Jean-François Baltus


Jean-François Baltus was a French Jesuit theologian.

Life

Balthus was born at Metz and entered the Society of Jesus on 21 November 1682. He taught humanities at Dijon; rhetoric at Pont-à-Mousson; and Scripture, Hebrew, and theology at Strasburg, where he was also rector of the university. In 1717, he was general censor of books at Rome, and later rector of Chalon, Dijon, Metz, Pont-à-Mousson, and Châlons. He died at Reims.

Works

He left several works of Christian apologetics. Réponse à l'historie des oracles de M. de Fontenelle, was a critical treatise on the oracles of paganism, on which Fontenelle had written in Histoire des oracles. It was in refutation of Antonius van Dale's theory and in defense of the Fathers of the Church. He followed it in 1708 by Suite de la réponse à l'historie des oracles. According to Jonathan Israel:
Others were:
To these may be added a funeral oration on the Most Rev. Peter Creagh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, "The Acts of St, Balaam, Martyr", and the "Life of St. Frebonia, Virgin and Martyr".