CH 650: HISTORY OF PIETISM

ASHLAND THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

Winter 2013, Ashland Campus
Tuesday, 6:00-9:00 PM
Dr. Dale R. Stoffer
Phone: 419-289-5985; email: dstoffer@ashland.edu

I. Course Description

This course studies the history of Pietism, identifying the movements from which it sprang and
noting the major people and institutions that are connected with classical Pietism of the later 17th
and early 18th centuries. The course also gives some attention to how Pietism has expressed itself
during the last two centuries and how it has contributed to the development of American
Christianity.

II. Student Learning Outcomes

The following institutional learning outcomes will be addressed, where appropriate, through
devotions prepared by the professor that relate to each week's readings:

CORE IDENTITY, rooted in Christ, as the source from which life and ministry flow.
CHARACTER that reflects maturity in Christ.
CALLING that is foundational for servant leadership in the church, community and
world.

As a result of this course, students will be able to:

Demonstrate COMPETENCE in the disciplines and skills relevant to Christian ministry.

2. Demonstrate proficiency in biblical and historical exegesis and theological reflection

(including appropriate use of the biblical languages).

Demonstrate historical research skills related to primary source materials

3. Integrate the biblical, historical, and theological reflection with the practice of
ministry.

Describe how various emphases of Pietism have impacted the life of the
contemporary church

5. Analyze cultural contexts and make appropriate application to ministry.

Critically analyze the cultural settings that influenced the development of

Pietism

Student learning outcomes #1, 4, 6, 7, 8, and 9 are not assessed in this course.

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III. Teaching Strategies for Student Learning

Class sessions will combine lectures and PowerPoint presentations by the professor with
discussion, questions, and insights by students appropriate to the topics of the day. Visual aids
appropriate to the course content will be shown. Students will make a class presentation during
the course. A class outing to sites in Ohio connected with Pietism is also being planned.

IV. Course Requirements

A. Textbooks

The following textbooks are required for the course:

Shantz, Douglas H. An Introduction to German Pietism. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins

University Press, 2013. ISBN: 978-1-4214-0831-6

Spener, Philip Jacob. Pia Desideria. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1964. ISBN: 0-8006-1953-6

B. Attendance

According to the student handbook, attendance at all class sessions is expected unless the
professor has been notified in advance. Any student missing the equivalent of six class
hours will be required to do additional work, receive a lower grade or withdraw from the
class; this is at the discretion of the professor. This policy also includes tardiness.

C. Assignments/Assessment of Student Learning

Learning Outcomes Assignments Percent of Final Grade

2, 3, and 5 Class participation 10%
2, 3, and 5 Research paper 30%

1. Class participation (10% of grade)

Each student is to come to class each week prepared to share one question, one
insight, and one observation based on that weeks readings. The grade for this
component of the class will be based on the students preparation and participation.

2. Research paper (30% of grade)

Each student will conduct independent research on an individual or movement that

was significant in the history of Pietism. This research will result in an 8 to 10 page
paper that is due February 25. The paper should make use of primary source
materials and should cite at least five sources in total. Please use Turabian citation for
this research paper. Be sure to include the following elements in your paper:

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 What cultural developments influenced the person or movement that you
researched?
What impact has the subject of your paper (the person or movement you
studied) had upon the contemporary church?

Note: Each student will prepare an approximately 20 minute class presentation

sharing the main discoveries from their research paper.

3. Pietist notebook (60% of grade)

The notebook is due March 11. The notebook is to include:

a. A list of notable Pietists. This section should contain between 15 and 20 people
representing different Pietist groups. Include a descriptive paragraph for each
person. (2-4 pages)
b. A list of significant events/developments. Include the 8 to 12 events that you
consider most significant for the development and progress of European and
American Pietism (include political, social, and religious developments). Do not
describe the event, but tell, in one paragraph, why you consider it so important
for the Pietist movement. (3-5 pages total)
c. A list of the main Pietist groups/movements. Identify the main Pietist
movements and, in no more than two paragraphs, indicate the circumstances
that gave birth to them, the key leaders, and some of their distinctive views. (2-
3 pages total)

Documentation for this assignment can be by parenthetical citation.

