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 PIETISM

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PIETISM

i. e. private assemblies in his own house for pious read- ing and mutual edification, and wrote " Pia desideria Oder herzlichcs Verlangen nach gottgefiilliger Besse- rung der wahren evangehschen Kirche" (1675). After criticizing the prevalent abuses, he makes six sugges- tions for the improvement of ecclesiastical conditions : In view of the inadequacy of sermons for the purpose, private gatherings should be held to secure among the people a more thorough acquaintance with the Word of God; the idea of a universal priesthood, which had not attained its rightful significance in the previous development of the Lutheran Church, was to be more fully realized; with the knowledge of Christianity was to be closely joined the exercise of charity and the spirit of forgiveness; the attitude towards unbelievers should be determined upon not by a controversial spirit, but by the charitable desire of winning these souls; the theological course should be reformed in order to spur the students not only to diligence, but also to a devout life, in which the professors should set the example; in preaching, rhetoric should be aban- doned and stress laid upon inculcating faith and a living, practical Christianity. Spener further de- fended his ideas of a universal priesthood in "Das geistliche Priesterthum, aus gottlichem Wort kurzlich besehrieben" (1677). His "Pia Desideria" won him many adherents, but also aroused violent opposition among Lutheran theologians.

A wider sphere of activity opened to Spener in 1686 when he was appointed court preacher at Dresden. During the same year, August Hermann Francke, Paul Anton, and Johann Kaspar Schade established at Leipzig, along the line of Spener's ideas, the "Col- legia philobiblica", for the practical and devotional explanation of Holy Scripture, which attracted large numbers of masters and students. The Pietist move- ment at Leipzig, however, came to an end a few years later owing to the opposition of the theological faculty, headed by Professor Johann Benedict Carpzov. The Pietists were accused of false doctrines, contempt for public worship and the science of theology, and sepa- ratistic tendencies. The "Collegia philobiblica" was dissolved in 1690 and the leaders of the movement, for- bidden to lecture on theology, left Leipzig. Spener, who had fallen into disfavour with the Elector of Sa.x- ony, removed in 1691 to Berlin, where he was ap- pointed provost to the church of St. Nicholas and counsellor to the consistory. Pietism was also at- tacked in Carpzov's Easter programme of 1691 and the anonymous treatise "Imago Pietismi" (1691), probably the work of Pastor Roth of Halle. A lively exchange of controversial pamphlets ensued. Spener's call to Berlin was of great significance for Pietism, as he here enjoyed the full confidence of Prince Fred- erick III (later King Frederick I of Prussia) and wielded a decisive influence in the selection of pro- fessors for the theological faculty of the recently founded University of Halle. Francke, who had been working at Erfurt since his departure from Leipzig, went to Halle as professor and pastor in January, 1692; his friend, Joachim Justus Breithaupt, had pre- ceded him in October, 1691, as first professor of theol- ogy and director of the theological seminary. Some- what later Paul Anton, formerly a colleague of Francke's at Leipzig, also received a chair at Halle. Professors in other faculties, like the celebrated jurist Christian Thomasius, organizer of the new university, were at least on friendly terms with the Pietist theo- logians, even if they did not share their religious be- liefs. Thus Halle became the centre of the Pietistic movement in Lutheran Germany.

Francke ranks high also in the history of education, owing to the establishment (169.5) of his orphan asy- lum, around which he grouped various institutions suited to the needs of teachers and pupils. He also turned his attention to foreign missions; the Pietists XIL— 6

promoted the dissemination of the Bible through the estabUshment (1710), by Freiherr von Canstein, of a bible house at the Halle orphan asylum. The Pietists on the whole preserved the doctrinal content of Lu- theran dogma, but treated systematic theology and philosophy as quite secondary. In preaching against the prevalent laxity of morals they relegated to the background the Lutheran dogma of justification by faith alone and insisted on a life of active devotion, and the doctrine of repentance, conversion, and regen- eration. The Pietist conventicles sought to further the "penitential conflict" leading to regeneration by prayer, devout reading, and exhortations. The so- called "adiaphora", theatres, dancing, etc., were regarded as sinful. After the foundation of the Uni- versity of Halle the campaign against Pietism was pursued with increased vigour by the orthodox Lu- therans, notably Samuel Schelwig at Danzig, Valen- tin Albert! at Leipzig, and the theological faculty of Wittenberg, with Johann Deutschmann at its head. Later came Valentin Ernst Loscher (d. 1747), against whom Pietism was defended by Joachim Lange, pro- fessor at Halle. During these struggles the founders of Pietism had passed away, Spener in 1705, Francke in 1727, Breithaupt in 1732, and then followed the period of decline.

Meanwhile, despite opposition, the influence of Pietism had spread, and its prestige, with the support of King Frederick I and Frederick William I, sur- vived Francke's death. Frederick William I decreed (1729) that all theologians desiring appointments in Prussia should study at Halle for two years; but the favour showTi the Pietists ceased with the accession of Frederick II. Besides Halle, the Universities of Konigsberg and Giessen aided in the spread of Piet- ism. It had also a powerful patron in Frederick IV, King of Denmark, who encouraged the movement in his country, sent Danish students of theology to Halle, and requested Francke to recommend missionaries for the Danish East Inchan possessions. At Wiirtem- berg Pietism took on a special character; while hold- ing in essentials to the ideas of Spener and Francke, it was more moderate, adhered more closely to the or- ganization and theology of the Lutheran Church, kept clear of eccentricities, had more scholarly interests, and flourished longer than the Pietism of Northern Germany. Francke, who had travelled through Wiir- temberg in 1717, was held in great veneration, while there was no intercourse at all with the later repre- sentatives of Pietism in Northern Germany. The leader of the movement at WUrtemberg was Johann Albrecht Bengel (d. 1752), who, like many other Wurtemberg theologians, had studied at Halle; with him were associated Eberhard Weismann and Frie- drich Christoph Oetinger. A separatistic community which grew out of Pietism was the "Herrnhiiter," whose founder. Count von Zinzendorf, had been edu- cated in Francke's institutions at Halle. In Swit- zerland, Pietism was widespread, especially in the cantons of Bern, Zurich, Basle, and Waadt.

So far as it followed the paths traced by Spener and Francke, Pietism produced some beneficial results. In the subjective bias of the whole movement, how- ever, there lay from the beginnning the danger of many abuses. It often degenerated into fanaticism, with alleged prophecies, visions, and mystical states (e. g., bloody sweats). This decadent Pietism led to the formation of various independent communities, some fanatic (Nillenarians, etc.), others criminal, indulging in lewd orgies (e. g. the Wittgenstein scandals and the Buttlargang). Among the theologians who, starting as Pietists, advanced to an independent position, quite at variance with organized Protestantism, the most conspicuous were Gottfried Arnold (<1. 1714), representative of a fanatical mysticism, and his dis- ciple, Johann Konrad Dipi)el, who attacked all forms