Reception of the Doctrine of
Justification among German Lutheran Pietists
By Eric Swensson
Introduction
This paper investigates how German Lutheran Pietists
received Martin Luther's teaching
on justification and why they believed the reformation of a doctrine should
lead to the reformation of life.[1] It examines Johann
Arndt's True Christianity, Philipp Jakob Spener's Pia Desideria, and two brief works of August Hermann
Francke, Scriptural and Basic
Introduction to True Christianity and On Christian Perfection, all of
which are representative of their understanding of justification and were
widely used by the churchly Pietists.[2] The
term 'reception' in the title alludes to the thesis and methodology of this
paper. The thesis is that the keen interest of the Pietists in the work of the
Holy Spirit in Luther and in the ordo salutis in the Confessions resulted in an
understanding that just as a correct understanding of justification was vital
to the Reformation of the Church, a correct understanding of how rebirth
was related to justification was of vital interest because the Reformation
was incomplete until it led to the reformation of life in its members. The
growth and friction that Lutherans experienced under the leadership of Spener
and Francke was a direct result of this emphasis on reformed lives through
rebirth.
Lutheran Pietists warned against opus operatum, so while they practiced infant
baptism and believed in baptismal regeneration, they thought virtually all
adults would have lost this through rebellion, therefore they needed conversion
and regeneration. Based on Martin Luther's Preface to Romans, the Pietists
taught that through 'true faith,' the Holy Spirit effects change in us; hence,
our eternal security is in being 'reborn from God.'[3] The implementation of Pietist emphases[4] gave birth to a movement; hence, the appropriate
methodology is to give investigation of praxis priority over theology. Therefore,
attention is given to what they did. An examination of the Pietist critique of
the Lutheranism of their day, urging a more biblical faith, rejecting opus operatum, and the necessity of being born again,
raises questions today concerning possible applications for their theology,
especially their pneumatology.
Could it be that one of the reasons the Evangelical Lutheran Church is in decline is that it preaches the need for grace but
fails to proclaim that the Holy Spirit gives power to transform? Is there
something distinctive and valid in Lutheran Pietism about the relationship
between a justifying faith and the works that the Spirit accomplishes in the
lives of the believer, and was this, as they believed, a completion of the Reformation
commenced under Martin Luther?
Methodology
This paper proceeds in three phases. First, it examines the
faith that inspired the reform and eventual renewal of a church enabling it to
aid revivals when they broke out in an unexpected manner. It does so by tracing
the development of the Pietist emphases from Arndt, to Spener, to Francke, a
theological study of their writings, that is, what they said, and, a historical
look at what happened under their influence, what they did. The main body of
the second section on practice is devoted to two case studies, the University of Halle under Francke, and the Silesian Revival and how it was
aided by the Halle Pietists. The third section is devoted to an analysis of the
research from a contemporary Lutheran perspective in the categories of
regeneration, Word and Spirit, Faith and Works, Eschatology and Ecclesiology
and Trinitarian Theology.
The Pietist Movement
The practice of Pietism is experiential, idealistic,
biblical, and oppositional.[5] Churchly
Pietism practiced what it preached, for example, it taught a good deal about
prayer, centered its praxis in devotional groups, collegia
pietatis, taught about and prayed in the "hope for better days,"[6] but they also worked to help bring it in. Pietism
emphasized the role of prayer for an experiential relationship with God, and
its spread can be traced as a movement of prayer. Besides the streams in Holy
Scripture, Pietists drank from many "mystical" brooks, including
Catholic, Lutheran, and Reformed spiritual authors. Spener-Francke Pietism was
an ecumenical movement which led to the creation or strengthening of
organizations which still exist. Pietism was always in tension with the
establishment yet creating bridges between like-minded believers in different
traditions under different rulers whether they be princes or bishops. As piety
is itself an emphasis on the participation of the person's whole life with the
life of God, Pietism is a participation of the lives of all like-minded
believers across denominations and communions. Each pietist collegium was a communion in the Holy Spirit and
among the participants.[7] Pietism and related movements such as revivalism were and
always will be, controversial. Holding Scripture above both Luther and the
Confessions, with the understanding that is what all the theologians involved
taught themselves, but the Confessions, and even Blessed Martin, had in
practice become almost idolatrous for Lutheran Orthodoxy, Pietism accomplished
reform of Church, government, education, and culture, and facilitated the
creation of new forms, i.e., ecclesiolae
in ecclesia, and new institutions, especially schools, hospitals and homes
for widows and orphans, and important missionary organizations.[8] For example, August Hermann Francke (1663-1727)
corresponded with about 5,000 people, and he kept in constant contact with
between 300 and 400 ecclesiastical leaders.[9]
Though Pietism was the most significant movement within the
Church since the time of the Reformation,[10] and it has had a lasting influence on Lutheranism,[11] continues to influence Lutheran churches throughout the
world,[12] as well as the entire evangelical movement, it is
misunderstood and underappreciated in the United
States.[13] Jonathan Edwards saw God's hand at work in a world wide
revival, "Most especially in Germany, through the endeavours of an eminent divine there, Augustus
Hermann Frank, professor of divinity at Halle in Saxony," [14] yet German Lutheran Pietism is an underappreciated model in
Academy and Church. It must be admitted that it carries within itself the seeds
of its chief distraction, moralism,[15] as does its cousin Puritanism, indeed as does all holiness,
charismatic and Pentecostal movements, but this hardly accounts for the neglect
of its theological insights. Pietism's pneumatological emphases are far
reaching. Though it was embraced and nurtured by many members of the nobility,[17] Pietism was essentially a freedom movement of the people,
giving laity, women in particular, a voice they had not had previously, hence,
it should also be considered historically in the study of the roots of liberation theologies.[18]
Brief Context for the Pietist Movement
Not having space for a substantive review of the historical
context,[19]the principal point to be stated is that Pietism was a result
of the intellectual battleground behind the writing of the Formula of Concord[20] that came before a long and treacherous war which had
religious conflict as one of its causes. Not only would mercenaries switch
sides for better pay, sometimes Lutherans would ally with Catholic to fight
Reformed, hence the total effect of the Thirty Years War's trauma besides
having a profound devastation of family and institutions, was to create a
landscape of moral bankruptcy. Johann Arndt, either best seen as Father of
Pietism,[21] or the founder of the Arndtian Piety Movement,[22] wrote True Christianity as an appeal to the heart of a
church whose clergy's efforts were aimed at the head. Spener built upon this,
and Francke expanded on Spener's organizational genius. A glance at the ordo
salutis is the place to first look for a clue how this movement spread.
Ordo Salutis
Luther himself never gave an ordo as Arndt, Spener, and Francke did, but
it needs to be understood that this is not a sign of deviation from his
teaching, rather an offshoot of the same plant. The ordo salutis was common to both Orthodoxy and
Pietism (as was the rebirth motif). The roots of ordo salutis lie in the seed bed of Aristotelian
scholasticism entrenched in Lutheran orthodoxy. The ordo became typical of Lutheran
systematic theology, which can be discerned as early as the Augsburg
Confession,[23] and seen in its evolved state in the Solid Declaration of
the Formula of Concord. The following, from a list of the "errors of the Schwenkfelders,"
shows that these signatories in 1577 used the language of conversion,
repentance, faith, and new obedience.
2. That the ministry of the church, the Word proclaimed and
heard, is not a means whereby God the Holy Spirit teaches men the saving
knowledge of Christ, conversion, repentance, and faith or works new obedience
in them.
5. That a Christian who is truly born
again through the Spirit of God is able to keep and fulfill the law of God
perfectly in this life.[24]
Clearly,
point 2 assumes that conversion, repentance, and new obedience are normative,
within its major point which is to condemn any understanding that this happens
outside the proclamation of the Word.
Once Orthodoxy established a system such as an order of
salvation, the seed of Pietism was sown, as faith became a concept which could
be intellectualized.[25] Orthodoxy's emphasis on the objective and devaluation on
the subjective created a false dichotomy. Faith came to mean an intellectual
acceptance of doctrine, which became the objective of preaching. This led to
the neglect of practical theology and moral edification, which combined with
other factors such as compulsory attendance of Sunday services, led to the need
for a fresh movement. This is the background of the three Pietist theologians
listed in the methodology.
Johann Arndt
Johann Arndt (1555-1621) served as a Lutheran
pastor, became a superintendent, had sermons published in a postil and wrote other devotional works, but
he is known chiefly for the devotional True
Christianity, which was
received enthusiastically by many,[26] as well as being condemned by a few Orthodox theologians.[27] Its influence went beyond the Pietists, for whom it is
seminal in its emphasis on the power of God to transform the believer in
regeneration and the importance of regeneration in sanctification; therefore, True Christianity is a fitting place to begin this
study.
True Christianity,
begins with the story of our creation in the image of God. Arndt, like most
Pietists, is repetitive,[28] especially
so for modern taste, therefore his emphasis on the centrality of the imago dei motif is easy to recognize. As
humankind was created not only in but also with the image of God, the mind along with
its will, understanding, and spirit were in conformity with the Holy Trinity
and the divine qualities.[29] The image of God gave Adamunion
with God, and when Adam rebelled, the image and union were
lost, and his descendants' only hope for it to be regained is through rebirth.
Being reborn is being justified and sanctified through faith by the Holy
Spirit.
