Between Reason and Revelation: Petrus van Mastricht’s Critique of the Cartesian Doctrine of the Trinity

This paper examines Petrus van Mastricht's critique of the Cartesian doctrine of the Trinity in his Novitatum cartesianarum gangraena (1677). Mastricht opposed two types of Cartesian approaches to the Trinity. One was by Nicolaus Smiterus, who claimed that the Trinity could be proven rationally. The other was by Christoph Wittich, who argued that the doctrine could not be discussed rationally. Mastricht rejected both positions as benefiting anti-Trinitarian heretics such as the Socinians. Instead, Mastricht took a middle course between Smiterus and Wittich, arguing that while the Trinity could not be proven rationally, its credibility could be enhanced by rational argument.