Theologia Gremanica

Theologia Germanica: A Mystical Document of
Influence on Martin Luther, Philip Jakob Spener and

the Development of Lutheran Pietism
by Beth M. Jarrett
The Department of Religious Studies

Gonzaga University
Spokane, WA
2009
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Theologia Germanica: A Mystical Document of

Influence on Martin Luther, Philip Jakob Spener and
the Development of Lutheran Pietism
by
Beth M. Jarrett
A Research Paper Submitted to

The Department of Religious Studies
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for
Master of Arts Degree in Spirituality
Gonzaga University
Spokane, WA
2009
Dife^tor: Dr. Joy Milos, C.S.J.
Reader: Dr. Robert Hauck
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Table of Contents
I.
Introduction
Historical Context of Theologia Germanica
Theologia Germanica: Authorship and Themes
Continuity with Luther and TG
Discontinuity with Luther and TG
Validity of Influence on Luther
Spener and the Foundations of Pietism
Pietism in Context
Pia Desideria
Pietism After Spener
Pietism in America
Conclusion
Works Consulted
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Introduction
Much has been written about Martin Luther's relationship to the mystics and
mystical theology. Scholars have debated at length over the influence, or lack thereof,
that mystical traditions had on the development of Luther's own theological perspectives.
By surveying some of the scholars in this broad conversation and focusing specifically on
Theologia Germanica, this paper will argue that the influence of the mystical traditions,
especially Germanic Mysticism represented by Theologia Germanica, is consistent with
the primary theological particularities of the Reformer and resonates deeply with Luther's
own experience. Once Luther's relationship to the document is established, attention
will turn to the impact of Theologia Germanica on the life and work of Phillip Jakob
Spener. Spener's most well known document Pia Desideria lies at the heart of the
pietistic movement within Lutheranism. Mysticism and pietism have both been
movements to come under criticism by those claiming an orthodox position within
Lutheranism. My hope is to demonstrate the theological continuity between them in
order to glean from Lutheran history some possibilities for renewal today.
In order to begin evaluation of the influence of Theologia Germanica (TG) I will
briefly sketch the historical context in which the document enters Luther's experience.
Historical Context of Theolosia Germanica
The initial writing of the document and its first publication by Luther are
separated by approximately 166 years. The writing of the document took place around
1350 in the period of the Later Middle Ages. Luther, translating it for the first time in
1516, is writing at the beginning of the Early Modern Era (Burns, Lerner, and Meacham
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369). Therefore, the context in which the document was written and the context in which
Luther publishes it are not necessarily the same.
The Later Middle Ages, 1300-1500, were a time of chaos and calamities. Europe
was facing famine as a result of agricultural decline that followed seasons of extreme
cold and torrents of rain. The "Black Death" was making its way across the landscape,
leaving a wake of death and devastation. Warfare plagued country after country. "In
short, if the serene Virgin symbolized the High Middle Ages, the grinning death's-head
symbolized the succeeding period" (Burns, Lerner, and Meacham 369). Society adjusted
and endured, managing to escape total collapse, but agricultural decline and illness
brought about an economic crisis. Lower class revolts began and a shift toward
urbanization was changing communities. Artisans and entrepreneurs were finding
financial hope and recovery in urban centers.
The Church offered little refuge at this time. The papacy was being held captive
at Avignon, subservient to the French governmental powers. This servitude was only to
be followed by the Great Schism with two popes claiming authority Urban VI in Rome
and Clement VII in Avignon. The positive public opinion toward clergy was waning and
people's hunger for the Divine was seeking satisfaction in movements among the laity. It
was a period of religious enthusiasm, but the center and source of the enthusiasm was not
the institutionalized church. The enthusiasm centered on devotional movements and lay
piety.
Luther encountered TG in the early years of the sixteenth century. Europe was on
the edge of the Early Modern Era and the ideals of the Renaissance had triumphed in
Italy and were now spreading to Northern Europe. Western Europe was beginning to
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expand and divide as adventurers set sail to reach new lands. The rigid logic of
scholasticism was giving way to Christian Humanism and the prevailing interest for
people of faith sought practical guidance for life in the world from biblical and religious
sources. Clerical corruption and excessive ceremonialism were under attack (Burns,
Lerner, and Meacham 410). Although the trials of the preceding centuries had not all
been rectified, there was a slight sense of hope at work. The authority of Church and
state could be more freely questioned than ever before and people could effect change,
but the human capacity for reason was understood in light of a dependency on God.
Luther was a doctor of theology and a university professor when he discovered
TG. His relationship with the church was increasingly challenged as he observed
corruption and rampant abuse of authority. His wrestling with the question of a gracious
God in his tower experience at Wittenberg had resulted in the theological breakthrough
on Romans 1:16-17 where the doctrine of justification by grace began. The problem that
led Luther into the cell at Wittenberg was indeed a spiritual one. It was a struggle voiced
also by the rich young man in the Gospel of Matthew, who having kept all the
commandments asks, "What do I still lack in order to be saved?" The crisis for Luther
presented itself so acutely to the young monk, not because he had any particular
propensity to sin but simply because he had a very sensitive conscience; a
conscience quickened by a life overburdened with occupations, within an exacting
spiritual environment where it was tempting to believe that holiness was pre
eminently an affair of rigorous ascetic practices (Bouyer 63).
Luther's insight from his time in the Wittenberg tower was awareness that
justification of sinners is a work of God's own doing rather than the result of ascetic
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practice or pious living. The date of Luther's awakening is debated. Opinions have
ranged from 1508 to 1519. The importance of the date comes to play in distinguishing,
what some feel to be the young theology of an young Luther, which is prior to the tower
experience, and the mature theology of a mature Luther, which follows the tower
experience. The result of his isolation in the cell at Wittenberg was so significant to his
theology that scholars make these distinctions.
The dating is important for the study of TG and questions about the influence of
mysticism. I agree with the conclusion of Gordan Rupp that the essential of Luther's
theology, namely justification by faith, is in existence before the Reformation conflict
with the church begins in 1517 with the 95 Theses (Siggins 96). With Luther's insight on
justification in place, his interest in mysticism and TG are not out of a quest to address
his old question about how he can know a gracious God. He is not operating from the
same need he had as a young scrupulous monk. Mystical interest in TG is not employed
as a program or pathway to salvation nor is that the emphasis of the document.
Theolosia Germanica: Authorship and Themes
TG is a document by an anonymous author, written around 1350 (Hoffman,

