Finding certainty in an age of uncertainty

Abstract

Among scholars it has long been a matter of debate how to account for the relationship between Cartesianism and Cocceianism; these being, respectively, a seventeenth- and eighteenth-century philosophical and theological movement. Whereas some scholars have argued that the relationship between both movements remained merely external, being prompted by the political and religious context in which both first emerged, others have argued that they nevertheless had some characteristics in common that predisposed them form a more intimate bond. This thesis aims to go beyond this dichotomy. In the first place, it is shown that the second half of the seventeenth century was a challenging period for Reformed theology. Due to the rise of the new philosophy and science on the one hand, and the emergence of the philosophical radicalism of thinkers like Spinoza and Meyer on the other, it was widely felt that the intellectual and Scriptural foundations of Reformed theology were being undermined. Subsequently, it is argued that this ‘Crisis of the Reformed mind’ prompted a number of Cocceian theologians to turn their interest towards Cartesian philosophy, and, in fact, integrate elements from this philosophy into their works on natural theology. Doing so, theologians like Herman Röell, Salomon van Til and Ruardus Andala hoped to rationally uphold the basic elements of religion, whilst also proving both the necessity of supernatural revelation, and the divinity of Scripture - thus offering a counterweight against the crisis they were experiencing.