David Spruyt, a physician, married to Janneke Bartels, was a preacher of the Lamist congregation at Amsterdam, Holland, in 1648-79. He was a man of liberal opinions, wholeheatedly embracing Collegiant views, and a fervent adherent of his co-preacher Galenus Abrahamsz. Though he could not measure up to Galenus either in firmness of faith or in intelligence, it was Spruyt who by his perfectionism (the doctrine that man can completely fulfill the commands of God) initiated the Lammerenkrijgh, which in 1664 divided the church into the more progressive Lamists and the conservative Zonists. His brother Willem Spruyt became a deacon of the same congregation in 1662.

Bibliography

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 606. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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