Theologia Germanica xv). The author was a member of the Teutonic Order, part of the
medieval phenomenon of military orders of the church. Members combined their
military profession with a religious vocation. The Order of Teutonic Knights was created
during the crusades around 1190. The author of TG, often referred to as "the
Frankfurter" or "the Man from Frankfurt," was a superior in the order in the house at
Frankfurt. The order had two primary responsibilities at the time. The care of the sick
and, secondly, doing battle against false belief. The latter is particularly apparent. The
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document is similar in its theology to that of the Friends of God movement1 in that it
renounced the self, rejected fear and reward-based religion, believed clergy and laity
were equal before God and that the organized church was for the sake of Christian
discipleship. With these understandings it opposes the belief system of the questionable
group, Brothers and Sisters of the Free Spirit, who were considered heretics living
questionable lifestyles at the time. 2
Although there are no known original manuscripts of TG in existence today, most
English translations have been made from a manuscript of 1497. Throughout the
centuries there have been at least two hundred editions of the document. It was written in
common German and was simple in literary style but not simplistic in its content. As
Luther stated in his introduction to the 1518 edition: "For this noble little book, poor and
unadorned as it is as far as wording and purely human wisdom are concerned, is all the
richer and abundantly precious in true knowledge and divine wisdom" (Hoffman,
Theologia Germanica 54).
The number of editions and translations indicates that TG became a popular
document with a wide readership. "This work proved immensely popular and became
one of the chief mediators of Rhineland Spirituality to posterity" (Davies 105). As such,
its influence on the church was also significant and Spener's later access and interest in
the document is not surprising. The impact on the church does not necessarily mean it
effected the institution, but rather, the community of believers. The document is not
blatantly anti-ecclesiastical, but the church authorities were still threatened by some noninstitutional language and the desire to preserve the institution's role in mediating access
1
A mystical group of Dominicans influenced by Meister Eckhart and centered in the Rhine Valley.
This sect developed in the Rhine region at the beginning of the thirteenth century. It later spread to
France and Italy. TG writes against them. They are much more extreme than the Friends of God.
2
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to God. The document became an object of anxiety and was ultimately banned in all
forms by the pope in 1612 (Hoffman, Theologia Germanica xii).
At the time of its writing the public opinion of the church was low, human
optimism was fragile, and there was a tendency to look at the calamities of the time as
divine judgment. "More and more people were looking for signs and experiences of the
eternal life that, especially according to the Gospel of John, is available here and now,
and in person not only outside of him" (Hoffman, Theologia Germanica 6). TG
addressed this desire and became a piece of the spiritual rediscovery taking place among
the growing lay movements and devotional groups of the time.
Opinions about the primary themes of the document vary. Some will argue that
the document deals with themes already formed by Eckhart and Tauler rather than
creating anything new (Davies 105). This perspective articulates the main focus of
Eckhart and Tauler as, " the sublimination of our will into the will of God and the freeing
of our mind from creatures " (Davies 105). Bengt Hagglund, in the Preface to Hoffman's
book claimed that, "to restore man to the state of obedience to God and bring him to
overcome the self serving egoism is the central concern towards which all the thoughts of
this book converge" (Hoffman, Theologia Germanica xiii). Hoffman himself put forth a
somewhat different summary in the Forward to the same book. "Theologia Germanica is
a book about life in God as it translates into life in the world" (xv). Raitt, McGinn and
Meyerdoff listed the discernment of Spirits as the central and most important theme.
They also stated that the main point of all discussion in TG is divinization (159). For the
author of TG divinization is Christocentric. "[...] his primary emphasis is on divinization
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through the sole mediating exemplarity of Jesus Christ" (Rait, McGinn and Meyerdoff
160).
These themes are stated in a variety of ways but are all related. They share
concern about the human will and submitting to the will of God. The themes, as the
pietists who follow believe, aim at a life of obedience and relationship to God lived in the
world. They share a goal of human connection with God through Christ and recognize
the potential for one to be misguided in that desire.
The major themes of TG create an intersection between the strengths of the
document and the needs of the people, and they also create points of intersection with
Luther. These intersections often resulted in continuity between Luther and TG. An
appealing characteristic of the document for Luther was that religion was a thing of the
heart and not of the intellect alone. TG spoke to the ongoing debate with scholasticism
which Luther picked up and stated most directly in Disputation against Scholastic
Theology in 1517. James Mackinnon noted that in reading the document, "what strikes
one at once is the contrast, in content, style, and spirit, to the conventional scholasticism.
It discards the scholastic method of logical discussion and demonstration of doctrine"
(214). Mackinnon continued with an even stronger statement about the author. "He has,
in fact, no faith in reason as a means of finding God, who is above reason and all that
reason can postulate, and is to be known only as He reveals himself in the soul, in
intuition, the inner light, experience and especially in the incarnation of Christ, in whom
the Divine perfectly dwelt" (215). Luther would likely be dismayed to know that the day
of scholasticism within Lutheranism was not over but would resurface in Lutheran
Orthodoxy.
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Continuity with Luther and TG

As a reformer and a protestant, Luther was not alone in his interest in Theologia
Germanica (TG). Oliver Davies recognized its significant influence among other
protestant reformers and suggested, "the reason for this is not least because the Theologia
Germanica advocates an inward religion, which is personal and deeply felt, and it shows
a natural antipathy towards all forms of ecclesiastical authority" (Davies 105). Also
noteworthy was the fact that the document was passed on to both enthusiasts and pietists
by significant figures such as Arndt, Schwenckfeld, Spener and Francke (Rait, McGinn,
Meyerdoff 159), the fathers of Lutheran pietism. They were leaders among Protestants
who abhorred any spiritual perspective that emphasized human effort or religious
practices as contributing to one's salvation. They found the document to be free of such
heresy.
Luther himself was a product of the university. He was a theologian and
professor. His objection to scholasticism did not reject the use of one's God given
intellect. He praised the theology of TG in a letter to Spalatin. "For I have not found in
Latin or Greek a more wholesome theology, or one more consonant with the Gospel"
(Mackinnon 212). Rather, Luther's objection was to any system of reason and logic that
eliminated the need for God and denied Christ - a charge at times levied upon
Scholasticism. This was a concern that would be shared among orthodox and pietistic
Lutherans. Luther found TG demonstrating a grasp of both Pauline and Johanine
teaching but enforcing these teachings in a practical fashion rather than merely as
intellectual exercises. TG was therefore in contrast to the scholastic dialectic method.
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Mackinnon included nothing short of a litany of similarities that he believed

existed between Luther and TG:
There is a keen sense of sin and its evil effects, of impotence of human nature by
reason of sin to attain the divine life apart from God, of complete dependence of
the soul on God for salvation, of innate disposition to seek the good of self instead
of the good for its own sake, of the necessity of self-distrust, self effacement in
the relation of man to God. (215)
Terms such as "dinivization" and "union with God" are nearly foreign to the
contemporary Lutheran vocabulary. They were not, however, foreign to Luther and his
theology. Luther said, "Much has been written about how man shall become divinized.
One has made ladders on which to climb to heaven. But this is empty nonsense. Here
[in the Gospel of justification by faith in grace] you are shown the right way [...] so that
your life [...] becomes wholly divine" (Hoffman, Mystics 164). Regarding divinization,
Bengt Hoffman interpreted TG in harmony with Luther. "But did [the author] not mean
the same as Luther, that is to say, not a self-propulsion through ever higher spiritual
spheres but a walk with the crucified and risen Lord?" (Mystics 164).
The German Mysticism represented by TG reiterated the perspective of St.
Augustine in which the goal of human life is union with God (Senn 18). Achieving this
union, however, is hampered by sin. Humanity's sinfulness is in seeking the self in all
things rather than seeking God. This sinfulness is overcome only by God's graciousness
in Christ. Luther's objections to mystical union arose only when one sought to attain
union with God outside the incarnate Word. TG does not much such a move.
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TG, which spoke of tranformation as 'divinization' at some junctures, took pains

