Gerhard Herman Johannes Wilhelm Jacobus Geesink (27 May 1854 – 23 January 1929), known as G. H. J. W. J. Geesink, or Willem Geesink, was a Dutch theologian. He served as professor at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam from 1890 to 1926, and was rector magnificus four times.
Geesink was by training a church historian, but taught philosophy, ethics, elenctics, and New Testament exegesis as well. Arie van Deursen notes that "as a philosopher he was simply in over his head," and wrote mainly in the field of theological ethics. Hans Schaeffer summarises his thought as follows:
The sovereign God created a moral world-order, which He imposes on the spiritual as well as on the natural world. For the spiritual world – which is the moral one – God's ordinances are his commandments.
References
- "Gerhard Herman Johannes Wilhelm Jacobus Geesink". Biografisch Portaal. Huygens Institute for the History of the Netherlands. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
- ^ van Deursen, Arie (2008). The Distinctive Character of the Free University in Amsterdam, 1880-2005: A Commemorative History. Eerdmans. p. 49. ISBN 9780802862518. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
- Schaeffer, Hans (2012). Createdness and Ethics: The Doctrine of Creation and Theological Ethics in the Theology of Colin E. Gunton and Oswald Bayer. De Gruyter. p. 17. ISBN 9783110916874. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
| Academic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded byJan Woltjer | Rector Magnificus of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam 1896-1897 1901-1902 1908-1909 1918-1919 |
Succeeded byFrederik Lodewijk Rutgers |
| Preceded byJan Woltjer | Succeeded byHerman Huber Kuyper | |
| Preceded byJan Woltjer | Succeeded byHerman Huber Kuyper | |
| Preceded byFrederik Willem Grosheide | Succeeded byHerman Huber Kuyper | |