Seiler, Friedrich (1642-1708)

Friedrich Seiler (1642-1708), a Reformed pastor in Basel, author of Wiedertäuffer-Geheimnusse (Basel, 1680). The book is listed in the Calvary catalog, Verzeichnis seltener und wertvoller Bücher (Berlin, 1870, 59), with the title Anabaptista larvatus, das ist Verstellter Wieder-Täuffer. Entdeckt beydes In einem historischen Entwurfj aller uns bekandter Wieder-Täufferen Vrsprungs. Wie auch Einer dogmatischen Widerlegung aller derselben Irrthumen, seltzamer Meynungen, vnd hin vnd wieder erweckter Unruhen (Basel, 1680) (copy in Mennonite Historical Library, Goshen, Indiana). The first part, 182 pp. plus 22 pp. of preface and introduction and 25 pp. of contents, indices, etc., contains an "Anabaptist History" in 12 chapters, of which the last five chapters treat of the Swiss Anabaptists, including those of Zürich, Bern, Basel, and Schaffhausen-St. Gall, based largely upon secondary sources, especially Bullinger and Ottius. A complete three-page list of sources used is given. The second part, the "Dogmatic Part," devoted to a description and refutation of the Anabaptist "errors," occupies 510 pp., plus 30 pp. of contents and indices. The topics covered are: God and the Trinity, Creation of Man, Preservation and Government of all Things, Adam's Fall, Original Sin, Free Will, Redemption, Election, Scripture, Saving Faith, Justification, Incarnation, The Church, Ministers, The Ban or Church Discipline, Baptism, Communion, State, Oath, and Future Life. Much more time is spent on the exposition and defense of the author's position as a Reformed theologian than on a statement of the Anabaptist position. And although the author freely used the Franckenthal and Emden debate protocols, he drew the Quakers, Schwenckfelders, Weigelians, and other radicals into the orbit of his discussion alongside the Anabaptists and Mennonites.

Author(s)	Harold S Bender
Date Published	1959

Cite This Article

MLA style

Bender, Harold S. "Seiler, Friedrich (1642-1708)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959. Web. 16 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Seiler,_Friedrich_(1642-1708)&oldid=60907.

APA style

Bender, Harold S. (1959). Seiler, Friedrich (1642-1708). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 16 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Seiler,_Friedrich_(1642-1708)&oldid=60907.

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Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, pp. 497-498. All rights reserved.

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