to point to 'the writ' as primary source. The anonymous author used the phrase
'God Speaks' immediately followed by the Bible passage to be expounded. The
writer enumerated the components of a Christian life; 'the word, works and the
way to live.' Note he placed the Word first" (Hoffman, Theology of the Heart
113)
For Luther, specifically, we know that "the union with Christ is mediated through
union with his word, through faith in his promises" (Trinkhaus 23). On this point there is
a clear similarity with TG. "If you ask: 'What is a divinized or sanctified person?' my
answer would be: The person who transmits and radiates the eternal and divine Light and
burns with divine love, that person is sanctified or divinized" (Hoffman, Theologia
Germanica 120).
Theologically, Luther approved of this German Mysticism. "A spiritual kinship
existed between the man who found justification by faith in grace to be the heart of the
matter and the writers who spoke of near desperation and resignation to hell as part of life
before God" (Hoffman, Mystics 121). This sense of mystical union with Christ is also
developed in The Freedom of a Christian where Luther wrote using familiar medieval
imagery. "The third incomparable benefit of faith is that it unites the soul with Christ as
a bride is united with her bridegroom. By this mystery, as the Apostle teaches, Christ and
the soul become one flesh [Eph 5:31-32]" (Lull 603). Senn refered to this particular
writing of Luther as "a work of mystical serenity" (20). To this end he quoted Luther
from The Freedom of a Christian. "Just as the heated iron glows like fire because of the
union of fire with it, so the Word imparts its qualities to the soul" (Senn 20).
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Luther shared an understanding of sin with the author of TG. "This is to say that
the creature turns from the Perfect to the imperfect, to separateness, to the partial and pre
eminently to itself' (Hoffman, Theologia Germanica 61). The inflated ego places the self
will in disobedience to the will of God. Luther called this being curved in on oneself or
incurvatus in se. "This curvedness is now natural for us, a natural wickedness and a
natural sinfulness. Thus man has no help from his natural powers, but he needs the aid of
some power outside of himself' (Hilton, Luther's Works vol.25, 345). That power
outside of the self is the life, death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ.
A final example of continuity is in the insistence that there is no good in humanity
apart from God. TG stated, "for nothing of that which is worthy of the term good
belongs to man. It belongs only to the Eternal, to true Goodness. He who claims it
himself acts unrighteously and against God" (Hoffman, Theologia Germanica 64).
Luther agreed because he believed the natural powers of the human led to sinfulness.
Discontinuity with Luther and TG
Certainly there are points of discontinuity between Luther and TG as well. One
characteristic that would not have been attractive to Luther was the tendency towards the
apophatic or negative articulations for God. For example, "Creatures that are partial and
imperfect can be comprehended, known and described in words. But the Creator, the
Perfect cannot be comprehended, known and described in the same manner by creatures
on account of their creatureliness" (Hoffman, Theologia Germanica 60). For Luther, God
was not an abstraction. God was incarnate and therefore concrete, personal and known in
Christ.
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Luther's discontinuity is most clear when any mysticism or mystical theology is

