Guest guest Posted October 12, 2005 Report Share Posted October 12, 2005 Hello Chittaranjan, You have referred to Spinoza as a member of the Church. He was in fact a Jew of Portugese origin. His excommunication was from the synagogue of Amsterdam because they feared his radical ideas would bring the negative attention of the Reformed Church (Protestant). The Jewish position in the United Provinces was precarious of course. In some respects his silencing was prudential rather than strictly doctrinal because he was offered prior to that a purse of 1500 florins to hold his peace and not rock the boat. However though Spinoza parted company with his Jewish brethern he still kept to the tradition. Earning your crust by manual labour is a rabbinacal practice which is why he took to the craft of lens polishing. He also worked on a Hebrew Grammer and a translation of the Bible into Dutch. Best Regards, Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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