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SPINK, George Samuel, 1928-

JOHN ARNDT'S RELIGIOUS THOUGHT: A STUDY IN GERMAN PROTO-PIETISM.

Temple University, Ph.D., 1970

Religion

University Microfilms, A XEROX Com pany, Ann Arbor, Michigan

© 1971

GEORGE SAMUEL SPINK

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED


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JOHN ARNDT'S RELIGIOUS THOUGHT: A STUDY IN GERMAN PROTO-PIETISM

by

->sv ' GEORGE S? SPINK

SUBMITTED TO THE TEMPLE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE BOARD IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY.

March, 1970


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FOAM |V

T E M P L E U N I V E R S I T Y G R A D U A T E B O A R D

Title of Dissertation: JOHN ARNDT'S RELIGIOUS THOUGHT:

A STUDY IN GERMAN PROTO-PIETISM

Author: GEORGE S. SPINK

Date submitted to the Graduate Board. 157Q--

Accepted by the Graduate Board of Temple University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the

degree of Doctor of Philosophy.


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PREFACE

The proto-Pietistic religion of John Arndt"*- was the

major force that introduced a new spirit into the Lutheran

Church, which was to reach its culmination in the Pietism

of Philip Spener. One could compare the dynamic influence

of his ideas to those of Luther's Ninety-five Theses in that

they both harmonized with the feelings of many at the time

of their respective periods, setting the stage for a reform

movement. While Arndt never suggested that he was completing

the Reformation, something which was to be later asserted

by those who followed in his stream of thought, he did seek

to reform the life of the Lutheran Church by calling its

members to a deeper practice of true Christian piety. It is

in this sense that he can be referred to as the father of

German Lutheran Pietism.

^The last name of Arndt is not always spelled consistently in his works. Variations in spelling are Arndt, Arnd,

Arnt, and the Latin form Arndius. In this dissertation the spelling Arndt will be used since it occurs most frequently on the title pages of his works.

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A_ Brief Summary of Arndt's Life and Works

On December 27, 1555# the year of the Peace of

Augsburg, John Arndt was born in the village of Edderitz

in the duchy of Anhalt. His father Jacob Arndt had been

pastor there since 1553. In 1558 Jacob Arndt moved to

Ballenstadt, where he labored until his death in 1565. John

Arndt, the oldest of three children, had received, from the

days of his early childhood, a careful spiritual upbringing

by both his father and mother. He was ten years old when

his father died. Through the charity of Prince Joachim

Ernst, the family was given financial aid. With additional

aid from close friends of the family, the young Arndt was

able to attend schools at Achersleben, Halberstadt, and

Magdeburg. Along with this formal education in his youth,

Arndt practiced daily devotional reading of the Bible, a

habit in which he had been trained by his father. He also

diligently read large portions of the writings of Luther,

Bernard, Tauler, and Thomas a Kempis."*"

Arndt had originally decided to devote himself to the

study of the science of medicine against the wishes of his

mother, who had hoped he would enter the calling of his

■*"John G. Morris, The Life of John Arndt (Baltimore: Newton Kurtz, 1853)} p. 20.


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father. Attacked by a very painful disease, from which it

was believed he could never recover, he vowed to God that if

spared his life he would enter the Christian ministry.

Having recovered, he entered the University of Helmstadt in

order to study for the Lutheran ministry in 1576. Two years

later he transferred to the University of Wittenberg. Here

he became a close friend of Polycarp Lyser, a well-known

theologian of the day, who had the reputation of being the

chief defender of the doctrine of justification by faith.

Arndt later carried on a periodic correspondence with him

discussing the validity of his True Christianity as Lutheran

teaching.1 Prom Wittenberg, Arndt went to Basel in 1579*

where he remained until 1580. At Basel he refreshed his

former studies in medicine under the celebrated professor

Theodore Zwinger, a pious and scholarly man. Zwlnger had

gained fame through his published work in several folios,

Theatrum Naturae et Artis.2 Continuing his theological

studies while at Basel, Arndt came under the influence of

Simon Sulzer, who was noted for his dislike of theological

1Friedrich Julius Winter, Johann Arndt, der Verfasser des "Wahren Chris tenthums11 (Leipzig: Verein fur Reforma-tionsgeschichte, 191l), p. 3.