dependent on anything other than faith in Christ for access to God, and whenever that
access through Christ is limited to a particular or elite group of people. The spiritual
privilege of union with Christ is a birthright of all the baptized. Charles Trinkhaus found
Gersen, Staupitz and Luther similar on this point:
[...] what all three have in common is that this mystical experience is no longer
regarded as the privilege of a few elect aristocrats of the Spirit; in accordance with
the late medieval phenomenon of democratization of mysticism, the bridal kiss
and the intimate union of God and man now marked the life of every true
believer. (19)
There are theologians such as Heinrich Boehmer who de-emphasized the
continuity of mystical theology, even German Mysticism, with Luther by arguing that
Luther was always reading his own thoughts into it and that his opinion was shaped by
his practice of seeking answers to his very personal questions and experiences in
everything he read. (146). Boehmer claimed that Luther misunderstood TG and Tauler.
He maintained that Luther's own need overshadowed his right understanding of TG as a
document in opposition to Luther's doctrine of grace. "And in the last analysis it was
only because he misunderstood them that he could use them, in modest measure, as aids
in his struggle for an ever clearer grasp of his own religious insight" (146). It is not
necessary to suggest that Luther did not adequately understand the mystical writers. It is
necessary only to recognize where he stood in disagreement with them. Points of
continuity need not be a threat:
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When Luther praises a medieval doctor whose thoughts on other accounts prove
to be completely alien to his own theology, it is often suggested that Luther
'misunderstood' him, or as it is sometimes put more nicely - that Luther is led
into a 'productive misunderstanding.' If one collects these kinds of statements
from a wide range of Luther studies, one cannot but conclude that Luther is
uniquely naive and ignorant. (Oberman 224)
Luther openly articulated his acceptance and rejection of mystical theology.
Luther's rejection of Dionysius is one example. He wrote in The Babylonian Captivity:
But in his Theology which is rightly called mystical, of which certain very
ignorant theologians make so much, he is downright dangerous, for he is more of
a Platonist than a Christian. So if I had my own way, no believing soul would
give the least attention to these books. So far, indeed, from learning Christ in
them, you will lose even what you already know of him. (qtd. in Rorem 291)
Validity of Influence on Luther
Trusting that Luther was willing and able to say what he believed opens the way
for finding areas of influence of this German Mysticism upon his theology. Although
Luther rejected Dionysius and other mystics who claimed that "Platonist" theology, he
held Johan Tauler and TG in high regard. His interest was more than a passing fancy as
he published the work and parts of it at two different times, two years apart. His interest
in mysticism was not as a conceptual system but on the internal side of faith; the inward
experience of God. He was interested in God as hidden and revealed. The Heidelberg
Disputation, written in 1518, comes at the height of Luther's attention to TG. Even a
passing reference to this document demonstrates similarity with TG. Luther wrote, "The
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person who believes that he can obtain grace by doing what is in him adds sin to sin so
that he becomes doubly guilty" (Lull 41). In TG we hear the following:
When I claim something good as my own achievement, in the belief that I am
good, or that I can do the good of myself, or that I know the good, or that I am the
one that carries out the good as though it came from me, belongs to me, or is my
due, and things along this line, when this happens I usurp merit and honor and
commit two evils. (Hoffman, Theologia Germanica 63-64)
The fact that TG preceded the Heidelberg Disputation by over a century and that
Luther was intimately acquainted with its content suggests that the theology of the
disputation is not only similar to TG but influenced by TG:
Luther was drawn to the German mystics such as Tauler and TG because:
They confirmed and supported Luther's own discovery of the biblical message.
They spoke of trust in Christ and not one's own work. Their 'German Mysticism'
was crystallized in doctrines of piety, not theoretical speculation. It was anchored
in life with God, in experiences of life as forgiven and justified sinner. (Hoffman,
Mystics 160)
Undoubtedly, Luther's theology was influenced by many sources but he did find
within German mystical theology "some of its expressions of immediate divine presence
congenial with his own deepest experience" (Hoffman, Mystics 122). However, Grisar,
for one, did not hesitate to say that Luther's style from the years around 1516-1518 and
also later shows "how profoundly he was animated by the devout tone of these mystics"
(59). Boehmer speaks more cautiously:
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So he became acquainted with Tauler as well as with the mystic from Frankfurt
only after his new religious views had, in their essential features, attained
maturity. It simply is not true, therefore, that it was his acquaintance with these
two old men of God that transformed him 'from a man of despair, struggling in a
gloomy sea, into a reformer.' (143-144)
This more pessimistic view of TG's influence on Luther's theology does support
the understanding that Luther's interest in Germanic Mysticism is not the immaturity of
an underdeveloped theologian. Boehmer went on to say, '*[...] but as early as 1520 he
[Luther] had already given up his admiration for the 'German Theologian' and Tauler.
From that time onward he never once quoted or recommended either of them" (212).
Assuming that is the case, it still does not refute that the influence was already and still
remained within Luther. It also must be noted that by 1520 Luther had already written,
Disputation Against Scholastic Theology. Ninety Five Theses. Heidelberg Disputation.
Two Kinds of Righteousness. The Babylonian Captivity of the Church. The Freedom of a
Christian, his first lectures on the Psalms, and lectures on Romans, just to name a few.
These writings of Luther continue to be significant theological documents. Luther was
well on his way to creating his own wealth of material from which to quote and to
recommend to others.
With this in mind, the influence of TG on the Lutheran movement is more
difficult to trace. Followers of Luther referred primarily to the writings of Luther not
what was prior to his work. The brush fire that became the Reformation was interested in
the theologian at Wittenberg not an anonymous priest from two centuries before. Yet
Louis Bouyer argued that both asceticism and mysticism are constant models within
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spirituality throughout Christian history. They are present in all forms of spirituality
(Senn 11). It can be expected, then, that elements of mysticism and asceticism will be
present in Lutheranism and Lutheran spirituality as well. Senn believed that it was "the
mystical characteristics in Luther's theology between 1516-1520 [that] prepared the way
for a resurgence of mystical piety among Lutherans in the Ages of Orthodoxy and
Pietism (20).
For too many years the commentary on Lutheranism and mysticism could be
summed up in this brief statement by Bengt Hoffman. "In most Protestant interpretations
of the word, 'mysticism' serves as a technical term for unacceptable theology" (Hoffman,
"Luther and the Mystical" 166). How, when, and where this statement became the reality
for the tradition is beyond the scope of this paper but briefly represented here is
Boehmer's perspective that the influence of even Germanic mysticism and its co
existence with Luther's theology ended in 1520.
It is time for Lutherans to shake the dust from TG and mysticism. They can offer
the best of orthodoxy in sound theology and the best of pietism in personal experience.
TG was grounded in its context but its Spirit-filled message is timeless. Its interest in
faith lived in the world has a contemporary ring. "Many say that they lack peace and
calm. They experience many reverses, much anguish, strain and suffering" (Hoffman,
Theologia Germanica 74). This is the cry of many of the faithful in the current cultural
context as well. TG speaks a biblical, Christ-centered wisdom that is also consistent with
Lutheran theology. It speaks of the person united in Christ saying, "The illumined ones
live in freedom. This means that they are free from fear of pain or hell. They have
abandoned hope of reward or heaven. They live in pure surrender and obedience to the
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eternal God in love that frees" (Hoffman, Theologia Germanica 71). Luther again echoed