V. Course Schedule

Week # Date(s) Lecture/Topic Readings/Assignments

1 January 7 Definition of Pietism Shantz, pp. 1-41

Foundations of Pietism: Reformed

Thought, Puritanism, and German
Mysticism and Spiritualism

2 January 14 Foundations of Pietism (continued) Shantz, pp. 42-67

Reformed Pietism

3 January 21 Lutheran Pietism: The Spener-Halle Shantz, pp. 71-116

Development Spener, pp. 1-28

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 4 January 28 Lutheran Pietism: The Spener-Halle Shantz, pp. 117-143
Development (continued) Spener, pp. 29-125

5 February 4 Radical Pietism Shantz, pp. 147-203

6 February 11 Pietism in Wrttemberg Shantz, pp. 204-236

Sylvia Locher to speak about Korntal

7 February 18 Zinzendorf and Moravian Pietism Shantz, pp. 237-269

8 February 25 Later European Developments Research paper due

Student presentations

9 March 4 Pietism in America Shantz, pp. 273-281

10 March 11 Theological Perspectives and Practical Shantz, pp. 283-290

Expressions Notebook due

VI. Recommendations for Lifelong Learning

Many of the sources on Pietism, both primary and secondary, are still found only in the German
language. However, more materials are being translated into English every year. Opportunities
for engagement with research and study of Pietism are available by signing up for email posts
from the Pietism Studies Group. Contact Paul Peucker <Paul@moravianchurcharchives.org> via
listserv.cc.emory.edu. The Classics of Western Spirituality Series features primary source material
for several people connected in various ways with Pietism, including Johann Arndt, Franois
Fnelon, and Jacob Boehme as well as a volume just on Pietism.

VII. Seminary Guidelines

A. ATS Academic Integrity Policy

Ashland Theological Seminary seeks to model servant leadership derived from biblical
standards of honesty and integrity. We desire to encourage, develop, and sustain men and
women of character who will exemplify these biblical qualities in their ministry to the church
and the world. As members of the seminary community, students are expected to hold
themselves to the highest standards of academic, personal, and social integrity. All
students, therefore, are expected to abide by the academic integrity standards outlined in
the Student Handbook.

B. Academic Support Services

If you need assistance with writing projects for your coursework, contact the ATS Academic
Support Center. The center provides free sessions with a peer consultant who can help you
with all of your concerns about academic support including writing, critical thinking,

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 documentation, reading skills, study skills, test taking skills, time management. Contact the
center if you have a question about how to complete your assignment, if you have
documentation questions, or if you would like to have your paper evaluated for areas
needing improvement. The ATS Academic Support Center can be reached at 419-289-5162
or by e-mail at atswc@ashland.edu.

C. Students with Disabilities

Ashland University makes every effort to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Students who have a specific physical, psychiatric or learning disability and require
accommodations are encouraged to inform their instructors of their needs early in the
quarter so that learning needs can be appropriately met. It is the students responsibility to
document the disability with Disability Services in The Center for Academic Support on the
7th floor of the Ashland University Library, (419) 289-5904.

D. ATS Grading Scale

Grade Percent Description

A 97-100 Superior achievement of course objectives, diligence and originality, high degree
of freedom from error, outstanding evidence of ability to utilize course
knowledge, initiative expressed in preparing and completing assignments,
positive contributions verbalized in class.
A- 92-96
B+ 89-91
B 86-88 Good work submitted, commendable achievement of course objectives, some
aspects of the course met with excellence, substantial evidence of ability to utilize
course material, positive contributions verbalized in class, consistency and
thoroughness of work completed.
B- 83-85
C+ 80-82
C 77-79 Acceptable work completed, satisfactory achievement of course objectives,
demonstrating at least some ability to utilize course knowledge, satisfactory class
contribution.
C- 74-76
D+ 71-73
D 68-70 Passing but minimal work, marginal achievement of course objectives, poor
performance in comprehension of work submitted, inadequate class contributions.
D- 65-67
F Below 65 Unacceptable work resulting in failure to receive class credit, inadequacy of work
submitted or of performance and attendance in class.

VIII. Selected Bibliography

Alderfer, E. G. The Ephrata Commune: An Early American Counterculture. Pittsburgh: University of

Pittsburgh Press, 1985.

