Neumann, Caspar (1648-1715)
Caspar Neumann was a Catholic divine and the son of a tax collector in Breslau, Germany. He studied theology at the University of Jena, became court chaplain in Altenburg and professor of theology in two Gymnasiums in Breslau. As a convinced Catholic he wrote several books on the Bible, the Catholic Church, and also a compendium of religions in his Trutina Religionum. In it he discussed all the religions he knew, including the branches of the Christian faith. A special chapter, "Pantheon Fanaticum," treats the Anabaptists. The sources he cited show that he wrote in the customary vein of church polemics.
Neumann put the Mennonites into a group with Müntzer and Münster. Nevertheless he attributed gentler teachings to them, remarking that it was difficult to learn their teaching. He was apparently not acquainted with a Mennonite confession of faith. In an alphabetical list of famous Anabaptists he named Blaurock, Rink, Manz, and Menno, and also Jan Matthys and Müntzer. As an expression of his age the book is of interest, but it offers nothing new to Anabaptist literature.
Bibliography
Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. Mennonitisches Lexikon, 4 vols. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe: Schneider, 1913-1967: v. III, 213.
Neumann, C. Trutina Religionum quae hodie sunt, ubi s'mgularum Aetas Fontes Dogmata. Leipzig, 1731.
Author(s) | Horst Quiring |
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Date Published | 1957 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Quiring, Horst. "Neumann, Caspar (1648-1715)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1957. Web. 15 Aug 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Neumann,_Caspar_(1648-1715)&oldid=144382.
APA style
Quiring, Horst. (1957). Neumann, Caspar (1648-1715). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 15 August 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Neumann,_Caspar_(1648-1715)&oldid=144382.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 853. All rights reserved.
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