The new birth is a work of God the Holy Spirit, by which a
man is made a child of grace and blessedness from a child of wrath and
damnation, and from a sinner a righteous man through faith, word and sacrament
by which our heart, thoughts, mind, understanding, will and affections are made
holy, renewed, and enlightened as a new creature in and according to Jesus
Christ. The new birth contains two chief aspects in itself: justification and
sanctification.[30]
Humanity
needs salvation because Adam did not protect the image of God in
humility and obedience, failing to be content with having the image he wanted
to be the "highest good."[31] Image and union are regained through a rebirth wrought
through the Word. "The Word of God is the seed of new birth."[32]Citing John,
rebirth is through the "power and activity of the Holy Spirit, first
through the Holy Spirit (Jn 3:4), secondly through faith, in the third place
through holy baptism (Jn 3:5).[33]
Out of Adam came
the highest evil, unbelief, and rebellion, but out of the Second Adam, Christ, humanity can inherit the
highest good through faith. In a Trinitarian understanding, Arndt kept the
Incarnation in tension with the activity of the Holy Spirit, for example, that
for the salvation of Adam's
descendents to be possible, Christ had to become human and be
"sanctified with the Holy Spirit beyond measure."[34] The new birth gives new life in the Spirit, the reborn have
the fruits of the Spirit, are empowered to be conformed to Christ by following
Christ's example of humble suffering, their "example, mirror and rule of
life."[35]This new life is 'true Christianity,' which subsists in
denying self, breaking self will, resignation (surrender), rejecting worldly
glory, considering human wisdom and power as nothing, practicing "inner
repentance and mortification of the faith are the true cross that we are daily
to bear."[36]
Fortunately for our research, Arndt wrote in his
"Foreword to the Christian reader" that justification "is
sufficiently discussed in chapters 5, 19, 34 and 41 of this book, and the first
three chapters of Book II."[37]A survey of the chapters which Arndt cites as exemplary of
his teaching on justification shows a different approach than one finds in
contemporary Protestant preaching and systematic theology. Not only are the
terms 'forensic justification' and 'imputation' rare, justification is treated
as a discrete chapter only once in the 61 chapters of Books I and II. When
Arndt wrote on justification, he preferred to use its cognate term,
righteousness, and usually concerning the granting of righteous for renewal.
The themes of the four chapters in Book I concerning justification are actually
faith, humility, grace, and the reestablishment of the image of God in the
believer. Since Arndt stated that these are the chapters which
"sufficiently" discuss justification, he clearly understands
justification as one step among others of the journey toward God which begins
with God's action toward humanity in Christ.
Justification is union with God which comes with the forgiveness received
through sincere repentance wrought by true faith and the consequent rebirth,
shown in sanctification, holiness and righteousness, all leading to union with
God and eternal life.[38]
Chapter 5 addresses what true faith
consists of, chiefly a deep assent and trust in God's grace which is brought
about by the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. By grace through faith, sins are
forgiven not by any human merit but Christ's merit. Forgiveness of sins is
righteousness. Even if human faith is weak, sins are covered by grace for Christ's sake. Faith is assent and the
believer's heart is given over to God completely and is united to God. Arndt is
not deviating from Martin Luther or his as much as expanding on a motif
less important to him, union with God. We see below how justification does not
stop with a declaration of forgiveness.
By this deep trust and heartfelt assent, man gives his
heart completely and utterly to God, rests in God alone, gives himself over to
God, clings to God alone, unites himself with God, is a participant of all that
which is God and Christ, becomes one spirit with God, receives from him new
power, new life, new consolation, peace and joy, rest of soul, righteousness
and holiness, and also, from God through faith, man is newborn. Where new faith
is, there is Christ with all his righteousness, holiness,
redemption, merit, grace, forgiveness of sins, childhood of God, inheritance of
eternal life.[39]
One can know their justification with confidence and
complete certainty, parrhisia and plerophoria, citing Eph 3:12; Phil 1:20; 1 Jn 2:28; 3:21 and 1 Thess
1:5, 2:2. Justification is part of a new life in which victory over sin, death
and the devil will be experienced as a reality.
Everything that is born of God is truly no shadowy work,
but a true life work. God will not bring forth a dead fruit, a lifeless and
powerless work, but a living, new man must be born from the living God. Our
faith is the victory that conquers the world. That which man is to conquer must
be a mighty power. If faith is to be victorious over the world, it must be a
living, victorious, active, working, divine power; indeed Christ must do everything through faith.
Righteousness comes with the evidence
of the fruit of the Spirit. Faith performs two actions to renew the believer:
places Christ in the believer and secondly,
initiates the process of sanctification.
The true sanctifying faith renews the whole man, purifies
the heart, unites with God, makes the heart free from earthly things, hungers
and thirst after righteousness, works love, gives peace, joy, patience,
consolation in all suffering, conquers the world, makes children heirs of God
and of all heavenly eternal goods.[40]
Chapter 41 considers the significance of repentance to root
out the image of Satan in him," and illustrates the
place of justification in
the order of salvation: original sin, free will, repentance, faith,
justification, prayer, the new life, and obedience.[41] God's image once shown forth in the soul, but since the
fall "original unrighteousness," the image of Satan, holds body and soul captive,[42]but "a mighty person who is Lord over sin and
death" can effect a change in human nature, renew it, and make it
righteous.[43] There remains a spark of free will in the soul, but it has
influence for external works only, which Arndt calls the law of nature, such as
marital love without which we would not be able to exist. However, as Luther would say, in spiritual matters
"he has no spark of spiritual light," completely unprepared for that
which the human was created, "full, divine, spiritual life."[44] The remedy is to "by the Spirit of God you must fight
and strive with the old Adam, the
image of Satan in you." Therefore, pray, weep,
wail, seek, knock, and the Holy Spirit will be given you."[45]
While Arndt departs from Luther in his emphasis on regeneration and
personal experience, both of these themes are found in Luther.[46] What was unique is the emphasis placed on new birth and
sanctification for a real change of heart and the transformation that could
bring for those who would truly yearn for it. Secondly, the need for that
transformation to be lived out in holiness. The possibility for transformation
was Arndt's contribution. Whereas Spener wished to reform the Lutheran Church and Franke wanted to reach the world,[47] there is no evidence that Arndt intended to begin a
movement. Arndt did not stress the implications of his insights beyond the
individual; hence, Arndt is seen as a forerunner of Pietism by some historians
and not a Pietist per se, because pietism was a movement.
Philipp Jakob Spener
Additional background is necessary for Spener and Francke
because much can be learned about the Pietist movement through the events in
their lives. Nurtured by devout parents in upper Alsace with connections to the
noble house of at Rappoltsweiler, young Philipp Jakob Spener (1635-1705) was
mentored by his devoutly religious godmother, Agatha von Rappoltstein (d. 1648)
and her chaplain, Joachim Stoll (1615-78), who became his catechist. From his
extensive writing equal in volume to Luther's Works, we know he read his
father's copy of True Christianity, a book he read the most after the
Bible, and also acknowledged the influence by German translations of English
devotional writers Lewis Bayly, Daniel Dyke and Emmanuel Sonthomb, especially
Bayly's Practice of Piety, Dyke's Know
Thyself and True Repentance, and Sonthomb's Golden Jewel. Spener thanked
Stoll for revealing these works deeper meanings and "the first spark of
true Christianity" as well as a life-long practice of focusing on Holy
Scripture when preaching.[48]
Spener began his university education some thirty miles
from his home at Strasburg in 1651, a Lutheran school whose faculty had a life-long
influence shown in ongoing correspondence and reference to them in his
writings, chiefly Johann Schmidt (1594-1658), Johann Konrad Dannhauer
(1603-1666) and Sebastian Schmidt (1617-96). Johann Schmidt influenced Spener as one who combined
a strict Orthodoxy with deep piety, stressed the importance of teaching the
catechism, and taught the necessity of the preacher to prepare by prayerful
meditation and make the sermon more accessible to the congregation by being
less doctrinaire and removing quotes of church fathers in Latin.[49] Spener saw that a learned preacher with a reputation for
combining word and deed who strove to make the common people understand the
gospel could draw large numbers and have a great influence. From Dannhauer,
Spener received a foundation for Luther's
thought which he built upon later while writing a projected commentary which
was never published. Spener encountered many ideas for Lutheran Church reform in Dannhauer's lectures as well.[50] Sebastian Schmidt
gave Spener the new historical-critical tools for studying biblical texts.
Spener's studies at Strasbourg ended in 1659 and he began his further studies at Basel and Geneva. At Geneva, he heard sermons by Jean Labadie, former Jesuit and secular
priest who decided to become a French Reformed minister after reading Calvin's
Institutes. Labadie impressed the young Spener enough that he translated a
pamphlet into German. When Labadie formed groups that were separatist in nature
in the Low Countries,
Spener distanced himself from his writings besides the ones written earlier in Geneva
In 1667, Spener accepted his first call as an assistant at
the cathedral in Strasburg. and continued to pursue his interest in heraldry
(which led to many contacts which later proved very useful for the Pietist
movement) but when he was offered an important post at Frankfurt.
There he implemented the emphases of the Arndtian Piety Movement;[51] Johann Schmidt's model of combining piety and
Orthodoxy, accessible preaching and additional catechetical work; Dannhauer's
example of rigorous Luther scholarship, Sebastian Schmidt's biblical exegesis, and
Labadie's use of small groups. Spener had the opportunity to have his works
published in Frankfurt. An
imperial free city with many merchants and a diverse population including
numerous Huguenot refugees, it had an annual fair featuring book publishers
which drew people from all over. Spener first wrote Pia Desideria as a forward to an edition of Arndt's postils which was rushed into print in
time for the 1675 fair.
