The Confessional History of the Lutheran Church, 1909,
By James William Richard
But that the Symbolical Books did not exert much influence on Bretschneider, either as a theologian or as an ecclesiastical official, is evident from his Handbuch; and that they had in general lost very much of their influence under the rationalistic thought of the age is shown by the fact that they scarcely ever emerge high enough to be seen either in the best representative of the Halle Biblical School (George Christian Knapp, 1753-1825), or in the best representatives of the supranaturalistic school of Tubingen, Storr and Flatt, who in their Handbook of Dogmatic seem to have been more influenced by Immanuel Kant than by the Symbolical Books. Though there were those who still defended the Symbolical Books, and who did not bow the knee to the Moloch of Rationalism.
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Knapp denied the Real Presence and baptismal regeneration in his Lectures. He was exactly like the Church and Change, Church Growth leaders of today - denying essential doctrines of the Word while promoting emotionalism and rationalism.
Spener also denied the Real Presence and baptismal regeneration (Heick, History of Christian Doctrine, my professor and a bit of a Pietist himself.)
