Phillip Jakob Spener
(1635-1705) ***
Founder
of German pietism. Spencer was born in Rappoltsweiler, Upper Alsace, and died
in Berlin. He is generally regarded as the founder of German pietism, though
his ideas were a combination of viewpoints acquired from his teachers and from
sixteenth century Reformers. He received a strict, pious upbringing and took
his university traning in Strasbourg (1651-59), where he concentrated on
biblical languages and historical studies. Professors at Strasbourg stressed
spiritual rebirth and ethical concerns, and these emphases became important
factors in Spencer's preaching as he assumed successive pastoral positions in
Strasbourg (1663), Frankfurt-on-Main (1666), Dresden (1686), and Berlin (1697).
Spencer was also influenced by Genevan Calvinism, for he visited Geneva in 1659
and met Jean de La-badie, the mystical Reformed preacher. Labadie strengthened
Spencer's beliefs that a conversion experience (Wiedergeburt) was essential in
the Christian life and that the true Christian must apply religion to all
aspects of life.
Though
Spencer deemphasized the theological dogmatism and controversies of the
Protestant scholastics, his view of conversion and its necessary implementation
were controversial wherever he preached. His attacks on ingnorance and moral
laxness among the clergy were not welcomed by that group, and his proposed
system of reform was a real threat to established Lutheran churches. These
ideas were first published in 1675 in Pia desideria (Heartfelt Desires for a
God-Pleasing Reform of the True Evangelical Churches). The theology in this
work stressed the unity between faith and works, a notion that was always
important in Reformed theology. By contrast, seventeenth century Lutheran
theology (especially in northern Germany) stressed theological dogma, not the
purified life. Equally important was the means Spener proposed for implementing
change, a church within the church. Spener founded small groups (collegia
pietatis) to advance the participants' closeness to God through prayers, songs,
spiritual reading, and discussion. Though all these activities were regarded as
good in themselves. Spener's successors
in German pietism often were quite contentious, even though Spener himself
stressed cooperation and tolerance.
Spener
also called for the reform of seminary education. In place of systematic
theology, with its natural emphasis on dogmatic precision, Spener wanted
seminarians to increase their piety by spiritual reading. Further, he
emphasized going directly to the scriptural sources instead of relying on the
theological formulations of scriptural commentators. The fruit of this phase of Spener's work is seen in the
theological faculty established at Halle. With direction from Spener and
organization from August Hermann Francke, Halle became the intellectual center
of early German pietism.