 thumb|tractatus theologico-politicus written by the dutch philosopher baruch spinoza, the tractatus theologico-politicus or theologico-political treatise was one of the most controversial texts of the early modern period. it was a preemptive defense of spinoza's later work, ethics, published posthumously in 1677, for which he anticipated harsh criticism. ==historical context==  ==publication history== the treatise was published anonymously in 1670 by jan rieuwertsz in amsterdam. in order to protect the author and publisher from political retribution, the title page identified the city of publication as hamburg and the publisher as henricus kunraht. it was written in new latin rather than the vernacular dutch in an attempt to avoid censorship by the secular dutch authorities. == philosophical influences == the two most significant philosophical influences on the political-theological treatise were moses maimonides and thomas hobbes. while the view of each thinker runs throughout the text, maimonides heavily influenced spinoza's approach to religion, and the political philosophy of the final chapters of the text was heavily influenced by hobbes. == treatment of religion == in the treatise, spinoza put forth his most systematic critique of judaism, and all organized religion in general. spinoza argued that theology and philosophy must be kept separate, particularly in the reading of scripture. whereas the goal of theology is obedience, philosophy aims at understanding rational truth. scripture does not teach philosophy and thus cannot be made to conform with it, otherwise the meaning of scripture will be distorted. conversely, if reason is made subservient to scripture, then, spinoza argues, "the prejudices of a common people of long ago... will gain a hold on his understanding and darken it." he reinterpreted the belief that there were such things as prophecy, miracles, or supernatural occurrences.(see spinoza's views on miracles) he argued that god acts solely by the laws of "his own nature". he rejected the view that god had a particular end game or purpose to advance in the course of events; to spinoza, those who believed so were only creating a delusion for themselves out of fear. == scriptural interpretation == spinoza was not only the real father of modern metaphysics and moral and political philosophy, but also of the so-called higher criticism of the bible. he was particularly attuned to the idea of interpretation; he felt that all organized religion was simply the institutionalized defense of particular interpretations. he rejected in its entirety the view that moses composed the first five books of the bible, called the pentateuch by christians or torah by
1670_books Anonymous_works Books_critical_of_religion Criticism_of_Judaism Philosophy_of_religion_literature Political_philosophy_literature Separation_of_church_and_state Works_by_Baruch_Spinoza