Journal: Westminster Theological Journal
Volume: WTJ 75:1 (Spring 2013)
Article: The Understanding Of Gisbertus Voetius And Rene Descartes On The Relationship Of Faith And Reason, And Theology And Philosophy
Author: B. Hoon Woo

WTJ 75:1 (Spring 2013) p. 45

The Understanding Of Gisbertus Voetius And Rene Descartes On The Relationship Of Faith And Reason, And Theology And Philosophy

B. Hoon Woo

B. Hoon Woo is a Ph.D. student in systematic theology at Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Mich.

I. Introduction

In their studies of the 1640s debate between Gisbertus Voetius (1589–1676) and Rene Descartes (1596–1650), most modern scholars contend that Voetius was an Aristotelian theologian.1 Ernst Bizer, who was one of the

WTJ 75:1 (Spring 2013) p. 46

early proponents of this view, argues that what Voetius actually defended was “Aristotelianism and the validity of the traditional proof of God, but not the biblical concept of God.”2 Bizer is convinced that Voetius defended “not just faith, but the whole traditional system of theology” (i.e., Aristotelianism), and that for Voetius, Christian faith and Aristotelianism were “manifestly one and the same thing.”3 In a similar vein, Richard Popkin binds Schoock and Voetius under the name of Aristotelian.4 Paul Hoffman argues that the Aristotelian faculty of the University of Utrecht was led by Voetius.5 Among French scholars, Cornelia Serrurier and Henri Gouhier also observe the debate of Voetius and Descartes from the perspective of the conflict between Aristotelian philosophy and the New Philosophy.6 Theo Verbeek and J. A. van Ruler, who have closely studied the debate, drive a wedge into this view. Verbeek maintains that Voetius was a rationalist, and that his Aristotelianism “allowed him to settle theological problems without having to consider the relation between faith and reason or to define the role of reason in interpreting the Bible.”7 Verbeek comments on Voetius’s Aristotelianism, “Voetius is not surprised that everything theology needs happens to be found in Aristotle.”8 Verbeek’s former student, van Ruler, albeit tempering the strength of this opinion, basically sides with him. Van Ruler argues that “Voetius holds that the Aristotelian philosophy is more in accordance with Holy Writ than are the philosophies of those who criticize Aristotle.”9

This article, however, will show that the above scholars’ assessment of Voetius is not quite right. Voetius was one of the strong ad...