Oxford gives these definitions for pietism: 1 a a pious sentiment. b an exaggerated or affected piety. 2 (esp. as Pietism) a movement for the revival of piety in the Lutheran Church in the 17th c. Perhaps the best dictionary definition of what a pietist is is this one that I translated from le Petit … Continue reading Pietism
pietism
Are we still walking on the old paths?
“The believer, in his baptism, is baptized into the body of Christ, the church, 1 Cor. 12:13,27. And then he puts on Christ and unites himself to him to follow him truly and constantly, and bearing his cross after him. And should the believer be called on to suffer for the name of Christ and … Continue reading Are we still walking on the old paths?
The Principal Errors of Pietism
Pietism, with a capital P, refers to a movement that began within the Lutheran Church around the year 1600. The Pietists emphasized the new birth, the inward spiritual life of the heart and a pure moral life. There were earlier threads of pietism, but this was the beginning of a distinctive and dynamic movement. The … Continue reading The Principal Errors of Pietism
Be a Christian, not a chameleon
Some members of the early church wanted Gentile converts to be chameleons. They thought that circumcising Gentile Christians would make them appear to be converts to the Jewish religion. Some Jewish Christians thought this would spare them from persecution by other Jews for associating with Gentiles. Such people among the Jewish believers were the true chameleons, … Continue reading Be a Christian, not a chameleon
An answered prayer
We had talked over our situation that night, prayed for direction and believed we had been shown a direction that we should pursue. There still remained the question of whether Dennis would need or want my help. It didn't take long for the answer to come. The phone rang the next morning before we had … Continue reading An answered prayer
Pietists, Quietists & Anabaptists
I have been reading some of the writings of François Fénelon and find some moving passages. I plan to post some excerpts in coming days. Fénelon was a Quietist, that is a Roman Catholic who believed that salvation had to come through a personal relationship with God, rather than through the forms of liturgical worship. … Continue reading Pietists, Quietists & Anabaptists
Strange Gospel
Approximately 300 years ago there arose a line of thought in pietistic Protestantism that God’s reign would progressively manifest itself through human action cooperating with God’s action. The belief that the gospel will gradually Christianize the world, bringing a reign of peace and harmony preceding the return of Christ, is known as postmillenialism. In 19th … Continue reading Strange Gospel
A theology of suffering
Henry Funk, whom I’ve been quoting the past few days, was only a generation of two removed from the persecution of the Mennonites in Switzerland. The reality of the possibility of suffering for the faith was real to him, and he did not shrink from it. A few centuries have passed and Mennonites in North … Continue reading A theology of suffering
Is Christianity a subculture or a counterculture?
Subculture, a cultural group within a larger or predominant culture but distinguished from it by factors such as class, ethnic background, religion, or residence, unified by shared beliefs or interests which may be at variance with those of the larger culture. A group within a culture, distinguished from it by features of custom, conduct, etc. … Continue reading Is Christianity a subculture or a counterculture?
Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
There are two ways of reading the Bible. One way is to see it as a repository of morally edifying stories. One can label that the pietistic approach or the moralistic, therapeutic deism approach. The other approach is to see the Bible as a history of how God revealed, step by step, the redemption story. … Continue reading Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
Flatlander Faith 