Pia Desideria
Pia Desideria contains
Spener's articulation of the doctrine of justification as well as the
implications this doctrine should have on church and life. As a call for church
reform it gives insights into many aspects of Spener's ecclesiology. It also
gives insights into his pneumatology.
Though Pia
Desideria is brief, the tone
is collegial, and the content is non-academic, it is illustrative of a thinker
who has historical breadth and theological depth and shows an appreciation of
the work of the Holy Spirit in practical theology. Written in three parts, the
first explains the need for reform in three classes of people, civil authority,
clergy and the people. Part II is Spener's chiliastic vision, a hope for a
better future for the all through a reformed church, and Part III is
his six-point plan for reform.
In Part I, Defects of Clergy, Spener explains that
clergy who have not been born again are actually unable to set an example by
their conduct for their parishioners because they have not yet received the
fruits of faith, and what they take to be faith "is by no means that true
faith which is awakened through the Word of God, by the illumination, witness
and sealing of the Holy Spirit."[52]Unregenerate clergy are able by reason to understand the
letter of Scripture and even to obtain enough knowledge and skill to preach it
to others, but they themselves "are altogether unacquainted with the true,
heavenly light and the life of faith."[53] They are able to preach the Word, but they are not able to
teach how to be saved since they do not know how,[54] and they suspect any teachers of holy living as
"secret papists, Weigelians or Quakers."[55] The unregenerate clergy's "taste for reason"
makes the "simplicity of Christ and his teaching appear to be
tasteless," their use of reason "puffs up," which leaving them
without a faith awakened by the Word, therefore their preaching contains
"subtleties unknown to Scripture,"[56] which
"leaves man in his love of self."[57] and such unconverted clergy with "the desire for a
great reputation, which leads to the introduction of needless things into the
Church while neglecting the one thing necessary, "edifying hearers who are
seeking salvation."[58] Spener adds wryly, "They can hardly be kept from
taking to market what gives them the most pleasure,"[59] and suggests the simplicity of the proclamation of Paul,
"not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and
power," as a solution, implying that Paul received his understanding from
the Holy Spirit and so should they.[60] Pia Desideria contains
explicit statements throughout of the necessity of the Holy Spirit, not in the
way of orthodoxy as moving theological chess pieces but rather as one who is
grounded in biblical theology and a working, experiential understanding.
Spener stated there is need for the Spirit to discern
Scripture, which the Holy Spirit guided him in writing his proposals, and he
trusted that the power given by the Spirit guaranteed the success of his
proposal. He showed his breadth of historical knowledge quoting Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, Tertullian, and Eusebius in Part II,
where he made a significant statement which gave those who embraced Spener's
proposal 'hope for a better future.' The basis for his whole approach is, "It
is the same Holy Spirit who is bestowed on us by God who once effected all
things in the early Christians, and he is neither less able nor less active
today to accomplish the work of sanctification in us."[61] It shows that Spener hoped for more than reform, that he
also had an idea of a restoration of the apostolic Church through the
empowerment of the Holy Spirit.
Pneumatology is central to each step of Spener's proposal
from its conception to its implementation. The focus on the work of the Spirit
places the emphasis on God rather than on human works, necessary for Spener to
remain Evangelical, which is explained clearly in his understanding of
justification.
Justification in Pia Desideria
Spener begins his address of the doctrine of justification
referring readers to Paul Tarnov's 1624 address De novo evangelio which criticized a 'new gospel'[62] in which Christians profess the orthodox doctrine of the
Lutheran Confessions, attend services and take communion, but show by their
actions that they do not follow the 'old' gospel of Jesus Christ.[63] Examples of Spener's understanding of the relation of faith
and works include, "We gladly acknowledge that we must be saved only and
alone through faith," "works or godly life contribute neither much
nor little to our salvation," and his desire to not "depart a
finger's breath from this teaching, for we would rather give up our life and
the whole world than yield the smallest part of it."[64] This is followed by succinct paragraphs on other basic
teachings of Lutheran theology, the doctrine of the Word, and the sacraments of
Baptism and the Lord's Supper. He said he takes more pleasure in Luther than any other author, but all this is
preparation for what will be a new emphasis to many.[65] He made this move as he argued that many who call
themselves Evangelical are not. Similarly to Tarnov earlier, he says we can
know by their actions that they do not have the gospel of Jesus Christ in their heart if they do not have a
living faith. There are two types of faith, one is divine, a living, active,
mighty, thing; the other is a human idea, of course, quoting Luther's Epistle to the Romans.
By their own powers [they] fashion an idea in their hearts
which says, "I believe." This they hold for true faith. But it is a human
imagination and idea that never reaches the depth of the heart, and so nothing
comes of it and no betterment follows it. Faith, however, is a divine work in
us. It changes us and makes us be born anew."[66]
While
the forensic justification of Paul is given honor, the biological
metaphor of new birth and the new man is preferred over it.[67] Luther was no
stranger to rebirth language but used it much less than Paul's legal image. Spener understood
the need to point out that when Luther wrote about salvation, he meant ‘true’salvation.
The Preface to Romans proves the basis in Luther for Pietists that there is a real
change in the believer effected through the power of the Holy Spirit. The move
from emphasizing regeneration rather than justification is the move that allows
a shirt from faith versus works, to a rationale for faith does works.
Against the Lutherans who argue that
baptism is a once-for-all action, Spener taught that it is true that you can
only be baptized once, but baptism needs to be seen as God making a covenant,
grace from his side and faith and a good conscience on the human side, and for
the covenant to last "it must remain in constant use throughout your whole
life."[68] Baptism is more than wiping the ledger; it is God's power
to regenerate. "Nor do I know how to praise Baptism and its power
enough," and, "I believe that it is the real ?washing of regeneration
and renewal in the Holy Spirit' (Titus 3:5), "as Luther says in the
Catechism, 'it effects forgiveness of sins, delivers from death and the devil
and grants (not merely promises) 'eternal salvation.'"[69] Spener believed that baptism gave infants regeneration, but
this was lost except in rare cases, hence it was necessary to receive
regeneration through conversion.[70] Both Spener and Arndt point out that opus operatum was a dangerous error,[71] leads many to damnation because they think that all
Christianity requires of them is to be baptized, go to worship services, listen
to sermons, confess sins, receive absolution, sing a few hymns and take the
wine and wafer "no matter how their hearts are disposed."[72] What is necessary is to be born again, receiving "a
capacity for the Holy Spirit and hence for true faith."[73] In essence, the Holy Spirit empowers the believer to truly
believe, and Spener emphasized Luther's
warning in the Preface to
Romans that belief may not
exist because there are two kinds of faith, one that is based on reason and is
no more than an opinion but the one necessary is divine.
The danger of opus
operatum is if one thinks all
they need is the intellectual understanding of faith, one will not yearn for a
living, operative faith. This is the essence of Spener's diagnosis of his
culture: so few have faith because Christianity is not internalized because of
the denial of the validity and importance of the experiential. Luther taught
the need of a living faith, but he also warned against ?enthusiasm,' and the
latter combined with scholastic orthodoxy gave the impression the faith Luther
spoke of was intellectual, but can there be any question what kind of faith
Luther meant in his commentary on Galatians in reference to the resurrection of
Christ, "To the extent that you believe this, to that extent you have
it."[74]
Rather than emphasizing a legal drama
ending with the accused going free, justification was taught as a step in a
process which lead to a reformed way of life if
one had true faith. Many clergy and theologians took exception at the
division between the two categories. Spener pointed out this division in the
writings of Luther, the
Confessions, and Scripture in Pia
Desideria, and asked his colleagues if it was not time to apply these
principles. Spener wrote that the conditions of their day, unbelief and the
immoral behavior that resulted from it, demanded a cure of the evils. His
proposals were principally a turn toward Scripture, a turn away from doctrinal
argumentation in the pulpit toward Scripture-centered proclamation augmented
with weekly gatherings to study the Bible.
Of Spener's interpretation of Luther, W. R. Ward said,
Luther was no
Orthodox collection of proof texts, but a practitioner of living faith and
formation. Thus, Spener's doctrine of justification was Lutheran but not quite Luther's; and his systematic
development of Luther's hints on the priesthood of all believers was something
not found in Luther or Lutheran orthodoxy. He did not
create a theological school, but created the basis on which the next generation
of Pietists could do so."[75]
Spener's emphasis on justification can be summed up
as "justifying faith," as part of the process of regeneration leading
to more emphasis on how the born-again life is lived. Justification did not
lose its importance as a foundation of an evangelical doctrine, but besides a
greater emphasis placed upon regeneration, justification tends to fall into the
background being part of an order of salvation begun by Word and Spirit in
which one is called, led into conversion through a deep remorse and repentance,
followed by justification by grace through faith with the heart, mind, will and
intellect being illuminated, being converted in a way that one is reborn, a new
creature with a new mind, new will and a new way of life. Spener's theological contribution
to the piety movement is that the believer's Christ-likeness becomes the
characterization of the Christian life, not one's need for grace.[76] How he and his followers lived it out is examined below.
August Herman Francke
A younger colleague of Spener, it has
been said that as Luther had his Melanchthon, Spener had his
Francke, but this is hardly fair as Francke stands in no one's shadow.
Underappreciated by Lutherans for decades, perhaps puzzled by one of their
theologians having a datable conversion, or perhaps because his writings sound
moralistic to contemporary ears, still it is passing strange that the one
Lutheran who did the most to advance education, missions, renewal and revival,
a man who even influenced kings, and the only book-length biography in English
since 1867, God's Glory,
Neighbor's Good, was written by a Methodist scholar.
