# What do you think of pietism?



## cupotea (Oct 7, 2003)

Is it following the bible right? Is it arminian?


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## Puritan Sailor (Oct 7, 2003)

Pietism unfortunately has changed in meaning over the years. The original intent of the German pietists was much the same as the English and Dutch Puritans, to apply all this Reformed theology to practical living. The German peitists reacted against the dead orthodoxy of the Lutheran church in their time. Jacob Spener, one of it's founders, was heavily influenced by early puritans like Louis Bayly and William Teelink. Unfortunately, he pietist movement was overun with extremists much like the revival movements in the Great Awakenings.

So in short, if by pietism you mean the application of our theology to our practical living then pietism is a good thing. But if by pietism you mean the promotion of man centered selfrighteousness then pietism is bad. 

Puritan Sailor


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## cupotea (Oct 8, 2003)

[quote:1f33f9a831][i:1f33f9a831]Originally posted by puritansailor[/i:1f33f9a831]
Pietism unfortunately has changed in meaning over the years. The original intent of the German pietists was much the same as the English and Dutch Puritans, to apply all this Reformed theology to practical living. The German peitists reacted against the dead orthodoxy of the Lutheran church in their time. Jacob Spener, one of it's founders, was heavily influenced by early puritans like Louis Bayly and William Teelink. Unfortunately, he pietist movement was overun with extremists much like the revival movements in the Great Awakenings.

So in short, if by pietism you mean the application of our theology to our practical living then pietism is a good thing. But if by pietism you mean the promotion of man centered selfrighteousness then pietism is bad. 

Puritan Sailor [/quote:1f33f9a831]

Doing some research, I heard that Pietism was influenced by Mysticism.


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## AnonymousRex (Apr 6, 2004)

This website may answer your questions:

http://mb-soft.com/believe/txc/pietism.htm

AnonRex


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## Gregg (Apr 6, 2004)

A pious Bouncy


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## C. Matthew McMahon (Apr 6, 2004)

A littel info from Christian History Magazine:


Pietism is an historical movement which arose within the Protestantism of Continental Europe during the closing decades of the seventeenth century. Lutheran scholars have usually dated its beginning from Philip Jacob Spener's publication of his Pious Desires in 1675. Auguste Hermann Francke (1663-1727) was one of the leading figures of the Pietist movement of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. His spiritual struggle and pilgrimage is typical of many in the movement and were included in his "Autobiography" which was first published in 1692.

It should be understood, however, that the same movement is discernible in the Reformed communion and was shared by so called "radicals" and others who eschewed any ecclesiastical affiliation. By the middle of the eighteenth century it had largely run its course, though the religious impulses it had generated were incorporated in various subsequent movements down to the present day. 
Pietists were basically interested in the religious renewal of the individual, belief in the Bible as the unfailing guide to faith and life, a complete commitment to Christ which must be evident in the Christian's life, the need for Christian nurture through the faithful use of appropriate devotional aids, including sermons and hymns, and finally a concern to apply the love of Christ so as to alleviate the social and cultural ills of the day. 

A Second Phase of the Reformation?
The Pietists themselves generally believed and often asserted that their movement was an extension of or second phase of the Reformation. Whether or not that is true is a question that is still debated today. 

The term "Pietism" was first applied as a term of derision at Frankfort on Main, Germany in 1674. 
While there is no official or recognizable "Pietist" church or denomination as such, nevertheless the movement has left its mark on much of contemporary Christianity. The influence of the "Pietists" can be clearly traced in contemporary expressions of missions, ecumenism, revivalism, social activism and Bible study groups. Pietism has also influenced how we worship through its rich hymnology, how we give, and how we conduct our devotional life. 
Pietism and Puritanism, while usually considered two separate movements, were actually related. Puritanism was one of the formative influences on Pietism. The American Puritan Cotton Mather carried on correspondence with the Pietist leader Spener. 

Pietists did not see themselves as a new church but as an extension of the Reformation within the Reformation churches. They did promote the creation of conventicles (cell groups), that is little churches within the church. 
A Pietist, A.H. Francke, instituted the faith mission movement by depending upon voluntary contributions of friends for the support of his schools. He is said to have believed in vivid, specific answers to prayers. 

Pietists in the Netherlands were the first to use the term "huts kerk" or house church for their renewal meetings. 
New World Pietists negotiated liberal treaties with Native Americans when occupying lands. 

The Pietist Amana Society was turned into a joint stock corporation and now ranks as one of the leading producers of household appliances in the U.S. 

A Pietist press at Ephrata produced the longest book in colonial America in 1748/49, The Martyr's Mirror.

Pietists were uncomfortable with formal titles in the Christian community and introduced the nouns of address, "brother" and "sister." Also "the pastor" was familiarized to "pastor" as a name. In six years in the early Eighteenth Century, the Halle Pietists distributed 100,000 New Testaments and 80,000 Bibles. 

Pietist emphasis on Bible translation had the effect of generating renewed interest in written language wherever they went. 

Pietists created the model of orphanages for both church-related and public programs. In each of Halle's orphan asylums, children were taught a trade and treated as individuals. 

Pietists known as the "Woman of the Wilderness", settled in caves outside of Philadelphia, PA in 1695. This band of forty men sought to meditate and prepare for the coming of the Lord while engaged in works of mercy and evangelism. 


Philip Jacob Spener (1635-1705)
Of all the Pietists, Philip J. Spener personifies the spirit and the vitality of the movement. His controversial "collegia pietatis," or Christian renewal groups, at once transformed congregational life in both the Reformed and Lutheran churches and his major work, Pia Desidena became a manual for Pietistic reforms. Spener was indebted to Johann Arndt and Jean Labadie, the latter of whom he met at Geneva. In fact, Spener translated Labadie's Manual of Piety into German. Spener was concerned about the lack of vitality in Lutheran congregations. Through his preaching, writing and influence upon other pastors, Spener gradually turned the spiritual tide in German Lutheranism and beyond. In a series of key pastorares at Frankfurt on Main, Dresden, and Berlin, he easily became the most prominent German clergyman of his day. Among the privileges he enjoyed were close associations with political rulers in the House of Saxony and free postal rates as a reward for his work as an effective pastor. 

In all of his work, Spener believed his ideas were the logical fulfillment of the Lutheran Reformation. He was increasingly concerned with the worldly nature of the church and the overemphasis of the sacraments and the doctrine of justification by faith. Practical suggestions were necessary and he advised local churches to establish pastoral care groups and a functional eldership. Further Spener urged the establishment of devotional and Bible study groups which would raise the level of personal piety. The goal of all these efforts for Spener was to have the contemporary church reflect the early Christian community. 

Spener was not necessarily original; it was the impetus he gave to Pietism by his own personal influence and reputation that established his leadership in the movement.


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