Jan Hendrik Scholten

Jan Hendrik Scholten (born Johannes Heinrich Scholten, 17 August 1811, Vleuten – 10 April 1885, Leiden), Dutch Protestant theologian, was born at Vleuten near Utrecht.^[1]

Jan Hendrik Scholten

Biography

After studying at Utrecht University, he was appointed professor of theology in 1840 at Franeker.^[2] From Franeker in 1843 he went to Leiden as professor extraordinarius, and in 1845 was promoted to the rank of ordinarius. Through Scholten, Abraham Kuenen became interested in theology; Scholten was not then the radical theologian he became later. The two scholars in course of time created a movement resembling that of the Tübingen School in Germany.^[3] From his theology there "began to rise a different type of spirit, the spirit of absolute antisupernaturalism of the German idealistic kind."^[2]

Pursuing first the study of dogmatic theology and the philosophy of religion, Scholten published a work on the Principles of the Theology of the Reformed Church (2 vols, 1848–1850, 4th ed. 1861–1862). He then gave special attention to the New Testament, and wrote A Critical Study of the Gospel of John (1864, in German 1867).^[4]

Scholten's other works include:

• Historical and Critical Introduction to the New Testament (1853–1856)
• The Oldest Witnesses to the Writings of the New Testament (1866)
• The Oldest Gospel (1868)
• The Pauline Gospel (1870)
• A Comparative View of Religions

An account of his theological development is given in Afscheidsrede bij het Neerleggen van het Hoogleeraarsambt (1881), and in the biography written by A Kuenen, Levensbericht van J. Henricus Scholten (1885).^[4]

He became member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1856.^[5]