27 December 1555 A.D. Johann
Arndt—Lutheran Pietism
Graves, Dan. “Johann Arndt Pointed Way to
Pietism.” Christianity.com. Jun
2007. http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1501-1600/johann-arndt-pointed-the-way-to-pietism-11629992.html. Accessed
26 Dec 2014.
When Johann Arndt was born on
this day, December 27, 1555, at
Ballenstedt, in Anhalt, Germany, the Reformation was in full swing. His
parents, not satisfied with the training he would get in church schools when he
was a young boy, taught him themselves, especially emphasizing the life of
Christ in the believer. When he was older they deprived themselves even of
basic necessities to put him through school.
While Johann was in school,
studying medicine and the sciences, he became quite sick with a painful
disease. His physicians gave him no hope for recovery. At that juncture he
vowed that if God would heal him, he'd devote his life to the Lord's service.
He recovered and kept his word.
At that time, not only were
reformers at odds with the Roman Church, they were quarreling with one another.
Some of the changes in Johann's life were the direct result of these
theological differences. A devoted follower of reformer Philip Melanchthon,
Johann favored peace and patching up differences.
This was not to be. After Johann
completed his education in the Lutheran universities of Germany (including
Wittenberg) and the Reform universities of Switzerland, he accepted a pastorate
at Badeborn, Anhalt in 1583. Seven years later, he had to get out; his Lutheran
rituals irritated Duke John George, who was a Calvinist. When Johann refused to
remove certain fixtures or to end the practice of exorcism, Duke George forced
him to pack his bags and leave. Johann accepted an open pulpit at Quedlinburg.
He lasted there nine years; however, the people of that town disliked him so
much that he moved on to Brunswick.
Johann was concerned that
theologians taught Christians to put too much
emphasis on the legal achievement of Christ on the cross while neglecting the
necessary heart change which alone could make a true Christian. Consequently,
he encouraged his contemporaries to worship from the heart. They must have a
"practical Christianity." There would
be an inward emotional component to true Christianity. He preached much about
sin so as to awaken men to their need for a savior. But he was also a dedicated
pastor, resolving enmities, visiting the sick, and doing good wherever he
could.
Because of this emphasis, Johann
is sometimes considered the first of the Pietists. His big book of meditations
and prayers, Sechs Böcher vom Wahren Christentum, (Four Books
Concerning True Christianity) was widely read. Among the
Mennonites, Johann's writing was a frequently used devotional book for two
centuries or more. His writings influenced John Wesley.
Bibliography:
1. "Arndt, Johann." Encyclopedia Americana. Chicago:
Amricana Corp., 1956.
2. "Arndt, Johann." Encyclopedia Britannica. Britannica,
1911.
3. "Arndt, Johann." Mennonite Encyclopedia; a comprehensive reference
work on the Anabaptist-Mennonite movement. Hillsboro, Kansas:
Mennonite Brethren Pub. House, 1955 - 59.
4. "Arndt. Johann." Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church.
Edited by F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone. Oxford, 1997.
5. Brown, Harold O. J. Heresies. Garden City, New York:
Doubleday, 1984.
6. Collins, Kenneth J. "John Wesley's Critical Appropriation of Early
German Pietism." Wesleyan Theological Journal 27
(Spring-Fall, 1982), 57 - 92.
7. Grimm, Harold J. The Reformation Era, 1500-1650.
Macmillan, 1966.
8. "Johann Arndt 1555-1621." http://www.mhsc.ca/encyclopedia/contents/
A773ME.html
9. Morris. John G. John Arndt; author of the work on "True
Christianity." Baltimore: T. N. Kurtz, 1853.
Last updated June,
2007
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