Preadamites

Preadamites is the name of a Christian sect which was originated in the 17th century by Isaac La Peyrère (q.v.) upon the publication of two small treatises of his in 1655, the chief object of which was to show that Moses had not recorded the origin of the human race, but only of the Jewish nation; and that other nations of men inhabited our world long before Adam. His views were espoused by many people, especially at Groningen and other places in Holland. At Brussels, however, he was seized as a heretic, and only escaped punishment by renouncing the Reformed opinions and embracing the Roman Catholic faith; and at the same time he, of course, also retracted his Preadamite views. SEE PREADAMITE.