Thomas Erastus

Thomas Erastus
by Tobias Stimmer, 1582
Born7 September 1524
Baden (in present-day Aargau)
Died31 December 1583(1583-12-31) (aged 59)
NationalitySwiss
Alma materUniversity of Basel
University of Bologna
University of Padua
Known forOpposition to Paracelsus
Erastianism (unity between the church and state)
Scientific career
FieldsMedicine, theology
InstitutionsUniversity of Heidelberg
Academic advisorsLuca Ghini[1]
Notable studentsPetrus Ryff

Thomas Erastus (original surname Lüber, Lieber, or Liebler;[2] 7 September 1524 – 31 December 1583) was a Swiss physician and Calvinist theologian. He wrote 100 theses (later reduced to 75) in which he argued that the sins committed by Christians should be punished by the State, and that the Church should not withhold sacraments as a form of punishment. They were published in 1589, after his death, with the title Explicatio gravissimae quaestionis. His name was later applied to Erastianism.[2]

  1. ^ Charles Gunnoe, Thomas Erastus and the Palatinate: A Renaissance Physician in the Second Reformation, Brill, 2010 p. 41.
  2. ^ a b "Thomas Erastus | Swiss physician and theologian". Retrieved 2016-07-18.