In 1689, Francke had several weeks to prepare a sermon on John 20:31, and wrote in his Autobiography,
"With this particular text I had the opportunity to discuss true living
faith, and how this faith was distinguished from a mere human and imaginary
foolish faith."[77] Francke began to question if he had within himself that
which he would want to urge in the sermon. He struggled for weeks, finally fell
to his knees and asked God to come and take care of the matter "As quick
as turning over one's hand," God accomplished this, giving Francke an
overpowering experience of peace and overwhelming stream of joy.
It is simple to appreciate the significance of Luther's
words in his Preface to Romans on Francke's frame of mind before
conversion, "Faith is not the human notion and dream that some people call
faith, a human figment and idea that never reaches the depths of the heart
[but] a divine work in us which changes us and makes us to be born anew of
God,"[78] and Spener's use of Luther in Pia Desideria, "What they take to be faith is by
no means that true faith which is awakened through the Word of God, by the
illumination, witness and sealing of the Holy Spirit, but is a human
fancy."[79] Spener himself taught that conversion and regeneration by
the Holy Spirit was necessary but never spoke of his own conversion, and wrote
in 1690, "It is enough for me to feel the wind blowing powerfully even
though the first blast was not observed by me."[80] Spener takes pains to point out that one cannot copy
another's conversion experience, or discern the state of theirs in comparison
to writing, "I consider the description of the conversion of one or another
person according to all the particulars to be useful, but the misuse of the
same can also be harmful." Francke went to stay with Spener after his
conversion, and in a letter to a colleague, Spener called Francke a totus pietatis. Considering the
influence Franck was to have, one wonders if there was
any significance to a scholar experiencing the new birth which he had studied
and for which he yearned.
Sometime in the first decade of the
eighteenth century Francke wrote Scriptural and Basic Introduction to True
Christianity, a ten-page work consisting of twelve points which gives in
brief how he understood the work of the Holy Spirit in justification. It begins
in a way which makes few friends in Lutheran circles today, "Not everyone
who calls himself a Christian is a Christian." Why? One is made a
Christian if one is being influenced by Christ; "believes in his name
from the heart, imitates him, and is gifted and anointed to that end with his
Spirit, and to follow him faithfully and steadfastly" for one's entire
life.[81] It is paramount to know one's sin, and by this, not just
the "coarse sins" such as promiscuity, drunkenness, theft, "which
even the heathen can avoid," but more importantly, the sin of unbelief.
One must ask God to test the heart and reveal where wisdom, righteousness, and
holiness are lacking. God then shows that one is utterly unable to do good, and
is actually inclined to wickedness. The failure to rely on God is the root of
all sin, inner and outward.[82]
Following the section on repentance, Francke treats
justification. One must not remain stuck in remorse but rather flee to the
cross in faith, humility and confidence that through the blood one may gain
grace, forgiveness and eternal, reconciliation, justification and eternal
redemption.[83] As Francke quotes, "We are justified without
merit," from Romans 3:24-25, it is certain that he is setting forth his
teaching on justification. Far from a strictly legal transaction, Francke's
portrays justification as grounded in the blood of Jesus, attained by grace,
but not through intellectual faith but a God-derived faith attained in a
process begun in call or election, aided greatly by God granting the power to
search one's soul, and the grace to see the need for redemption, to root out
unbelief, and the grace to claim the blood. It is necessary that the believer
be assured that this is the case.
"Now if the repentant sinner looks to Jesus in faith
and avails himself of his holy merit, God grants him grace and, for Christ's
sake the forgiveness of his sins and makes him righteous ? let the faithful not
cease with petitions, pleas, seeking, knocking, until through the gracious
working of the Holy Spirit he experiences such in his heart and is
assured."
Francke teaches to let the believer "to give God all
the glory," because it was the hidden, divine power of God
"manifested through the Word, kindles faith" and one should
"humbly plead" for the grace to know that "his faith not consist
of human opinion" but rather "God's power" and that the believer
does indeed have true salvation and possess a "true, living faith."[84] Peace and "assurances and fruit of his grace"
immediately follow justification. God "will pour out the blessed stream of
love in abundance in his heart through the Holy Spirit," and the believer
finds "he has received a quite different ‘mind' and has become a 'new
creature' and no longer fixed on worldly things, looks toward heavenly things.
Francke gives practical examples of the new life that the new person would find
himself or herself in, for example, in one engaged in idle gossip he or she
would experience "great unrest in the heart."[85]
Francke used similar language as Luther's description of faith in the Preface
to Romans, "And such a new mind and will is alive, powerful and active
in him." Sections 8-12 describe the new life, described as a struggle in
which one must keep fixed on God who will restore if stumbling occurs. New life
is marked by a desire to daily attending to God's Word, going to worship
"diligently out of sincere love of the truth" desiring fellowship
with other Christians, giving God praise and thanks, "the Lord's Supper is
dear to him," and "strengthened through untiring prayer," and
"constant watchfulness over his heart" one "carries out his
professional vocation joyfully and cheerfully to the glory of God and his
neighbor's good."[86] Francke stressed that justification and the ability to live
the Christian life is activated by the power of the Holy Spirit each step of
the way solely by grace, which is shown in his repeated admonishments to be
humble and explanations how this all works through the power of the Holy
Spirit.
In no way may he think he would or could contribute
anything through himself and his own natural powers to make himself better,
more pious, and holier in his subsequent walk, but rather here also he must
give the glory to his Savior alone and know in faith that 'righteousness' as
well as 'sanctification' is worked in him through God alone, in whom and
through whose grace and Spirit the entire divine work of sanctification must be
begun and continued through the end.
Francke
taught that justification is part of the process which includes sanctification,
and that this is an ongoing process to be marked "in fear and
trembling."
On Christian Perfection was written in 1690, the year Francke was ordained. It
begins, "We are justified only by faith in the Lord Jesus without merit or addition of
work," and, "The justified person becomes completely and totally
perfect."[87] How is justification part of a process which includes
sanctification, yet it grants perfection? Francke writes, "He who does not
have this perfection cannot become holy." One may well begin to wonder if
Francke just has a novel definition of justification, but what we have here
gives us insight into a basic misunderstanding of how Pietists 'rightly
divided' justification and sanctification, and why they moved beyond the
dilemma between the Roman Catholic position and Luther.
"Perfection is nothing other than faith in the Lord Jesus and is not in us or ours but in Christ for whose sake we are considered
perfect before God and thus his perfection is ours by ascription."[88] The key is in the three little words, "is not
ours." Ours by ascription means it is applied to us. Justification is not
a possession, but an influence, as seen in the next point, while a justified
person can be assured of "his blessedness," that is, his forgiveness
of sins, reconciliation and the resulting state of peace of mind, it is not a
satiated peace but one in which "he immediately discovers the weakness of
flesh."[89]
Original
sin has not been eradicated, still spawns "all kinds of doubts and evil
thoughts, at times evil inclinations of the will," and habit is not
eradicated either. So how is one perfect? "Such remaining disorderly
patterns and activities, however, are not reckoned to the justified man."[90] It should be clear that the basis for this paradox is found
in Scripture, Romans 8:1, as well as Luther and the Confessions, "There is no
condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." To this Francke adds the
Pietist emphasis of the new birth, "If the newborn Christian acknowledges
such sins of the flesh, he strives with all earnestness against the evil which
arises." Francke shows this comfort in paradox throughout his teaching
After explaining why the new Christian still strives, and that this is not done
through human ability but "the power of Jesus Christ which is made
sanctification for him," this happens day by day, typified as growth from
new born, child, youth "then finally a man," yet "he is never
completely perfect but he can grow and increase in good works as long as he
lives."[91] On Christian Perfection has other examples of dialectic: "we are perfect and
we are not perfect," perfect in Christ, yet not perfect in the sense that
we still need to grow, shun evil, and continue to appropriate God's power in
sanctification. Francke shows that he knew this dialectic is easily
misunderstood and gave a warning to "distinguish well" between the
article on justification and sanctification "otherwise he will be
increasingly become entangled in controversy." Again, "a justified
man has no sin" because Christ's
perfection is ours by ascription. Sin clings to the believer but it is not
reckoned to him for Christ's
sake.[92]
A common criticism of Pietism is 'other-worldliness,'
but there is little basis for this in Francke. His message gave a theological
basis for an active witness to the faith. This implications of the difference
in the emphasis between Orthodoxy and Pietism, brings us to the remainder of
the paper, an analysis of the implications of the teaching on justification by
Arndt, Spener, and Franke for Pietism as a movement.
What Pietism Did
To discern the relationship between justifying faith and the works
of holiness that the Spirit intends to accomplish, it is best to ask what did Pietism do?
Johann Arndt wrote a book which did indeed affect
the piety of pastors, theologians, nobles, and the laity. The timing of the
book had much to do with its popularity as it gave people means to understand
the suffering to be endured during the Thirty Years War and its aftermath.
Arndt was "substantially taken on board by Lutheran Orthodoxy and used to
modify its inheritance from Melanchthon."[93]
The Duke of Saxe-Gotha, Ernst the Pious, was an important
early figure in Pietism and an example of someone whose faith spurred him on to
make some notable changes to the betterment of his subjects, and in 1636 asked
Strasbourg theologians to give a comprehensive plan for reform. Duke Ernst,
like Spener would forty years later, found fault at all levels of society,
diagnosed it as a spiritual malady, the lack of an internalized Christianity,
and called for reform of education and theological study, preaching for
repentance, catechesis, and house-to-house visitation.[94] Ernst the
Pious decreed, for the first time, that each church in his lands had a copy of
the Bible. He reformed education and inaugurated social welfare programs
including provision for widows and orphans. He strengthened the judiciary and
decreed laws to improve moral conditions.
