Part Three: Jacob Spener and Pietism
Pieper on Pietism
J-756
"In so far as Pietism did not point poor sinners directly to the means of grace, but led them to reflect on their own inward state to determine whether their contrition was profound enough and their faith of the right caliber, it actually denied the complete reconciliation by Christ (the satisfactio vicaria), robbed justifying faith of its true object, and thus injured personal Christianity in its foundation and Christian piety in its very essence."
Francis Pieper, Christian Dogmatics, 3 vols., trans., Walter W. F. Albrecht, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1953, III, p. 175.
Hoenecke on Pietism
J-757
"Wohl scheint auf den ersten Blick die ganze Differenz recht unbedeutend; aber in Wahrheit gibt sich hier die gefaehrliche Richtung der Pietisten zu erkennen, das Leben ueber die Lehre, die Heiligung ueber die Rechtfertigung und die Froemmigkeit nicht als Folge, sondern als Bedingung der Erleuchtung zu setzen also eine Art Synergismus und Pelagianismus einzufuehren. (At first glance, the total difference seems absolutely paltry, but in truth the dangerous direction of Pietism is made apparent: life over doctrine, sanctification over justification, and piety not as a consequence but declared as a stipulation of enlightenment, leading to a kind of synergism and Pelagianism.)"
Adolf Hoenecke, Evangelische-Lutherische Dogmatik, 4 vols., ed., Walter and Otto Hoenecke, Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 1912, III, p. 253.
Walther on Pietism
J-758
"What may be the reason why the Pietists, who were really well-intentioned people, hit upon the doctrine that no one could be a Christian unless he had ascertained the exact day and hour of his conversion? The reason is that they imagined a person must suddenly experience a heavenly joy and hear an inner voice telling him that he had been received into grace and had become a child of God. Having conceived this notion of the mode and manner of conversion, they were forced to declare that a person must be able to name the day and hour when he was converted, became a new creature, received forgiveness of sins, and was robed in the righteousness of Christ. However, we have already come to understand in part what a great, dangerous, and fatal error this is."
C. F. W. Walther, The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel, trans., W. H. T. Dau, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1928, p. 194f. Thesis IX.
"'Pay more attention to pure life, and you will raise a growth of genuine Christianity.' That is exactly like saying to a farmer: 'Do not worry forever about good seed; worry about good fruits.' Is not a farmer properly concerned about good fruit when he is solicitous about getting good seed? Just so a concern about pure doctrine is the proper concern about genuine Christianity and a sincere Christian life. False doctrine is noxious seed, sown by the enemy to produce a progeny of wickedness. The pure doctrine is wheat-seed; from it spring the children of the Kingdom, who even in the present life belong in the kingdom of Jesus Christ and in the life to come will be received into the Kingdom of Glory."
C. F. W. Walther, The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel, trans., W. H. T. Dau, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1928, p. 21.
J-759
"Meanwhile, back in Europe the corrosive effects of Pietism in blurring doctrinal distinctions had left much of Lutheranism defenseless against the devastating onslaught of Rationalism which engulfed the continent at the beginning of the 19th century. With human reason set up as the supreme authority for determining truth, it became an easy matter to disregard doctrinal differences and strive for a 'reasonable' union of Lutherans and Reformed."
Martin W. Lutz, "God the Holy Spirit Acts Through the Lord's Supper," God The Holy Spirit Acts, ed., Eugene P. Kaulfield, Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 1972, p. 176.
If the reader has a good grasp of the Reformed rejection of the Means of Grace, then this section will explain how Pietism served as the midwife to deliver Reformed doctrines into the Lutheran Church. This is a key area, because the Church Growth serpents use Pietism as their litmus test. If a Lutheran has a favorable view of Pietism, he can be depended upon to be a supporter of cell groups, subjectivism, heart religion (with no connection to the brain), revivals, lay or staff ministers, Seeker Services, unionism, and judging success by outward appearances. All positive references to a heart religion are a signal that the speaker has a heart and is loving, in contrast with the cold, heartless orthodox who make sound doctrine the priority. If a Lutheran criticizes Pietism, then he can be safely described as an enemy of the Church Growth Movement.
Characteristics of Pietism
The Lutheran Pietists of today do not necessarily call themselves Pietists. They may even use the term Pietist in a disparaging way, a common occurrence in the Wisconsin Synod, where Pietism dominates.[31] I told one young pastor who woke up to the Confessions and phoned me, years after I left the synod, “You are not in a Lutheran Synod. You are in a Pietistic Reformed sect that has some Lutherans in it.” In fact, the Lutheran Church Growth Pietists are so burdened with self-loathing that they accuse their opponents of being Church Growth advocates, a logical short-circuit if there ever was one.[32] It goes like this, “We hate you because you criticize the Church Growth Movement. You actually support the Church Growth Movement, so you cannot say anything against us.”[33] Nevertheless, it is not difficult to detect the Lutheran Pietists, even if they throw out a smoke screen and a few stink bombs to avoid being spotted. The characteristics of Lutheran Pietism are:
1. Doctrinal indifference. Pietists are annoyed and infuriated by doctrinal discernment.
2. Unionism. We find an unseemly zeal in Pietists to have all manner of denominations in religious projects together. Some examples are James Tiefel’s pan-denominational worship conference, Bethany College having a Roman Catholic bishop as a featured speaker, and Wisconsin Lutheran College aping Bethany by promoting Roman Catholic Archbishop Weakland as a special speaker, along with other Roman Catholic priests![34] The Missouri Synod has featured ELCA women pastors preaching in their pulpits, always with a feeble and toothless response.
3. Lay led cell groups. According to Pietists, this is the real church. They feverishly promote cell groups under a variety of names: home Bible study, prayer, koinonia, care or share groups. Lutheran Pietists need congregations to support their work, but they regard those who attend cell group meetings as the only genuine members. Waldo Werning and Kent Hunter, both listed in Who’s Who in Church Growth, heavily promoted cell groups in the Missouri Synod and WELS. Cell groups manufacture disciples, they claim.
4. The ordination of women. Cell groups have by-passed normal synodical restrictions on women teaching men and usurping authority. St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Columbus, Ohio, introduced Serendipity cell groups in the 1980s with a husband and wife leading the sessions. Soon the husband disappeared. Then, when a man questioned how the group was being managed, the woman snarled at him, “I’m in charge here.”
5. Promotion of Reformed publications. Look up the Northwestern Publishing House website and look at the evangelism books. Examine the reading list for the Missouri Synod’s evangelism committees and synodical commission. Read the Church of the Lutheran Confession’s While There Is Day. Study footnotes in evangelism books. You will find the muddy footprints of the Reformed. You will not find these characters promoting orthodox Lutheran authors.[35]
6. Spiritual gifts inventory. Lutheran leaders borrowed this from the Pentecostals, dreaming that it would beef up their congregation’s size.[36]
7. Denigration of the ministry, worship, and the Sacraments. Everyone is a minister, so the divinely called pastor becomes a hireling to manage cell groups. Worship must generate fuzzy feelings, so the Law/Gospel sermon, the liturgy, creeds, pipe organ, and vestments must go. Baptism can remain for now, but Holy Communion is pushed into the background as an obstacle.