2Morris, ojd. cit., p. 30.


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controversy. The influence of this man is evident in the

spirit of Arndt's religious thought. While at Basel Arndt,

in addition to his major studies, read gratuitously to a

private class of friends some lectures on natural philosophy,

ethics, and rhetoric. He also lectured with great enthu

siasm on the Epistle of Paul to the Romans.1

After spending two years at Basel, Arndt continued

his studies in the University of Strassburg. Strassburg

during the Reformation had been the center of Reformed

theology under the influence of John Calvin, Martin Bucer,

and Wolfgang Capito. However a change toward Lutheranism

had been accomplished under the influence of Johann Sturm,

Johann Marbach, and Johann Pappus. It was while Arndt was

at Strassburg that he decided not to pursue his calling

as a professor of theology but rather to devote himself

to the work of the pastoral ministry.

At the age of twenty-eight he accepted a call issued

by Prince Joachim Ernst, as assistant preacher to a congre

gation at Ballenstadt in Anhalt. Unfortunately for Arndt,

Prince John George, successor of Prince Joachim Ernst, fell

under Calvinistic influences and sought to introduce the

1Ibid.


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teachings of Calvin in the geographic area where Arndt

labored. Arndt's strong objection to this move, stated in

a letter to tho Prince, caused him to be banned from his

pulpit, deposed from his office, and exiled from his home

province.■*■

Following this, he accepted a call to the pulpit at

Quedlinburg (1590-1599)- After a difficult ministry in this

parish in which he attacked fearlessly the "excessive drink

ing, gluttony, and blasphemy" of many influential church

members, who retaliated by attacking his name and ministry,

he felt that the period of his effective work at Quedlinburg

2 was ended. One positive achievement in Arndt's ministry

at Quedlinburg, from the standpoint of Lutheran history,

was accomplished through pastoral counsel rendered to John

Gerhard.^ Gerhard had sought Arndt's pastoral comfort and

^Otto Wehrhan, Lebensgeschichte Johann Arndt1s des Verfassers vom "Wahren Chris tent hum "THamburg • Agentur des Rauhen Hauses, 1848), pp. 7-10.

^Friedrich Arndt, Johann Arndt: Eln biographischer Versuch (Berlin: In Commission bei L. Oehmigke, 1838), p. 40.

3 John Gerhard (1582-1637) became a German Lutheran dogmatician and the foremost exponent of Lutheran orthodoxy. As professor at Jena for two decades, Gerhard was a highly respected teacher, an ecclesiastical leader, and a counselor of princes. His noted works include Loci Theologici (l6l0- 1622), in nine huge volumes, the four volume Confessio Catholica (163^-1637), and a popular devotional book,

Medltationes Sacrae (1606). An irenic and constructive theologian, Gerhard interpreted Lutheranism in terms of evangelical catholicity. He was looked upon by his contem poraries as the Lutheran counterpart of Aquinas.


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encouragement during a long and severe illness. It was at

this time that Arndt had persuaded Gerhard to devote himself

to the study of theology.^

After leaving Quedlinburg, Arndt took up his pas

toral labors at Braunschweig, (1599-1608). This was by no

means an easy call. The city had been involved in war for

some time, and was at the point of almost complete ruin

from the constant attacks of the warring Duke of Braunschweig-

Wolfenbuttel, Henry Julius. The siege was halted when the

Emperor, moved by its tragic results, persuaded the Duke to

be more merciful to the inhabitants of the distressed

city.^ As a result of the social upheaval caused by the

conditions of continual warfare, looting and unbridled moral

license broke out. In response to this situation, Arndt

wrote in a letter to Piscator: "True repentance is dis

guised in an empty outward appearance and hypocrisy; hatred,

envy, murder, has the upper hand, so that I begin to weary

of life." It was in the year 1605 during these calamities

■’■Morris, ojd. cit., p. 87.

%ehrhan, o£. cit., p. 21.