Spener was the leader of Lutheran Pietism for thirty years,
and under him the church experienced reform. Of primary importance was the
establishment of a new ecclesiastical structure, the small group, through which
this reform was accomplished. It is an astonishing thing that the inauguration
Bible Study classes for adults and confirmation for youth were threatening, but
this were new and challenging at the time. Of course, these were not the Bible
Studies of present day, accountability of behavior was practiced, similar to
the early Methodist class meetings, of which they were the forerunner. Pietism
spread from town to town without a program or plan except for the formation of
pietatis collegia, the reform of theological education, and the news that laity
had a ministry, too. Morality changed in Germany, nobility "looked beyond the pleasures of the
court,"[95] and the practical dimensions of Christianity and moral
reform spread within commoners also. Gone was the chaos and immorality that
marked not only post-war days, but the days preceding it which spurred Arndt to
write True Christianity.
Eventually, Spener's influence with the court of Brandenburg-Prussia and the
highest levels of Church led to or surpassed many of the changes Spener
envisioned in 1675.
Under Francke, what did not occur? At Leipzig in 1686, one year after earning a master's degree in
philosophy and becoming a Privatdocent,
a lecturer without faculty status, Francke, who paid his tuition by tutoring in
Hebrew, along with Paul Anton (1661-1730), obtained approval
from Johann Carpzov (1638-1699) to initiate a Collegium philobiblicum. In the
beginning, to Spener's disappointment on a visit with Leipzig faculty in 1687, this group met for "scientific"
study of Scripture. The character of the group was to change after Francke
experienced conversion. Returning to university at Leipzig after a month's visit with Spener in Berlin, Francke, always talented at languages and now with an
even lower appreciation of Aristotle,
led enthusiastic classes of 300 students who attended to the neglect of the
professors' courses, sold their books of philosophy and some even burned their
notes.[96] When townspeople began to attend and then form their own collegia, as Ward wrote,
"They were undone by their success."[97] The majority of Leipzig faculty, along with that of
Wittenberg, had opposed his mentor Spener since discovering that Pia Desideria led to opposition
to the status quo, had enough. A faculty commission examined Francke and Anton, who were then expelled for
attacking the Leipzig curriculum and involving townspeople in classes. Francke
took a pastorate in Erfurt and was dismissed from there shortly, but Spener came to his
rescue. Berlin appointed Francke as professor of Hebrew at the University of Halle, and helped the king accomplish his aim of turning the
school into a new center of Lutheranism in Prussia. Francke accepted a call as well to the church at Glaucha,
the "red-light district" outside the walls of Halle. The congregation needed rebuilding, and the indigent
population had great needs, morally, educationally, physically. Both calls
shaped Francke and his approach to attempt to reach the whole world through the
whole person for Christ.
Recalling our methodology, Francke's years at Halle should be regarded as a case study as a Pietist pastor and
educator. One day a week Francke received people in the parsonage to give out
bread. He began as well to solicit funds from his visitors who were better off,
placing a box for offerings in his living room. Realizing that he was only
feeding many of the poor physically, Francke surprised everyone one day asking
questions from the catechism before handing out the bread. This became a
regular practice, teaching for half and hour before distribution of bread. He
also began to give money to parents of poor children for school books, but
learning that often the books went missing, he rented a building and began a
school using students from Halle as teachers. He began an orphanage in one rented building
and then another, as money came in. In a way that became a pattern for things
to come, as he discerned the Lord blessing a work, Francke would often continue
it by delegating to an aide, and pursue another venture. In this case, he
decided to build a new building. The best example of how faith-prayer became
Francke's modus operand of life is the example of the construction of the great
orphanage.
We have a quote from Francke during the time of
construction which illustrated his method of administering an expanding faith
ministry. On a day when he was to pay the construction workers and did not have
any funds, he reports,
Contemplating the clear heavens my heart was strengthened
in faith (which I ascribe not to my powers, but purely to the grace of God, so
that I thought to myself, ‘How glorious it is when one has nothing and can rely
on nothing, but knows the living God who has created heaven and earth and puts
his trust in him alone.’ At the end of that day, the paymaster came and asked,
"Is anything coming?" The answer was no. Francke writes, ‘Hardly had
I spoken a word when a student reported that he had brought thirty talers, who he would not name. I went
back into the other room and asked how much was needed for the payment of the
builders. He said, ‘Thirty talers.’ I said, ‘Here they are,' and asked if he
needed more. He said, ‘No,' which then strengthened us both much in faith in
that we recognized so evidently the wonderful hand of God.[98]
By the year 1714, Francke's orphanage had over 2,000
resident students and 100 teachers. It was the largest building in Germany. Halle and its missions became a city in itself with
hospital, residences for widows and elderly, laboratory for medicines, print
shop for religious literature and Scripture, schools for the children of
nobility, middle class and the poor, continuing education for the burghers who
never received a real education, twenty-six schools in all. All of these became
model institutions, effective on a scale hitherto unknown. For example, the
Canstein Bible Society, the worlds' oldest, named after Pietist noble and lay theologian, Baron Carl Hildebrand von Canstein (1667-1719), printed 100,000 German
Bibles and 80,000 New Testaments between 1712 and 1719. In comparison, Wittenberg, the former center of publishing, printed a combined
200,000 New Testament and Bibles between 1522 and 1626. By its centenary in
1812, the Canstein Bible Society had printed 2,000,000 Bibles and 1,000,000 New
Testaments.[99]
In the area of foreign missions, which
was virtually unknown amongst Protestants from the early days of the
Reformation,[100] Francke instilled an urgency for the coming kingdom in
virtually all the students and sent out some 60 men into foreign mission, and
another 220 through his student, Nikolaus Ludwig Graf, count von Zinzendorf(1700-1760).[101] Another
student, Anton Wilhelm Boehm, became chaplain to Queen Anne's
consort, and as presiding minister of the chapel of St. James built relationships with English
divines for the Pietist cause. The first Protestants commissioned for the
conversion of indigenous people,[102] Bartholomaeus Ziegenbalg and
Heinrich Pluetschau, were
students at Halle when King Frederick IV of Denmark, whose chaplain was a Halle man, arranged for them to be ordained and sent to
Tranquebar.
Francke was a forerunner in the use of media as well as
Protestant missions. He began the first international newspaper for Germans, HallescheCorrespondenz, which
was actually another first, a missions journal distributing accounts from the
mission field to an interested public across Europe. This
was followed by a biblical journal, Observationes
biblicae, in which Francke published results of his efforts to make Luther's Bible more accurate, taking
advantage of new manuscripts and advances in scholarship. Both of these raised
income as well as providing publicity and means to solicit donations from afar.
It must be emphasized that while much of the funding came from the German
nobility and the king of Prussia, Francke engaged in raising money very
creatively, he even traded in goods such as Hungarian wines and Russian furs,
but these were all areas in which Halle aided emerging Protestant churches,
missions or schools. Most of all, it must be understood that Francke did it
throughout and thoroughly as a faith mission. Plans were made and work begun
before the necessary finances were secured. It is not to be supposed that
Francke accomplished all this through a knack for organization, rather it was
the Pietists belief that "It is the same Holy Spirit who is bestowed on us
by God who once effected all things in the early Christians, and he is neither
less able nor less active today to accomplish the work of sanctification in
us."[103]
Halle under A. H. Francke became a center for church renewal and
missionary activity, but in intriguing ways, ready when doors were opened,
similar to Brother Andrews's smuggling Bibles behind the
Iron Curtains, which in those days was Catholic Hapsburg. Space permits only
for the story of the revival begun by children in Silesia.[104]
Revival in Silesia
Silesia, a province east of Saxony, Bohemia and Moravia, an area currently at the border of the Czech Republic and Poland, was a Protestant land before the Peace of Westphalia. It was given over to the Hapsburgs, and only three churches
were permitted for the Protestants, the so-called 'grace churches,' whose only
other option for Word and sacraments was to travel to the churches on their
western border. Collegia
Pietatis, devised by Spener to augment devotional life in Germany, became the mainstay of Silesian Protestantism, enabling
them to resist forcible catholicization by Jesuits. In an unexpected event, the
brief campaign of 1701 which met little resistance, Charles XII of Sweden was able to negotiate the return of 120 churches to the
Protestants in Silesia and the construction of six new grace churches on Hapsburg lands. During the occupation, Swedish
Pietist soldiers introduced "camp meetings" and to the astonishment
of all, when the troops moved on, children held their own, gathering for
hymn-singing and prayer for a revival to accompany the return of the Protestant
churches and schools. It spread across the country, and began to be called
"the uprising of the children."
Halle carried the news of this throughout Europe. Caspar Neumann's account being translated
into English and distributed in pamphlet form,
…country fellows and soldiers, looking on [the children's]
devotion, were powerfully affected and moved, even to shed tears ? many aged
and drown people have been reclaimed; so that they resort no more to places of
drinking & of vain diversion: shewing since that time several signs of a
sincere reformation ? that the children of a whole country should rise, and
shew their disobedience therein, that they will pray in spite of all
opposition.[105]
No one
could have predicted the events to come. While Francke, like Spener, had been
primarily working for reform of the church, this was revival of a nation. Buschprediger,
field preaching, broke out, was put down by Hapsburg authority, and reemerged elsewhere.