this proclamation in light of his understanding of justification by faith:
A Christian has no need of any work or law in order to be saved since through
faith he is free from every law and does everything out of pure liberty and freely.
He seeks neither benefit nor salvation since he already abounds in all things and is
saved through the grace of God because in his faith he now seeks only to please
God (Lull 614-615).
Freedom in Christ opens the believer to the possibility of a truly integrated life
and a balanced spirituality that engages the head, the heart and the hands. Martin Luther
aimed for nothing less. TG can serve as another resource on this journey to integrated
life in Christ:
We speak of obedience, of a new man, of true Light, of true Love, and of the
Christ life, yet it all means the same. Where one of these parts of true Life is,
they all are. Where one of them breaks down or is absent, none of them can be
present. For they are all of one piece in the realm of truth and being. (Hoffman,
Theologia Germanica 132)
Lutherans do not need to fear or belittle the influence of Theologia Germanica.
Many people within the Lutheran tradition have been quite comfortable with the writings
of Luther that demonstrate influence of TG but have not emphasized it or been aware of
it. Luther was selective and clear about what parts of the mystical traditions he rejected
and incorporated those that he accepted for the sake of Christ and the life of the faithful.
The hope of the forefather of the Reformation and the tradition that bears his
name is given voice in the closing prayer of Theologia Germanica:
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May we abandon our selfish ways and die away from our own will and live only
to God and his will. May we be helped to this by him who surrendered His will to
His heavenly Father, and who lives and rules with God, the Father in union with
the Holy Spirit, in perfect Trinity. (Hoffman, Theologia Germanica 149)
This paper articulates a justification for mysticism as a vital piece w ithin Luther's
own theological development. The influence of German mysticism on the development
of the Pietists cannot be denied.
The efforts toward integration and balance within the life of faith are key as we
begin to look at Spener and pietism. They are consistent with Luther's interest that faith
includes an internal side as well as outward manifestation.
It is notable, however, that the work of the pietists and the resulting movement of
Pietism come, as do the mystics and the resulting movement of mysticism, with negative
connotations for many. Bengt Hoffman put it this way
'Pietism,' derived frompietas (devout, God fearing), has assumed the
character of heresy in many of the theologies that now dominate the
market. Practicaly every 'mainline' Protestant theological student leaves
his or her alma mater with the adjectives 'pietism' in its bag of forbidden
or cursed items ('mysticism' is another, 'Gnosticism' a third, and, often
enough, 'Roman Catholic' a fourth negatively toned adjective)'" (Theology
of the Heart 240)
Spener and the Foundations of Pietism
Phillip Jakob Spener was born in Rappolstein, an Alsatian village near Strasbourg
Germany on January 13, 1965. He was raised in a home with devout Lutheran parents
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whom he credits, especially his mother, for his early religious influence. However, there
were several other people of significant influence in his life as well.
His baptismal sponsor, the Countess Agatha von Rappolstein, is noted as a person
of influence. She is considered a "mystical quietist." (Maschke 189) It is not clear if that
was simple name-calling or an accurate description of her spirituality.
Spener's pastor was Joachim Stoll. He served as Spener's catechist, preacher,
counselor and respected advisor. He also became a brother-in-law after he married
Spener's oldest sister. Their mutual respect is demonstrated by the fact that Stoll wrote
the second appendix to Spener's primary work Pia Desideria.
Spener's father served as a steward and councilor for one of the dukes of
Rappolstein. This work contributed to their station in life and access to literature. Spener
was an avid reader and made good use of his father's library. The Bible was his favorite
book but next to scripture it was the "mystically inclined" (Walker 588) Johann Arndt's
True Christianity that captured him. Arndt's book enjoyed significant popularity in the
Scandinavian countries as well as in Germany. It also found it's way to America with the
colonists.
In his early years it was books within and beyond his own tradition that continued
to be of interest for Spener. He read several devotional books written by English Puritans
that were critical of conventional Christianity. Lewis Bayly's The Practice of Piety and
Richard Baxter's The Necessary Teaching of the Denial of Self were among those whose
influence is recognizable in Spener's work. These books emphasized self-examination, a
sincere desire and earnest quest for holiness as well as moral standards that identified the
true Christian from his neighbor. (Tappert 10). The clear bias from the English Puritans
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was similar to that of Johann Arndt toward rigorous moral and religious life over
dogmatic intellectualism or scholastic orthodoxy.
Spener studied at the University of Strassburg under Johann Conrad Dannhauer
who was a noted orthodox confessional Lutheran. Much of Spener's passions find their
beginnings in the influence of Dannhauer.
It was he who induced Spener to read Luther's works. It was he who first
taught Spener to think of salvation as a present and not merely a future gift
of God. It was he who opened Spener's eyes to the place of the laity in the
church. It as he who suggested the use of the vernacular instead of Latin
in some phases of theological education. It was from him that Spener
learned the casuistical treatment of ethics, and to him that Spener appealed
for support in his views on Sunday observance (Tappert, Pia Desideria 10)
It should be noted that although Dannhauer was a person of significant influence
for Spener, there were still differences between them. Dannhauer was representative of
the seventeenth century scholasticism3 in a way that Spener was not.
Spener completed his theological studies in 1659. He then traveled for two years
before beginning his doctoral work. During his travel he encountered the practical
Christian life of other communities.
His travel included time in Basel, Bern, Lausanne,
and Geneva in Switzerland, Freiburg and Tubingen in Germany as well as Lyons and
Montbeliard in France. His experiences, though ecumenical in nature did not include
Roman Catholicism with the exception of a former Jesuit.
It was in Geneva that he met the former Jesuit and reformed church pastor Jean de
Labadie. Some will identify Labadie as a Separatist4 (Erb 10) and others accuse him of
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lapsing into mystical fanaticism in his later career (Tappert 11). Spener became
acquainted with him at the peak of his zeal and influence. "The very fact that Spener
often went to hear him indicates something of the impression Labadie made on his young
visitor. The fact that Spener had one of Labadie's French tracts published in a German
translation about six years later suggests that the impression remained"' (Tappert 11).
Spener returned to Strasbourg after his travel and completed his doctorate, did
some teaching, was ordained and married. He left teaching to accept the call to serve as
senior pastor to the ministerium in Frankfurt. At the time, Frankfurt was a prospering
commercial city with many clergy in his care.
He was only thirty-one at the time and perhaps only half the age of many of his
colleagues. Yet, as the senior pastor his role included presiding over clergy meetings,
installing and ordaining new ministers, keeping records of pastoral acts and visiting
parishes. He was also responsible for preaching and presiding at the city's principle
church. While in this call Spener worked to strengthen catechetical teaching for children.
He urged civil authorities to enforce legislation against trade on Sunday and require
moderate dress. He developed and maintained extensive correspondence with members
of the nobility and gained a reputation as "the spiritual counselor of all Germany."
(Tappert 12). Spener held this position for twenty years.
Of primary importance in Spener's career in Franfurt was his emphasis on the
encouragement of the laity. It was there in 1670 that he gathered the first collegia
pietatis. This was a small house group of likeminded people gathered for Bible reading,
prayer, and discussion of Sunday sermons. The goal was the deepening of the individual
spiritual life (Walker 588).
4
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In a sermon preached in 1669 Spener declared:

