Monday, July 3, 2023

It is the 3rd of July 2023. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org, I’m Dan van Voorhis.

A happy Monday- it is good to be back- thanks so much to Sam for taking over for the week- I really enjoyed her shows and am thankful for her stance against Whataburger on last Monday’s show. In Minnesota, I tried Culver’s and found it to be a pretty good burger- better than Whataburger but not quite my beloved In N Out.

Today’s question is an older one and something of a perennial in my inbox. Still, it ties to the work I was doing last week at Mt Carmel- a really wonderful camp in Alexandria, Minnesota, on Lake Carlos, thanks to everyone there- instead of 6-8 minutes a day, we did about two and a half hours, so… and in looking at the history of the church we focused on the theme of popular piety- that is, what did the Christian life look like as the church expanded and spread. And it was Elijah in Stamford, Connecticut, who wrote, asking me, “Can you give me a quick definition of Pietism? My family comes out of this tradition but has a hard time explaining it”.

Ok- First, Stamford- I just learned is the home of so much television! NBC is based there, as is the WWE. Residents have included two of my favorite entertainers- Stephen Sondheim and Gene Wilder. OK-

So- I pulled this one because 1) it’s a question I get a lot. And 2) because there were many at the camp this last week who also came from this tradition and have a fondness for this tradition and others who have heard this term used as an epithet- a “bad word.”

Pietists- historically came out of the Lutheran tradition about a century after the first Lutherans. They were German and Scandinavian and held Lutheran theology in esteem but thought that it had become ossified- dead- no longer a “living faith.” And so they sought to emphasize practical, daily piety. In 1689 Joachim Feller responded to the question “What is a pietist” with “One who studies God’s Word and leads a holy life according to it.”

Now, that seems pretty broad. After all, many Christians do this. Historically there are two markers for Lutheran pietism- besides being connected to the Lutheran church, it also emphasized meeting outside of the church in small groups. These were called “conventicles” and a “post-millennial” eschatology. That is, Christ’s return will come AFTER the millennium of peace- so it is we, the church, that will usher in the millennium. This is an “optimistic” eschatology. Unlike those who stressed that the world would get worse and worse, the early Pietists believed that we could indeed change the world- make it a better place. They would share this with the later American revivalists, who held a similar optimistic worldview.

Pietists were known for their charitable works- from their center in Halle, Germany, they had a school and orphanage and sent out pastors and missionaries into the new world such that many Lutherans in America came from this tradition (they would butt heads with the Saxons who came to America later and the perennial battle over Pietism remains with descendants of these camps).

They should be distinguished from “Puritans” as those were English Christians who also wanted to emphasize a personal and warm faith but also “purify” the church of anything they thought too Catholic. Historically Lutherans have been comfortable with things perceived as “Catholic” from the crucifix and the order of the Mass. Ultimately, outside of the historical markers (conventicles and post-millennialism), it is an issue of emphasis- as is so much of the debates on the Christian life and deserves a personal conversation, a “what do you mean by that” instead of using the term as a drive-by insult.

Thanks, Elijah, for the question, for Stamford giving us all sorts of television, and the awesome folks at Mt Carmel who had to endure this voice way longer than you all are used to.

The last word for today comes from the daily lectionary from Genesis 22:

15 The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 3rd of July 2023, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who wonders why the C is silent in Connecticut- he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who has typed the word “millennium” thousands of times over two decades and still tends to get it wrong the first time- I’m  Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.