The movement was brought into the church under Neumann's leadership, beginning
with the catechization of the children. The movement spread, and when the grace
church at Teschen opened, it had 40,000 members, helped along by a considerable
Protestant remnant in the surrounding hills, but also, Francke had been deeply
concerned about Czech and Polish Protestants and had placed an ‘operative’ in
Hungary, ostensibly a wine merchant but functioning also as an emissary for
Halle and Prussia. Before a church building was erected, a house was built with
cellars for the wine trade, a book shop, and store room on the ground floor,
accommodations for three preachers on the second, and a seminary for nobles on
the third. Halle used commerce, propaganda, and education to replant a
church. The congregation, called the Jesus church,
met in what was for a long time a large barn-like structure that would seat
about 5,000 though 2,000-3,000 more would cram in.
The key figure, Johann Adam Steinmetz (1689-1762), of Lower
Silesia, trained in his youth on True
Christianity, studied at Leipzig where agonized between a career in
academics or preaching, decided for academics but was press-ganged as a
preacher after giving a preaching on Pentecost in his hometown, Brieg. He
became a very accomplished revivalist and set up class-meetings and
prayer-meetings. When the call committee, two nobles, came to inspect Steinmetz for Teschen, he was assured of getting
the call when their innkeeper complained bitterly that he had no business since
the new preacher came. Steinmetz became the German speaking pastor, a Halle student was secured who could preach and catechize in
Czech, as was another for Polish. On Sundays, confessions in German would begin
at 6 AM, with preaching, communion, and more confessions
simultaneously or in succession all day. Great crowds would sing hymns until
time for services in their tongue. The preachers had to work in rotation also,
dividing their time one week in town leading prayer meetings and performing
pastoral work, the next week traveling out to the sick another riding out to
support the other preachers. Revival spread to other towns.[106]
This is an example of how the ?hope
for better times' of the Pietists led to mission. Out of Teschen, Bibles,
devotionals and field preachers were smuggled into Bohemia and Moravia. Francke's model of depending on the Lord for everything
made his operation flexible, adapting to changing needs, supporting church
reform and frontier revival in many lands.
Rebirth
Luther
The emphasis on the work of the Holy Spirit is the main
theological contribution of the Pietists to Lutheranism. As the new birth was
of first importance to Pietists, and it was part and parcel of the power to
live a holy life, analysis of possible contributions should begin with
"being born again from above" by the power of the Holy Spirit sent by Jesus. It should not be understood as
an innovation or deviation since it was present in Luther. Tillich wrote that Spener "showed all the
elements of Pietism were present in the early Luther."[107]
At last, by the mercy of God, meditating day and night, I
gave heed to the context of the words, namely, "In it the righteousness of
God is revealed, as it is written, ‘He who through faith is righteous shall
live’” There I began to understand that the righteousness of God is that by
which the righteous lives by a gift of God, namely by faith. And this is the
meaning: the righteousness of God is revealed by the gospel, namely, the
passive righteousness with which merciful God justifies us by faith, as it is
written, “He who through faith is righteous shall live” Here I felt that I was
altogether born again. [108]
This
leads to what may seem as odd question to a Lutheran, but in reality almost
rhetorical, "Did Luther have a faith crisis that led to being
born again?" His was perhaps the longest, most painful, and
well-documented conversion of all time. It would be impossible to tell Luther's story and leave out his years
of spiritual torment, but in a ‘forest for the trees' phenomena, his followers
failed to appreciate the importance of the work of the Holy Spirit in being
born-again. The blame for this could be laid on their re-enchantment by Aristotle,
but it is most likely due to Luther himself. Though the above shows he
experienced it, and he clearly taught that this is what God does, for example,
"Faith, however, is a divine work in us which changes us and makes us to
be born anew of God,"[109] It must be said
that Luther never absolutized its necessity in the
believer's life, but his followers took an emotional experience and built an
intellectual system around it, numbing it thoroughly.
Rebirth in Augustine
If one were to look at another figure that
experienced the same phenomenon, one who influenced Luther greatly in his understanding of the
effect of faith, if we look at Augustine,
we see another well-known rebirth experience. "Take and read, take and
read," came within a crisis. Augustine relates his struggles in Confessions, "I turned
upon Alypius. My looks betrayed the commotion of my mind as I exclaimed:
"What is the matter with us? What is the meaning of this story? These mean
have none of our education yet they stand up and storm the gates of
heaven."[110]
Do not Augustine and his experience tell us that one
does not receive faith through reason alone? In words describing a faith crisis
even more famous than Luther's, Augustine continues, "I now found myself
driven by the torment in my breast to take refuge in the garden. I probed the
hidden depths of my soul and wrung its secrets from it."[111] This is what
Arndt, Spener and Francke called "true repentance." He heard a child
sing, ?Take and read," hurried to the open copy of Paul's Epistles, and his eyes fell on
the passage, "Not in reveling or drunkenness, not in lust and wantonness,
not in quarrels and rivalries. Rather arm yourself with the Lord Jesus,
spend no more thought on nature and nature's appetites." Augustine does not use the words "born
again," but clearly typifies this as a conversion, writing, "For in
an instant, as I came to the end of the sentence, it was as though the light of
confidence flooded into my heart and all the darkness of doubt was dispelled."[112] This is the
same experience that Francke relates in his autobiography, "My doubt
vanished as quickly as one turns one's hand; I was assured in my heart. I was
immediately overwhelmed with a stream of joy."[113]
Rebirth today
One would search in vain to find anything substantive
written on the application of this important aspect of faith coming out of the
church wide offices of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America or being
taught in its seminaries. Possible reasons include the need to be pragmatic,
relevant, or the predominance of a culture of therapy. To teach grace as power
as well as pardon[114] is
Reformation theology, but one rarely heard today. Yet, Lutherans have proof in
the history of the Pietists that if grace for conversion is taught along with
grace for forgiveness, new movements can occur in which the people of God rise
up and transform their culture. Francke experienced the new birth that Spener
and Arndt taught, that Luther and Augustine experienced, and he taught
Spirit-empowerment to great effect. Considering the significance of the
reformation of doctrine for the reformation of life and the relationship
between a justifying faith and the works that the Spirit accomplishes in the
lives of the believer, knowing how Francke achieved great things, not due to
his natural abilities to work hard or organize well, rather the practice of
faith ministry, a re-evaluation of current emphases is suggested here. If
contemporary Lutherans practiced what Francke and the Pietists preached, pietatis praxis, how might
lives be transformed?
An emphasis on rebirth is not a
deviation from Luther or an innovation at all. The
doctrine's origin is Jesus'
message to Nicodemus. Perhaps it should be said that the main contribution of
the Pietists to Lutheranism is a commitment to Biblical Christianity.
Word and Spirit
According to Carter Lindberg, the Pietists shifted
emphasis from the Word of God to the work of the Holy Spirit, which is different
from Luther for whom "the Word and the Spirit
were indivisibly with one another. The Spirit is bound to the Word; the Word
contains the Spirit." [115] Lindberg sees
Pietism's use of modifiers such as "true" and "living"
springing from a need for a verifiable faith versus faith as trust in God's
promises, with the latter being the authentic Luther.[116] Pietists, of
course, received their concept of ?living faith' from Scripture and Luther's Preface to Romans, and
preferred the more dynamic definition. For Lindberg this is a critical loss of
a central tenant, simul iustus
et peccator. Pietists much preferred a dynamic understanding, the idea of
growth toward perfection, to an image so passive it seems static, and remained
Lutheran by believing total perfection was only in Christ. Luther did indeed see the Spirit bound to the
Word, which is, of course, not equality, or perichoresis,
but servitude, and one that is not historically possible. If the canon of
Scripture was not settled until as late as Athanasius'
Festal Epistle in 367, and the Spirit had been poured out at Pentecost, how
could Spirit be bound to the Word? This is an example of a positive deviation
from Luther by the
Pietists.
Pietists expected the Spirit to use the Word to teach, to
open the believer up to deeper level of meaning, or a specific testimony, but
the Spirit also "confirms" meanings or testimonies in us
individually. Spener began a sermon on the new birth, "The heavenly Father
will permit us to learn the truth not only out of his Word and whatever he testifies
to us through it, but let it become confirmed in us through our own experience
through Jesus Christ, who makes all things new."[117] Here he speaks
of Christ's person but the
meaning is the Spirit of Christ.
Faith and Works
Did Pietism depart from Luther's
understanding of the relation of faith to works, as Lindberg says, regarding
them as verification of faith, whereas Luther is not concerned for such “goal-determined
references.” While Luther said works are signs of faith, his
central concern is that justification cannot be determined by sanctification.[118] However, as noted above in "On
Christian Perfection," Francke wrote, “We are justified only by faith in
the Lord Jesus without merit or addition of work.”
Francke taught our justification was in Christ,
not in ourselves, it was something ascribed to us, not based on anything we do.
Of Christological importance, and in regard to the
Mannermaa school, Stein writes that Luther combined justification with
regeneration, but gave the greater emphases on justification, noted Luther's
statement in the Preface to
Romans that faith is
something that God effects in us, It changes us and we are reborn from God.
According to Althaus, Luther's
understanding of justification included both forgiveness of sin and new life
from God. Tillich admitted that the weak spot of Luther's doctrine of
justification by faith is that he did not also include Paul's doctrine of the
Holy Spirit, of being ‘in Christ,’ and of the ‘new person.’[119]
Where Pietist do most diverge on a core teaching of Luther is simul
iustus et peccator, perhaps the hardest teaching for non-Lutherans to grasp
hence perhaps one that is ?negotiable.' Simul
iustus perhaps lends itself
to an idea that is still alive in Lutheran thinking, which is
"un-Lutheran" to believe in the transformation of an individual. Carter Lindberg is perhaps representative of
contemporary "Lutheran Orthodoxy," seen in his choice of two quotes
for the dedication of his research which gives an insight into the mind of
orthodoxy.