How much good it would do if good friends would come together on a
Sunday and instead of getting our glasses, cards, or dice would take up a
book and read from it for the edification of all or would review something
from sermons that were heard! ... It is certain, in any case, that we
preachers cannot instruct the people from our pulpits as much as is needful
unless other persons in the congregation, who by God's grace have a
superior knowledge of Christianity, take the pains, by virtue of their
universal Christian priesthood, to work with and under us to correct and
reform as much in their neighbors as they are able according to the
measure of their gifts and their simplicity (Tappert 12)
The groups that met in 1670 gathered at Spener's home on Wednesdays and
Sundays. Both men and women were present although seated separately and only the
men were allowed to speak. Some of the clergy from Frankfurt did attend.
As Spener's methods and teaching spread and with the growth came controversy.
His efforts were not a departure from Lutheran standards but did represent a change in
emphasis toward scripture rather than the creeds. "His feeling that, if 'the heart' was
right, differences of intellectual interpretation were of secondary importance, was sharply
opposed by those who put the emphasis on 'pure doctrine'" (Walker 589). Some
believed that although Spener popularized the familiarity with the Bible, he also
weakened the authority of confessional standards as the norm of what the Scriptures had
to teach. (589)
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In spite of Spener's protests, some of his disciples at Frankfurt did withdraw from
worship and the sacraments. Because of the separatists actions of some the meetings of
collegia pietatis drew police opposition. In the midst of this pressure he received and
accepted a call to Dresden as a court preacher in 1686. In Dresden he met the young
professor from Leipzig, August Hermann Francke. Francke would become his successor
as the leading theologian in pietism.
Spener's time in Dresden had many challenges. The Saxon clergy viewed him as
a stranger and the universities of Leipzig and Wittenberg opposed him. The meetings for
the deepening of spiritual life developed criticism as they had in Frankfurt. His rebuke of
government officials for drunkenness did not endear him to the leadership so when an
offer to move to Berlin came, he accepted. (589)
Although not a pietist himself, King Frederick I of Prussia, offered
support to Spener and so he remained in Berlin until his death in 1705. Spener
was accused of heresy but that accusation cannot be made as a blanket statement.
Spener was "accused of heresy - falsely so as indicating any intentional departure
from Lutheran standards, but rightly so in the sense that his spirit and ideals were
quite unlike those of contemporary Lutheran orthodoxy" (Walker 589). It would
be a bit short sighted to forget that Luther himself was a heretic in his day. Like
Luther, Spener deserves a closer examination than his accusers offered.
Pietism in Context
Ongoing conflict is the surrounding context for Spener and the rise of pietism.
Years of fierce fighting between religious and political factions followed the years of
Martin Luther's most prolific writing and the Reformation. Luther died in 1546 and the
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years that followed his death were those of ongoing theological conflict for the young
Lutheran church.
Phillip Melanchthon, once a faithful follower of Luther's theology began to break
with the reformer on issues concerning good works, the presence of Christ in the Lord's
Supper and the essential practices of faith. Most notably was the modification of
Luther's understanding of the bondage of the will. Melanchthon taught that saving faith
was the result of the preached word, the Holy Spirit and the human will. This position
became known as synergism.
Controversy developed over what theological principles were central to the faith
and which were not. These differences and changes in Melanchthon's thinking were
published in the 1540 edition of the Augsburg Confession, just 10 years after he wrote the
original Augsburg Confession. The 1540 edition became known as the "altered" edition.
The struggle resulted in the publishing of The Formula of Concord in 1577. It
became the final creedal and confessional piece within the Book of Concord, which was
published in June of 1580, the 50th anniversary of the (unaltered) Augsburg Confession.
In addition to the Formula of Concord the book included the three ecumenical creeds, the
(unaltered) Augsburg Confession, the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, the Small
and Large Catechisms and the Schmalkald Articles.
The Formula rejected both sides of extremist positions and was generally in
agreement with Luther's thinking. However, "It was more Scholastic' in its method and
mode of argument than Luther's own theological works. Thus, the Formula may be said
to have inaugurated the period of Lutheran high orthodoxy" (Williston/Walker 528)
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The ongoing conflict was not only among Lutherans but also between the
overwhelmingly protestant population of Germany and the few ecclesiastical princes and
the emperor who remained Catholic. A revival of Catholicism and the Counter Reformation proved too great for a Protestantism that was divided both politically and
confessionally. The escalating conflict resulted in the Thirty Years War.
The actual outbreak of the war came from Bohemia on May 23, 1618. Although
Emperor Rudolf II issued a letter calling for religious tolerance, the accounts of Catholic
violations of the decree increased. A group of disaffected Protestant nobles threw two
Catholic Regents out a window of the Hradcany castle in Prague. This act became knons
as the 'Defenestration of Prague and put Bohemia into rebellion thus beginning the war.
For Germany, the Thirty Years War was devastating. The land had been
plundered for a generation. Moral and religious life had undergone a profound decline.
The population decreased by 10 million people. The state of commerce, manufacturing
and intellectual life stagnated.
As pastor to a community that had experienced the tragedy, turmoil and
disillusionment of the Thirty Years War, Spener was acutely aware of the deteriorated
state of Christian life both in Frankfurt and throughout Germany.. "Little evidence of
spiritual life was manifested in this frightful time of war; yet to it, in large part, and
reflecting the trust of heartfelt piety in its stress, belongs the work of perhaps the greatest
of Lutheran Hymn writers, Paul Gerhardt." (Williston/ Walker 534) The hymns such as,
"O Sacred Head Now Wounded" and "A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth" as well as
"Awake My Heart With Gladness" did represent the survival of a deeper piety.
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The scholastic or orthodox Lutheranism that developed around the writing of the
Formula of Concord continued into the 17th century. This theology was based on the
Scriptures but it took on a rigid dogmatic interpretation. It expected intellectual
conformity and emphasized pure and exact doctrine along with the sacraments as
constituting the sufficient elements of the Christian life
Those who followed Martin Luther in those early years were concerned with
maintaining the theological distinctions that had been fought for with such unwavering
conviction. These theologians insisted on the teaching of pure doctrine in the church.
The legacy of orthodoxy is often described as intellectual and oriented to the head
rather than the heart.
. .there is the legacy of cognitive theologizing around the theme of
justification by faith, the dogmatic bulwark built against the heresies of humanism and
scholasticism. That tradition is called 'Lutheran orthodoxy" (Hoffman 145). Theninterest was in protecting and preserving the heritage of the Confessors through the
theological conflicts and war that plagued the late 16th and 17th centuries. "They
buttressed, defended, and explicated that tradition so that the evangelical verities of the
past could remain the living reality of another generation" (Nichol and Kolden 67).
There is potential to paint this perspective as rigid and cold but that would not be
entirely accurate. The theology of the orthodox still proclaimed the triumph of God's
grace. "Christians the world over still read their books and the great Lutheran chorales
("Praise to the Lord" and "Now Thanks We All Our God" are two of hundreds) still sing
of their faith" (Nichol, All These Lutherans 26).
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Pia Desideria
Following years of war and hardship in Europe and the development of the "state"
church, some Lutherans, namely Phillip Jakob Spener, became increasingly dissatisfied
with the apathy and moral decline within the church. Spener noticed,. .that the spirit of
the evangelical churches was formal and arid, that Christianity in those churches seemed
to be ritualistic and formal, organized but not personal" (Nichol and Kolden 67).
Although there were devout pastors and believers among them the critics felt that "their
scholasticism was too warlike and too academic to do what theology is supposed to do:
help the church tell the gospel'' (Nichol 26). In a pattern of action and reaction Lutheran
pietism was born. "Pietism was a turning from these scholastic tendencies, an assertion
of the primacy of feeling in Christian experience, a vindication of an active share for the
laity in the upbuilding of the Christian life and a stress upon a strict ascetic attitude
toward the world" (Williston/Walker 587).
To this end, Spener wrote what became a manifesto for reform. Pia Desidaria
(PD) translates "heartfelt desire for a God-pleasing reform" or "Pious Desires." It was
first published in 1675 when Spener was invited by a Frankfurt publisher to write a new
preface for Johann Arndt's popular book of sermons on the gospel appointed for the
church year. Spener invited conversation with pastoral colleagues to discuss his ideas
before submitting his work. There were no significant objections at the time.
The manuscript created an immediate enthusiastic response so the publisher
reprinted it on its own just six months later in the fall of 1675. Another printing followed
in 1676 and in 1678 Spener published a Latin translation on his own. Three more
German editions appeared by 1712 but after that PD was not reprinted until the religious
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awakenings of the nineteenth century renewed interest in the document. It was 289 years
from the original printing before an English translation was published.
PD is not a complicated work in its structure. It separates easily into three parts.
The first part deals with the condition of the churches in Spener's time. Spener thought
that civil leaders were not doing all they could to uplift and uphold the gospel. He
identified the clergy and the laity to be equally at fault for the current situation. His
observations suggested "'subtle philosophical controversy seemed to be the highest mark
of orthodox theologians rather than a proper balance of theology with exemplary living
based on biblical norms" (Maschke 189).
In the second part he begins to assert the possibility for reform. His position is
one of encouragement. He was not giving up on Christ's church even in its deteriorated
state. "There is no justification for despair. The promises of God in the Bible and the
example of the early church offer ample encouragement for the expectation of better
conditions in the church" (Tappert 16).
The third part presents Spener's six concrete proposals to achieve the desired
reform. He called them "proposals to correct the conditions in the church." His hope
was to balance the trend of scholastic or orthodox Lutheranism. The proposals were as
follows:
1. 1. "More extensive use of the Word of God among us"(Spener 87).
2. "The establishment and diligent exercise of the spiritual priesthood" (Spener

