University of Franeker The University of Franeker (1585–1811) was a university in Franeker, Friesland, the Netherlands. It was the second-oldest university of the Netherlands, founded shortly after Leiden University. History Also known as ''Academia Franekerensis'' ...

in 1675 and at the

University of Utrecht Utrecht University (UU; , formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2023, it had an enrollment of 39,769 students, a ...

in 1680. Witsius became Chancellor of the University of Utrecht in 1686. In 1698 he was appointed to the

University of Leiden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange as a Protestant institution, it holds the distinction of being the oldest university in the Neth ...

as the successor of the younger

Friedrich Spanheim Friedrich Spanheim the Elder (January 1, 1600, Amberg – May 14, 1649, Leiden) was a Calvinistic theology professor at the University of Leiden. Life He entered in 1614 the University of Heidelberg where he studied philology and philosop ...

. He died in

on 22 October 1708.

Views

While in his theology Witsius aimed at a reconciliation between the reigning orthodoxy and

Covenant Theology Covenant theology (also known as covenantalism, federal theology, or federalism) is a biblical theology, a conceptual overview and interpretive framework for understanding the overall structure of the Bible. It is often distinguished from dis ...

(also known as federalism), he was first of all a Biblical theologian, his principal field being

systematic theology Systematic theology, or systematics, is a discipline of Christian theology that formulates an orderly, rational, and coherent account of the doctrines of the Christian faith. It addresses issues such as what the Bible teaches about certain topics ...

. His chief work is entitled ''The Economy of the Covenants between God and Man'' (originally published in

: ''De oeconomia foederum Dei cum hominibus'', Leeuwarden, 1677). He was induced to publish this work by his grief at the controversies between Voetians and Cocceians. Although himself a member of the federalistic school, he was in no way blind to the value of the scholastically established dogmatic system of the Church. In the end, he did not succeed in pleasing either party.

Works

* (originally published as ). * . Besides his principal work he published: * . * . * . * * , 2 vols. * * . * . * . Of his minor works, there have appeared in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

*''A Treatise on Christian Faith'' (London, 1761); *''An Essay on the Use and Abuse of Reason in Matters of Religion,'' Trans. John Carter, Norwich, 1795 (New Edition, CrossReach Publications, 2016) *''On the Character of a True Theologian'' (Edinburgh, 1877); and * . * ; Translation of *Sacred Dissertations: On what is Commonly Called the Apostles' Creed (Volume 1) (1823) **https://archive.org/details/sacreddissertat02witsgoog **https://archive.org/details/sacreddissertat00witsgoog *Sacred Dissertations: On what is Commonly Called the Apostles' Creed (Volume 2) (1823) **https://archive.org/details/sacreddissertat01witsgoog **https://archive.org/details/sacreddissertat03witsgoog
Conciliatory or irenical animadversions on the controversies agitated in Britain : under the unhappy names of antinomians and neonomians
(1807) * . *

References

* *

External links

* . * . * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Witsius, Hermann 1636 births 1708 deaths Dutch Calvinist and Reformed theologians 17th-century Dutch Calvinist and Reformed ministers People from Enkhuizen University of Groningen alumni Leiden University alumni Utrecht University alumni Academic staff of the University of Franeker Academic staff of Leiden University Academic staff of Utrecht University 17th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians