Herwaardering van Grotius’ De satisfactione

Abstract

Grotius refuted Socinus’ attack on the Reformed theory of satisfaction in his De satisfaction, which contains a translation of the doctrine of satisfaction into a legal framework, but it was not understood by everyone. On its surface and within the broader context of De satisfactione, Grotius’ statements about punishment demanded by the common good and the relaxatio of the law, have been misinterpreted to say that Grotius deviated from the orthodox theory of satisfaction. A close analysis of De satisfactione, however, shows that Grotius is closely aligned with Reformed doctrine of satisfaction. As an Arminian Grotius only deviates from the later formulated Canons of Dort about the extent of the atonement.