Adriaen Pietersz. Verwer was born in Rotterdam in about 1655, the son of Pieter Adriaensz. Verwer. In 1680 he moved to Amsterdam, where he soon became involved in the intellectual life of the city. In 1682 he came into contact with the works and the followers of Baruch Spinoza, whose ideas he did not share. He refuted them in his book 't Mom-Aensicht Der Atheistery Afgerukt, "The mask of atheism torn off", published in 1683. His Inleiding tot de Christelyke Gods-geleertheid, "Introduction to Christian theology", published in 1698, examines the relationship between scientific method and theology, and lays out his belief that religious differences could be resolved by a scientific approach.
