The Pietist Movement in Late-1600s Germany

The Protestant Movement, begun by Luther in 1517, had lost much of its steam by the 1600s. All three major Protestant communions-Anglican, Reformed, and Lutheran-had chosen national churches closely tied to the political structures of their respective countries, and church life tended to be formal and shallow. Among the Anglicans in England, the desire for religious renewal led to the emergence of the Puritans. Among the Reformed Churches in Holland and elsewhere, a movement called Precisianism developed, spurred on by English Puritanism.

It is sometimes referred to as Reformed Pietism. Within Lutheranism, the tide began to turn toward revival with the publication of a devotional book called True Christianity, by John Arndt, who stated in the preface that he wrote the book to show Christians ‘’wherein true Christianity consists, namely, in the proving of true, living, active faith through a genuine godliness.” Arndt was much concerned about true repentance, renewal of the individual from the inside out, and about union with Christ which results in dying to self and living a Christlike life.

1 “Seasons of the Spirit,” Christian History Magazine, Issue 23, p. 6.