Arndt, Johann. True Christianity. Translated by Peter Erb. New York: Paulist Press, 1979.

Boehme, Jacob. Genius of the Transcendent: Mystical Writings of Jakob Boehme. Translated and edited
by Michael L. Birkel and Jeff Bach. Boston: Shambhala Publications, Inc., 2010.

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________. The Way to Christ. Edited by Peter Erb. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1978.

________. The Way to Christ. Translated by John Joseph Stoudt. New York: Harper & Brothers
Publishers, 1947.

Brown, Dale. "The Problem of Subjectivism in Pietism." Ph.D. dissertation, Northwestern University,
1962.

________. Understanding Pietism. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1978.

Brunner, Daniel L. Halle Pietists in England: Anthony William Boehm and the Society for Promoting
Christian Knowledge. Gttingen : Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1993.

Deeter, Allen C. "An Historical and Theological Introduction to Philipp Jakob Spener's Pia Desideria: A
Study in Early German Pietism." Ph.D. dissertation, Princeton University, 1963.

Ensign, C. David. "Radical Pietism (c.1675 c.1760)." Ph.D. dissertation, Boston University Graduate
School, 1955.

Erb, Peter C. Pietists, Protestants, and Mysticism: The Use of Late Medieval Spiritual Texts in the Work of
Gottfried Arnold (1666 1714). Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1989.

________, ed. Pietists: Selected Writings. New York: Paulist Press, 1983.

Gerdes, Egon W. "Theological Tenets of Pietism." The Covenant Quarterly 34 (February/May 1976):25-
60.

Halbrooks, G. Thomas, ed. Pietism. Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1981.

Hessayon, Ariel and Sarah Apetrei. An Introduction to Jacob Boehme: Four Centuries of Thought and
Reception. New York: Routledge, 2014.

Knox, R. A. Enthusiasm: A Chapter in the History of Religion. London: Oxford University Press, 1950.

Lindberg, Carter. The Pietist Theologians : An Introduction to Theology in the Seventeenth and
Eighteenth Centuries. Malden, MA : Blackwell Pub., 2005.

Longenecker, Stephen L. Piety and Tolerance: Pennsylvania German Religion, 1700-1850. Metuchen,
NJ: The Scarecrow Press, 1994.

Macchia, Frank D. Spirituality and Social Liberation: The Message of the Blumhardts in the Light of
Wuerttemberg Pietism. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1993.

OMalley, J. Steven. Early German-American Evangelicalism: Pietist Sources on Discipleship and

Sanctification. Metuchen, NJ: The Scarecrow Press, 1995.

"Pietism." Christian History. Vol. V (1986).

Sattler, Gary R. God's Glory, Neighbor's Good: A Brief Introduction to the Life and Writings of
August Hermann Francke. Covenant Press, 1982.

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Schneider, Hans. German Radical Pietism. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2007.

Shambaugh, Bertha M. H. Amana that Was and Amana that Is. Iowa City: State Historical Society of
Iowa, 1932.

Shantz, Douglas H. An Introduction to German Pietism. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press,
2013.

Spener, Philip Jacob. Pia Desideria. Translated and edited by Theodore G. Tappert. Philadelphia:
Fortress Press, 1964.

Spink, George Samuel. "John Arndt's Religious Thought." Ph.D. dissertation, Temple University, 1970.

Stein, K. James. Philipp Jakob Spener: Pietist Patriarch. Chicago: Covenant Press, 1986.

Stoeffler, F. Ernest, ed. Continental Pietism and Early American Christianity. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
1976.

________. German Pietism during the Eighteenth Century. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1973.

________. "Pietism: Its Message, Early Manifestation, and Significance." The Covenant Quarterly 34
(February/May 1976):3 24.

________. The Rise of Evangelical Pietism. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1971.

Strom, Jonathan, Hartmut Lehmann, and James Van Horn Melton, eds. Pietism in Germany and North
America 1680-1820. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Co., 2009.

Tanis, James. Dutch Calvinistic Pietism in the Middle Colonies. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1967.

Thune, Nils. The Behmenists and the Philadelphians. Uppsala: Almqvist & Wiksells Boktryckeri AB,
1948.

"Zinzendorf and the Moravians." Christian History. Vol. I (1982).