Teylers Eerste Genootschap

Teylers Eerste Genootschap (English: Teyler's First Society), also known as the Godgeleerd Genootschap (Theological Society) is one of the societies founded within the Teylers Stichting as a result of the will of the Dutch 18th-century merchant Pieter Teyler van der Hulst. History The society was founded in 1778, and the first five members were appointed through Teylers testament: two remonstrant preachers and three mennonite preachers. As stipulated, there had to be six members, and the sixth member was selected by the first five, and was the mennonite Frederik Scheltinga. The society had also a sister society, Teylers Tweede Genootschap - which focused on art and science but is organized in a similar way. The main activity of the society is to discuss theological issues, and annually announce contests with a relative high prize compared to similar contests by other societies (400 guilders for the 1778 edition). The prizes were awarded by the members of the society and the directors of the foundation jointly. 1805 competition: Jacob Haafner Because of the different religious backgrounds of the directors compared to the society members, conflicts over the outcome were not unheard of. This became especially visible in 1805, when Jacob Haafner submitted an essay on the question "What did the mission bring us so far, and what can be expected" which answered it in a negative sense - much more liberal than the directors would allow, while the jury members were deeply impressed. It took them two years to work out the differences, and the piece would only be published in 1807.