92).
3. ".. .it is by no means enough to have knowledge of the Christian faith, for
Christanity consists rather of practice" (Spener 95).
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4. "We must beware how we conduct ourselves in religious controversies"

(Spener 97).
5. Reform..."in our schools and universities" (Spener 103).
6. "I therefore add this as a sixth proposal whereby the Christian church may be
helped to a better condition: that sermons be so prepared by all that their purpose
(faith and its fruits) may be achieved in the hearers to the greatest possible
degree" (Spener 115).
Steeped in Lutheran theology and formed by the faith of the Reformation he was
aware of the possibility to be misunderstood as advocating a works oriented Christianity.
Spener addresses this concern directly in PD.
We gladly acknowledge that we must be saved only and alone through
faith and that our works or godly life contribute neither much nor little to our
salvation, for as a fruit of our faith our works are connected with the gratitude
which we owe to God, who has already given us who believe the gift of
righteousness and salvation (Spener 63)
Luther certainly lashed out against works-righteousness but he also expected that
the righteousness of faith was to be a lived realty. For Luther it begins in baptism. In the
"baptized a new light and flame arise new and devout emotions come into being, such as
fear and trust in God and hope; and new will emerges. This is what it means to put on
Christ properly, truly, and according to the Gospel" (Priestly 551).
Hoffman cautions those who would be critical and points out, "the piety of
religious experience has, it must be admitted, some times resulted in legalism. But we
run the risk of throwing the baby out with the bath water if we speak disparagingly about
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pietistic religion" (Theology of the Heart 240). For accurate interpretation. Spener's
proposals must be read in the context of response to Lutheran orthodoxy. "In each
proposal, Spener sought to restore the proper tension in Lutheranism between
justification and sanctification, word and deed, law and gospel, objectivity and
subjectivity" (Maschke 192).
Proper tension and balance are at the heart of Spener's work. He is concerned
with the tension between the poles ".. .between unity and purity, between subjective and
objective faith, with the desire to maintain a truly confessional balance" (Maschke 188).
This had been a concern for Luther in his reforming work. Luther did not intend to
separate from the church but offer correctives to doctrinal imbalances and abuses.
Maschke notes that these concerns have functioned at times to both propel the growth in
faith and life or prevent it. "The innate human tension between the comfort of laws and
the burden of legalism, on the one hand, and the consolation of the gospel and the fear of
antinomian license on the other have paralyzed the church's practice at various times in
history" (187). The constant effort to keep all things in balance can result in stagnation
rather than dynamic tension. Theological and/or spiritual stagnation results in a
maintenance mindset for the church or a default to the status quo, which is in conflict
with the work of both Luther and Spener. It is a hallmark of the reformation to be re
forming at all times.
Pietism After Spener
Spener unapologetically called for renewal of doctrine, worship and life. He
demanded an end to unnecessary theological warfare. He wanted the theologians to
climb down from the ramparts and minister to Christ's flock. He asked for clear simple
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preaching aimed at the heart. He summoned Christians to repentance, conversion and

moral earnestness. Because it was biblical, his outlook was intensely social and
intimately individual (Nichol 28). He was not, however, hoping for some kind of Utopian
existence for the church on earth. It was more that Spener found the biblical theme of
striving for perfection desirable for a balanced Christian life following justification.
By 1686 the Pietist movement had spread to the university of Leipzig. August
Herman Francke was a young professor. At Leipzig, he and some of his associates, set to
gather groups for the study of scripture. Originally, these groups consisted of fellow
instructors. Their methods were scientific and in the beginning had the approval of the
university. Following a personal 'new birth' and some time spent with Spener in
Dresden, Francke fully embraced pietism. His lectures and sermons grew to include
students and townspeople. As the movement spread the potential risks for rebellion or
loss of theological control also increased so Francke's sanction was short lived.
Behind the leadership of another theology professor, Johann Benedict Carpozov,
the university authorities limited Francke's work. (Carpozov would become one of
Spener's most persistent opponents.) Elected officials finally forbid the meeting of the
small groups. Francke's position at the university became increasingly uncomfortable so
in 1690 he accepted a call to Erfurt as a deacon.
He did not escape Carpzov's criticism in Erfurt. The area clergy began to oppose
him as well. Again, his tenure was short lived. Francke was expelled from Erfurt in
1691. It was another exiled professor from Leipzig who made the way for Francke's next
opportunity.
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Christian Thomasius, a noted professor for creating German jurisprudence, a

