Foreign Wisdom: Ethnological Knowledge in the Work of Franciscus Ridderus

Abstract

This article examines the reception of ethnologic knowledge in the work of Franciscus Ridderus resulting from Dutch expansion. Against the backdrop of the concepts of ‘domestication’ and ‘foreignization’, it highlights the difficult position of the theologian at a time of cultural transformation during which he endeavours, on the one hand, to make non-European knowledge accessible to his contemporaries whilst, on the other hand, warning against the dangers of using this knowledge carelessly. The technique of ‘foreignization’ of Christianity and ‘domestication’ of other religions, in particular Islam, will be examined in this context.