Let us thank God, therefore, that we have been delivered
from this monster of uncertainty and that now we can believe for a certainty
that the Holy Spirit is crying and issuing a sigh too deep for words in our
hearts. And this is our foundation: The Gospel commands us to look, not at our
own good deeds or perfection but at God himself as He promises, and at Christ
himself, the Mediator. And this is the reason why our theology is certain; it
snatches us away from ourselves, so that we do not depend on our own strength,
conscience, experience, person, or works but depend on that which is outside
ourselves, that is, on the promise and truth of God, which cannot deceive.
Lindberg
is able to give several positive "continuities" between Pietism and Luther,
emphasizing biblical theology, "Theology of the Cross," "grace
alone," faith as a "living, busy, active mighty thing" and the
rejection of "opus operatum." However, Lindberg insists that
Pietism's "displacement" of justification by the rebirth motif is a
shift away from the all important move of God toward humanity placing an
emphasis instead on the move of the sinner toward God. This is, of course,
"the playing of the trump card," the dreaded "works-righteousness."
Lindberg writes, "Indeed, we may argue that here we have not merely a
modification of Luther's central
position but rather a reversal of it; a person is thrown back upon himself and
his experience of faith for his certainty of salvation."[120] If Lindberg
is right, this is, in my opinion, a rather wide diversion. If we regard this
statement in light of Tillich's
judgment that Luther did not include Paul's doctrine of the
Holy Spirit, perhaps Luther really did lack a full biblical
doctrine of the Holy Spirit, and perhaps this is another "good
divergence." Do we have an answer for one of our initial questions, if
there was something distinctive and valid in Lutheran Pietism about the
relationship between a justifying faith and the works that the Spirit
accomplishes in the lives of the believer, and was this, as they believed, a
completion of the reformation understood to be commenced by Luther? Some Pietists do diverge from Luther on the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. Its
validity does not lie in it being in synch with Luther or the Confessions, rather its
validity is in the Scripture to which the Confessions are subservient. The
Reformation was only commenced by Luther. It needed al corrective and the
Lutheran Pietists found it. Perhaps failing to appreciate this is why
Lutheranism has such a problem with faith and works.
Eschatology and Ecclesiology
‘Hope for
better times' was grounded solely upon God's promises. Schmidt saw in Spener a Luther-like
understanding of how God gives the Church a goal and the power to reach it.
"It is grounded in the Holy Spirit."[121] Many Lutherans are not able to understand the realized
eschatology of the Pietists and charismatics due to having little curiosity
about experiencing the presence and power of God, which is the chief
eschatological sign for experiential Christians. The presence of God as an
inbreaking of the Kingdom informed Pietist thought on eschatology and
ecclesiology. Spener
believed that God had preserved the church through the Thirty Years War for a
reason and that "eschatological hope must become a present reality; the
kingdom, which will only become completely realized only in the future, must
begin to penetrate present history through the renewal of the church,
evangelistic endeavors, and various philanthropic and social missions."[122]
When it comes to practices that pietatis praxis gave the church, it needs to be said
that they began Bible Study and Bible Institutes. It was the former,pietatis
collegia, that really was a major new form for ecclesiology. Intentional
Small Groups, something promoted by all churches today, were unknown. Here
Spener built upon the concept of the laity as a spiritual priesthood which he
found in Luther's unrealized idea of the house church which is found in the Preface to the German Mass of 1526 that of the house church. Spener
taught that each Christian had the duty to offer his or her all, to pray, give
thanks, do good works, give alms, study the Word, and if they have been given
the gift "with the grace given him" to teach, edify, observe,
admonish, exhort, convert, pray for all and to be concerned for the salvation
of all.[123]
Trinitarian
Theology
As noted in the discussion of Arndt's True Christianity, both Arndt
and Luther were biblical and Trinitarian in approach, and shared much with
Eastern Orthodox theologians, chiefly that of seeing faith bringing the
believer into participation in the life of the Triune God, though Luther and Arndt's theological anthropology
was decidedly more pessimistic than that of the Eastern Church. Justification
understood as participation in the life of God is perhaps not the exact words
they used but is an accurate restatement of their position, which at times is reminiscent
of both ancient Eastern Orthodoxy as well as contemporary Spirit Christology.[124] Seen in the
above, "By this deep trust one is a participant of all that which is God
and Christ, becomes one spirit
with God, receives from him new power, new life."[125] Another
example of this recurring theme is, "Through this power of God we are once
more drawn into God, inclined toward God, transplanted and set in God."[126] but we see that unlike the Eastern
Orthodox, Arndt sees sin not as a tarnishing of God's image in man but a cursed
reality, i.e., "taken out of Adam and as a cursed vine placed in Christ
the blessed and living vine (John 15:4)."[127] Salvation is a gift of the Father
which is brought about by the Word of God and the Holy Spirit, and is a
perichoretic reality. The believer's entwinement to Christ comes from faith, a gift made possible
by Christ, but the gift includes
the actual presence of Christ in the believer and the engrafting of
the believer to Christ.
Conclusion
More research is needed into a pneumatology for Evangelical
Lutheran churches which places a higher priority on its being biblical than to
closely followLuther or the
Confessions, both of which were reacting to a particular context, necessary at
the time, but inadequate if it is to continue to be a worldwide movement. The
only Evangelical Lutheran Churches that are growing are in Africaand Asia, areas with a more charismatic
understanding. In light of this paper's findings on the pneumatology of
Pietists such as Arndt, Spener, and Francke, as well as questions raised by
other current Luther research such as the Mannermaa School, the “Theology of
the Heart” understanding of Bengt Hoffman, and the Lutheran Charismatic
movement,[128] there is an
emerging understanding of the importance of an experiential understanding of
Luther. Is it too much to say that a biblical, pneumatological reformation
of Lutheranism is necessary? Perhaps emphasis needs to shift from a question
that cannot be answered, “What did Luther really think?” to “What would have Luther said on this subject?” If Pietists implemented a critique of the
theology and ecclesiology of Lutheranism that
accomplished a reformation of culture
through a reformed Church, perhaps the Pietists after all understood where God
was trying to get Luther to go.
Pietism has not died out, though, like the Lutheran
Charismatic Movement, it became more leaven than loaf, exerting such a wide
influence that its practices became mainstream. It will probably live on most
strongly through congregations around the world whose members will be
completely unaware of the names of Francke, Spener and Arndt, though scholars
like Karla Poewe do recognize their influence. We can
certainly hope that future Lutheran theologians and historians rediscover the
Pietists and write more grace-based theology with a passion for holiness.
[ends]
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[1] F. Ernest Stoeffler, The
Rise of Evangelical Pietism (Leiden:
E.J. Brill, 1965); Dale W. Brown, Understanding
Pietism, Revised Edition (Nappanee, IN: Evangel Publishing House, 1996),
86.; K. James Stein, Philipp
Jakob Spener: Pietist Patriarch (Chicago:
Covenant Press, 1986), 91, 175.
[2] This is not to say that these works were not used by other
groups, but that this paper only concerns the Pietists whose desire was to
reform the church and not break away from the church. Spener, whose Pia Desideria promoted small groups within
congregations, worked to keep practitioners within the church as his chief aim
was always to reform.
[3] The predominate understanding of Lutheranism is that
Article IV of the Augsburg Confession is the "article by which the church
stands or falls," and while Arndt, Spener, Francke or any of the churchly
Pietists thought this was most certainly true, the article to which their hopes
were also pinned were these words in Luther's Preface
to Romans.
[4] Stein, Spener,
261.
[5] Charismatic Christianity as a Global Culture, ed. Karla Poewe, (Columbia: Univ. of South
Carolina Press, 1994). Poewe sees German Pietism as a forerunner of
Pentecostal/Charismatic Christianity. Her four terms for charismatic
Christianity hold true as well for Pietism.
[6] Spener laid this eschatology out in Pia Desideria, Part II.
[7] Stein, Spener,
92.
[8] For the interrelations between Francke and the Society for
the Propagation of Christian Knowledge, see Ernst Benz, "Ecumenical Relations
between Boston Puritanism and German Pietism: Cotton Mather and August Hermann
Francke," Harvard
Theological Review, vol. 54, July 1981, 159-193. In the introduction of his
talk, Benz relates discovering the huge volume of
correspondence between Francke and other theologians around the world in boxes
at Halle after WW II.
[9] Also, see W. R. Ward, The Protestant Evangelical
Awakening (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1992), 2.
[10] Kurt Aland, A History of Christianity, vol. 2, translated by James L. Schaaf (Fortress Press: Philadelphia, 1986),
234. One could argue against Aland that pentecostalism eclipsed Pietism in
significance. One could also argue with Poewe that Pietism was a forerunner of
pentecostalism, hence part of the same movement.
[11] Trygve R. Skarsten, "The Doctrine of
Justification in Classical Lutheran Pietism: A Revisionist Perspective," Trinity Seminary Review, vol.
3, no. 2, Fall, 1981, 21.
[12] Carter Lindberg, The Third Reformation? Charismatic
Movements and the Lutheran Tradition (Macon: Mercer University Press, 1983, 131.
[13] Paul Tillich, A History of Christian Thought, Second Edition, ed. Carl E. Braaten (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1968),
284. Not only is Pietism much less respected in the United States than in Europe, the
paucity of publication on Pietism by Lutherans suggests an under-appreciation
of a vital movement.