leader in replacing Latin with German as the language of university instruction and a
defender of religious toleration, was driven from the university in Leipzig in 1690 by
hostile theologians. He was not a pietist but opposed their persecution (Walker 589).
The elector of Brandenburg at the time had wished to have a university in his own
territory so he took the opportunity to invite Thomasius to found a university in Halle.
He would preside over the Law studies at Halle until his death.
It was at this point that Spener's foresight would secure a "successor" as a leading
theologian for the pietist movement. Spener was aware that Francke had been expelled
from Leipzig and was available for a new position. Spener managed to secure for him an
appointment to a professorship in Halle as well as the pastorate in nearby Glaucha. At
Halle, Francke established the dominant theological methods and developed Halle into a
pietistic center.
Halle became a source for missionary enthusiasm at a time when Protestants
largely failed to recognize their evangelical obligation. At the call of Frederick IV of
Denmark, Francke's students became the first missionaries to India. No less than 60
foreign missionaries went out from Halle and its associated institutions throughout the
eighteenth century (Walker 590). Pietism was on its way to Scandinavia and North
America. "The pietist leaven penetrated the Lutheran churches of Norway. Sweden and
Denmark where it stimulated much religious zeal among the people; and many of the
German settlers in America had been deeply affected by the movement" (591). The
enthusiasm migrated with the people as they established churches and communities in
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America. The new beginnings in a new country included new religious expressions
marked by Lutheran pietism.
Pietism in America
American Lutherans whose roots lie in Pietism have a strong hold in the upper
Midwest. They are primarily Norwegian and some German in ethnic background. Their
origin is found in Hans Nielsen Hauge. He was a farmer's son who became a wandering
preacher in Norway. He experienced an awakening to deep faith as a young man.
Convinced that he had news to share, he walked the length and breadth of Norway
to preach the gospel. He was persecuted by the authorities, but they could not
silence his message. He was jailed 10 times and his health was broken, but a
movement of friends sustained the awakening in Norway. They honeycombed the
country with prayer and preaching. In the Church of Norway you can still hear
the echo of Hauge's voice. (Nichol 62).
This movement of awakening continued throughout the nineteenth century across
Germany and Scandanavia. Following this period of awakening there began a renewed
interest in the particularities of Lutheranism. The writings of Luther and the Lutheran
Confessions gained new popularity. "Rummaging in the family attic, they found their
experience of faith confirmed and corroborated by the traditions of early Lutheranism"
(Nichol 62). What developed was a union between the "vitality of the awakenings with
the stability of the confessional Lutheranism" (63). This is the reforming characteristic of
claiming and testing; embracing and challenging the religious heritage.
This zeal for mission was evident in America. Some Lutheran colonists came to
America with convictions reflecting the orthodox positions. But it was the pietists from
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Europe who made the more significant response for help in America. Among them were
those sent by Gothilf A. Francke from Halle to Pennsylvania and other colonies (Nelson
63).
Their work in America was consistent with the work in Germany and coincides
with the larger context of the second great awakening within American religious life. In
a letter back to Halle, Justus Helmuth gave this report from Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
As far as the inner condition [of the congregation] is concerned, an
uncommonly blessed awakening is in progress. Old and dead sinners are
coming to life again and are crying out with tears for grace. Sinners for
whom I have often given up hope are now being moved mightily. In fact,
quite a few of them have been converted to Christ.. ..Those who have
come to a better understanding have drawn closer together and have me
two three times a week in various houses to sing together, pray, read a
chapter of the Bible and in Arndt's True Christianity, and review the
sermon [of the previous Sunday] (69).
The legacy of pietism is often described as experiential and oriented to the heart
rather than the head. "Without necessarily lacking in dogmatic stringency, the
proponents of personal spirituality in Lutheranism emphasized the experiential side of
Christianity" (Hoffman 145). Pietists were not interested in challenging the central truths
that Lutheran orthodoxy committed to express. They wanted to revitalize the spirit of the
churches as well as the personal faith of the members.
"The Pietists did not believe that they were doing anything but continuing Martin
Luther's reformation. The Pietists believed that the churches were losing their grasp of
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the true spirit of Christianity and that revitalization was needed within the churches" (6768). This is not how their efforts were received. The Orthodox felt challenged and
criticized so the relationship between the two groups was strained.
Hoffman's lifetime work is brought out in full in his book Theology of the Heart.
He was not going to mince any words late in his career.
Arndt, Spener, Francke, - pietistic personalities in the history of
Lutheranism - considered rightly that they had the experience of Grace
which Luther called sapientia experimentalis. Their piety and that of
many later Lutheran 'pietists' lay within, not outside, Luther's opinion of
the nature of faith.. .If mystical theology is, according to Luther.
'experience' - that is the grace-filled presence of the gracious God-then,
without a doubt, the pietas tradition, the nucleus of pietism, coincided with
Luther's thought about life in God. But, alas, frightened by the outgrowth
of judgmental legalism, the established church instead often chose the
other extreme, dogmatic theology that transformed revelatory experience
into doctrinal intellectualism (Hoffman 240).
Conclusion
The Lutherans who oriented toward a confessional orthodox perspective focused on right
teaching and doctrine of the Christian faith. The Pietists focused on the personal
application of Christian truths within the lives of the believers. Both can be understood
as two sides of the gospel proclamation and can function in a dynamic relationship.
Lutheran theology insists on the work of Christ alone for the redemption of the
world. However, a rigid resistance to anything that appears like works righteousness can
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be misused when it rejects all that is active within the life of faith. Lutheran pietism also
clings to Christ alone but does so by emphasizing the embodied gift of grace that
transforms our lives. "The Christ-for-us of Lutheran orthodoxy and the Christ-in-us of
Lutheran pietism are integrally related in Luther's thought" (Hoffman 148) Unfortunately
these two emphases have functioned to distinguish and separate rather than compliment
and unite within American Lutheranism.
Repeated mergers and schisms mark Lutheran history in America as one
theological perspective traded the place of dominance with another. This pattern should
suggest that our strength lies in the balance of the "Christ-for-us of Lutheran orthodoxy
and the Christ-in-us of Lutheran pietism." Too often the energy of reform has
overcorrected and alienated one side or the other resulting in a perceived incompatibility.
When believers have entered into a theological disagreement the crisis tends to play out
like a tug-of-war where it is only resolved when one side drags the other into the mud.
This guarantees that another crisis looms ahead.
Luther and Spener found integration and balance to be central in German
mysticism as represented by TG and carried forward by their own later works. Lutherans
today would do well to embrace the wisdom of our ancestors in their theological
complexity rather than theological exclusivity. In doing so I believe our tradition would
again know what it is to be both reformed and awakened in Christ.
Works Consulted
Bergendoff, Conrad. The Church of the Lutheran Reformation. Saint Louis

Concordia Publishing, 1967.
Boehmer, Heinrich. Road to Reformation: Martin Luther to the Year 1521.: Philadelphia,
PA: Muhlenberg Press, 1946.
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Bouyer, Louis. Orthodox Spirituality and Protestant and Anglican Spirituality. New
York: Seabury Press, 1969.
Brtick, Michael von. "In Search of an Authentic Christian Lifestyle: Luther on
Monasticism." Bangalor Theological Review 15 s-d (1983): 218-236.
Burns, Edward McNall, Robert E. Lerner, Standish Meacham. Western
Civilization.Volume 1. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1984.
Crowner, David, Gerald Christianson Ed. The Spirituality of the German Awakening.
Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2003.
Davies, Oliver. Ed. The Rhineland Mystics. New York: Crossroad, 1989.
Erb, Peter C. Pietists: selected writings. Ramsey, NJ: Paulist, 1983.
Freemantle Anne. The Protestant Mystics: An Anthology of Spiritual Experience from
Martin Luther to T.S. Eliot. New York: New American Library, 1965.
Grisar, Harmann. Martin Luther: His Life and Work. St. Louis, MO: B Herder Book
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Theologia Germanica: A Mystical Document of

Influence on Martin Luther, Philip Jakob Spener and

The Department of Religious Studies

UMI Number: EP33791

All rights reserved

Theologia Germanica: A Mystical Document of

A Research Paper Submitted to

Dife^tor: Dr. Joy Milos, C.S.J.

Reader: Dr. Robert Hauck

Historical Context of Theologia Germanica

Theologia Germanica: Authorship and Themes

Continuity with Luther and TG

Discontinuity with Luther and TG

Validity of Influence on Luther

Spener and the Foundations of Pietism

Pietism After Spener

TG is a document by an anonymous author, written around 1350 (Hoffman,

Continuity with Luther and TG

Mackinnon included nothing short of a litany of similarities that he believed

TG, which spoke of tranformation as 'divinization' at some junctures, took pains

Luther's discontinuity is most clear when any mysticism or mystical theology is

His travel included time in Basel, Bern, Lausanne,

In a sermon preached in 1669 Spener declared:

. .there is the legacy of cognitive theologizing around the theme of

2. "The establishment and diligent exercise of the spiritual priesthood" (Spener

4. "We must beware how we conduct ourselves in religious controversies"

preaching aimed at the heart. He summoned Christians to repentance, conversion and

Christian Thomasius, a noted professor for creating German jurisprudence, a

Bergendoff, Conrad. The Church of the Lutheran Reformation. Saint Louis

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