Pagans and Theologians: An Examination of the Use of Christian Sources in Niels Hemmingsen’s "De Lege Naturae"

At the conclusion of his De lege naturae apodictica methodus, a treatise on the law of nature, how it is grasped by the human mind, and how it coheres with the Decalogue, Niels Hemmingsen claims to have eschewed the use of theological sources in his argument, claiming instead to have demonstrated ‘h...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Perichoresis
Main Author: Hutchinson, Eric J. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Sciendo, De Gruyter 2022
In: Perichoresis
Year: 2022, Volume: 20, Issue: 2, Pages: 63-73
IxTheo Classification:KAG Church history 1500-1648; Reformation; humanism; Renaissance
KDD Protestant Church
NAB Fundamental theology
NCA Ethics
Further subjects:B Niels Hemmingsen
B Lutheranism
B Natural Law
B Melanchthon
B Aristotelianism
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei)
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Summary:At the conclusion of his De lege naturae apodictica methodus, a treatise on the law of nature, how it is grasped by the human mind, and how it coheres with the Decalogue, Niels Hemmingsen claims to have eschewed the use of theological sources in his argument, claiming instead to have demonstrated ‘how far reason is able to progress without the prophetic and apostolic word’. Yet the reader of the treatise will notice several citations of theologians alongside those of pagan poets and philosophers. This essay demonstrates that there is less here than meets the eye, that is, that Hemmingsen quotes theologians only to buttress what one can know from natural reason or the classical tradition, even when he is discussing God, and thus he does not violate his own stated principle.
ISSN:2284-7308
Contains:Enthalten in: Perichoresis
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.2478/perc-2022-0010