[14] Ward, Protestant
Evangelical Awakening, 241
[15] Dale Brown, Understanding Pietism, Revised
Edition (Nappanee, IN: Evangel, 1996), 91.
[16] Michel Godfroid wrote, "To write the history of
Pietism is to write the history of modern Protestantism." Quoted in Peter Erb, The
Pietists (New York: Paulist
Press, 1983), 1. SeeWard's Protestant
Evangelical Awakening for
insights into the significance of Francke's Halle Pietists for revivals in
former Lutheran lands in central Europe on latter, more well-known revivals such as the Great
Awakening, Methodism, and the Second Great Awakening.
[17] Frederick of Prussia, a Reformed ruler who used it as an
alternate movement in his political machinations with Saxony and Sweden, two Lutheran Orthodox states, but he and others saw it as
a way to bring basic improvements to the lives of their subjects. This is not
to deny that there were circles of sincere Pietist nobles whose hearts burned
in holy affections.
[18] See David Tracy, The Analogical Imagination: Christian Theology and the Culture of Pluralism (New York: Crossroad, 1981.
[19] F. Ernest Stoeffler, The Rise of Evangelical Pietism (Leiden: Brill, 1970); Dale Brown,Understanding
Pietism, Revised Edition (Nappanee, IN: Evangel, 1996); Eric Lund, JohannArndt and the Development of a Lutheran
Spiritual Tradition. (Yale, 1979) UMI; K. JamesStein, Philipp Jakob Spener: Pietist Patriarch (Chicago: Covenant Press, 1986).
[20] Pietism was never able to do so because of the controversy
it engendered. At one time Spener was fielding the criticism of several
seminaries theologians by himself. He and the other churchly Pietists not only
fended off the criticisms, but also achieved their goal of bringing some reform
to the whole church.
[21] See Stoeffler, Rise
of Evangelical Pietism.
[22] See Stein, Spener,
187, 203.
[23] Augs. Con., art. xii
[24]Solida declaratio,
art. xi Tappert, T. G. The
B(2000, c1959). Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, (2000, c1959).
[25] Paul Tillich, History, 283-284.
[26] Twenty editions were published during Arndt's life and over
100 more before 1800; cf.Johann Arndt, True Christianity, trans. Peter Erb, The Classics of Western
Spirituality (New York: Paulist Press, 1979), 5.
[27] Eric Lund, Johann Arndt and the Development of a Lutheran
Spiritual Tradition, UMI,New Haven, Yale, 1979,
214-234. The theologian who attacked Arndt most viscously wasLucas Osiander II, his chief defenders was Heinrich Varenius. Johann Gerhard and JohannValentin Andrae were major Orthodox theologians who
stressed the need for right belief, right practice, and right affections,
appreciated Arndt, and thereby could be included in the Arndtian piety
movement.
[28] Erb, The
Pietists, introduction.
[29] Arndt, True
Christianity, 29.
[30] Ibid, 37.
[31] Ibid, 31.
[32] Ibid, 37.
[33] Ibid, 37-38.
[34] Ibid, 38.
[35] Ibid, 39.
[36] Ibid, 38.
[37] Arndt, true Christianity, 24.
[38] Ibid, 46.
[39] Arndt, True
Christianity, 45.
[40] Ibid, 47
[41] Ibid, 184.
[42] Ibid, 188.
[43] Ibid, 192.
[44] Ibid, 193.
[45] Ibid, 194.
[46] See Bengt Hoffman, Luther's Theology of the Heart (Minneapolis: Kirk House, 2003).
[47] Stein, Spener,
250.
[48] K. James Stein, Philipp Jakob Spener: Pietist Patriarch (Chicago: Covenant Press, 1986, 33-41.
[49] Stein, Spener, 49-51.
[50] Stein, Spener, 53.
[51] Ibid, 187.
[52] Phillip Jakob Spener, Pia Desideria (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1964) , 46.
[53] Ibid.
[54] Ibid, 47.
[55] Ibid.
[56] Ibid, 56.
[57] Ibid, 56.
[58] Ibid, 56.
[59] Ibid.
[60] Ibid, 57.
[61] Ibid, 85.
[62] Ibid, 62.
[63] Jonathan Strom, Orthodoxy and Reform: The Clergy in
Seventeenth Century Rostock(Tubigen: Mohr Siebeck, 1999), 91.
[64] Spener, Pia
Desideria, 63.
[65] Ibid, 64.
[66] Luther, LW 35, 370 cited in Spener, Pia Desideria, 65.
[67] Theodore G. Tappert, "Introduction," Pia Desideria, p.27.
[68] Spener, Pia
Desideria, 66.
[69] Ibid, 63.
[70] Stein, Spener,
196.
[71] Spener, Pia
Desideria, 67.
[72] Ibid, 65.
[73] Ibid.
[74]Martin Luther, LW 26, 248.
[75] W. R. Ward, Christianity under the Ancien
Regime, 1648-1789 (Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity Press, 1999.
[76] Baird Tipson,
"How Can the Religious Experience of the Past Be Recovered: the Examples
of Puritanism and Pietism," The
Journal of the American Academy of Religion, vol. 43,
4, D, 1975, 695-707, p. 702.
[77] A.H. Francke,
"Autobiography" in Pietists,
102.
[78] Luther, LW
35, 369.
[79] Spener, Pia
Desideria, 46.
[80] Philipp Jakob Spener, "Whether Everyone Ought
to Know the Hour of His or her Conversion," in Documents from the History of
Lutheranism, 1517-1750, ed. Eric Lund(Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2002), 285.
[81] Gary Sattler, God's Glory and Neighbor's Good (Chicago: Covenant Press, 1982), 243.
[82] Ibid, 244.
[83] Ibid, 246-247.
[84] Ibid, 247.
[85] Ibid
[86] Ibid, 252-253.
[87] A. H. Francke, "On Christian Perfection," in The Pietists, ed. Peter Erb (New
York: Paulist, 1983), 114.
[88] Ibid.
[89] Ibid.
[90] Ibid, 115.
[91] Ibid, 116.
[92] Ibid.
[93] Ward, Ancien
Regime, 73.
[94] Ibid.
[95] Stein, Spener, 270.
[96] Ward, Ancien Regime, 77
[97]Ibid.
[98].A. H. Francke, Fussstapfen,
Ch. II, 38-39, in Sattler, God's
Glory, 67- 68.
[99] Aland, History,
264.
[100] Gustav Warneck, Outline of a History of Protestant
Missions from the Reformation to the Present, Third English Edition (New
York: Fleming Revell Company, 1906), 8-24. For the Reformation's first 180
years, the common assumption was that the apostles had fulfilled the Great
Commission by going to all lands and preaching the gospel, i.e., Thomas went to Indiaso there was no need to send
missionaries there. Pietists, however, with their emphasis, believed all people
need to be converted, therefore, Indians do, too.
[101] Aland, History,
265.
[102] Ziegenbalg and Pluetschau were preceded by Dutch Reformed
Church ministers Abraham Rogerius and Phillipus Baldeus, but both were first
chaplains to the employees of the Dutch East India Company, and Rogerius'
approach to the Tamil was "to study rather than convert", and Baldeus
"worked vigorously to turn the Tamil-speaking Catholics of the Jaffna
kingdom into Protestants." Cf D. Dennis Hudson, Protestant Origins in India (Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans,
2000)
[103] Spener, Pia
Desideria, 85.
[104] The accounts of the Pietist missionaries given by W. R. Ward are
the only stories of pre-Great Awakening revivals in Central Europe available in English.
[105] Praise out of the Mouths of Babes and Sucklings (London, 1708) 21-22, 28-30; UN 1709 369-370, in W. R. Ward, The Protestant Evangelical
Awakening (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1992), 72.
[106] Ward, Protestant
Awakening, 67-77.
[107] Tillich, Christian Thought, 284.
[108] Luther, LW
34, 337.
[109] Luther, LW
35, 369.
[110] Augustine, Confessions,
VIII, vii, 18.
[111] Ibid.
[112] Ibid, 28-30.
[113] A.H. Francke, Autobiography in Pietists,
105.
[114] See James Dunn, Jesus and the Spirit (Philadelphia: Westminster Press,
1975).
[115] Lindberg, Third
Reformation, 173-174.
[116] Ibid, 174.
[117] Cited in Stein, Spener,
157.
[118] Lindberg, Third
Reformation, 177.
[119] Tillich, A History
of Christian Thought, 230 cited in Stein, Spener, 261.
[120] Lindberg, Third
Reformation, 175.
[121] Stein, Spener, 178.
[122] Brown, Pietism, 86.
[123] Ibid, 99.
[124] The major motif of Clark Pinnock's Flame of Love is the believer's participation in the
life of God.
[125] Arndt, True
Christianity, 45.
[126] Ibid, 46.
[127] Ibid.
[128] See Welcome,
Holy Spirit: a Study of the Charismatic Renewal in the Church, ed. Larry
Christiansen, (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1987 and the dissertation
which studies it, Markku Antola, The Experience of
Christ's Real Presence in Faith: An Analysis on the Christ-presence-motif in
the Lutheran Charismatic Renewal (Helsinki:
Yplisto), 1999. See also Carter Lindberg, The Third Reformation? Charismatic
Movements and the Lutheran Tradition (Macon: Mercer University Press, 1983. It is rare enough for a
scholar of the stature of Lindberg to study the charismatic movement, but this
is one of the few book length treatments to place the charismatic movement
within the controversy between Enthusiasm and Luther.
Luther Scholars