3Johann Arndt, Sechs Bucher vom Wahren Christenthum (Philadelphia: Herausgegeben von Georg W. Mentz und Sohn,Buchhandler, 1832), p. 8l4. For this work the abbreviation, Arndt, Wahren Christenthum (Mentz) will be used.


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and hardships that Arndt, at the age of fifty years, pub

lished the first book of True Christianity.1

Arndt moved to Eisleben in the last few weeks of

1608 and remained there until l6ll. Johann Wagner, the

superintendent of the Braunschweig ministerium, stated in

the records that the reason for his move was, "the slanders

cast upon him by his colleagues."

In the year 1610 a severe pestilence broke out in

Eisleben. During this iccal crisis Arndt ministered faith

fully without concern for his own health, to the sick and

dying of his parish. Contemplating the possibility of his

■a

own death, Arndt wrote his Testament on April 22, 1610.

Arndt's last place of labor was at Celle from the

years 1611 to 1621. He believed that his invitation to con

tinue his labors as general superintendent in Celle was a

providential act of God. He set forth this reason for

accepting the position after he had written to the faculty

of Wittenberg for counsel concerning this move and was dis

satisfied with the uncertain reply that he had received.^

1 Morris, ojd. cit., p. 99.

2 Wehrhan, o£. cit., p. 46.

^Arndt, Wahren Christenthum (Mentz), pp. 839-41.

^Wehrhan, o£. ait., pp. 60-62.


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It was during Arndt's years at Celle that his writ

ings became widespread. They injected into mainstream

Lutheranism the spirit of his proto-Pietism which was to

last down to the present day. It was also during these

years that violent controversy broke out over his major

work True Christianity. It centered around the question

of whether it was scriptural or not and should be accepted

oas a valid part of Lutheranism.

Thus surrounded by controversy, and defending the

right of his work to be considered a valid part of Luther

anism, he died on May 11, 1621.3 He was buried on the 15th

•’■Gottfried Arnold in referring to the controversies that surrounded Arndt's writings says that he was obliged to answer "sophists, hypocrites, and Epicureans," until it

was finally realized that "God cares for truth, for he

turned the hearts of the devout toward Arndt, so that they approved his diligence to uphold moral order, and regarded it was a sin and shame to oppose Arndt even in the smallest

matter." Cf. G. Arnold, Unparteyische Kirchen-und-Ketzer Historle (3 Band; Schaffhausen: Bnanuel und BenedictHurter, 1740-41), II, 92.

2Morris, ojd. cit., pp. 171-73.

3john Lawerence von Mosheim, Institutes of Ecclesiastical History; Ancient And Modern, trans. by James Murdock (3 vols.; New Haven: published by A. H. Maltby, 1832),

states, "The celebrated work of Arndt, on true Christianity... was too bitterly taxed by Lucas Osiander, George Rost, and many others, with being written, among other faults, in a style that was debased by Weigelian, Paracelsic, and thelike phraseology But he has been absolved from allgreat errors, by the most respectable men, especially by Paul Egard, Daniel Dilger, Melchior Breler, John Gerhard, Dorscheous, and numerous others; and, indeed, he appears to have derived reputation and renown, rather than disgrace, from those many criminations." Ill, 446.


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of May in the church yard at Celle.

The Influence of Arndt's Works

Arndt's True Christianity is probably the best extant

work of his proto-Pietistic thoughts. It went through numer

ous editions, influencing not only men that were his con

temporaries but also those who were to become the purveyors

of his spirit within the developing history of Lutheranism.

Many editions of True Christianity found their way into

religious circles outside Lutheranism in other countries,

and were carried by those imbued with the Pietistic spirit

as they immigrated to America.'1' Spener, who has been fre

quently called the father of Lutheran Pietism, makes mention

of the influence of Arndt in his early life and states that

the idea of his Pia Desideria was crystalized while writing

a preface to a new edition of the sermons of John Arndt.2

Since the entire works of Arndt have never been

translated into English and no book-length scholarly work

on Arndt's Pietistic ideas has appeared in English, this

1Philip Jacob Spener, Pia Desideria, trans. & ed. with an introduction by Theodore G. Tappert (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1964), p. 8. All subsequent references to this work will be, Spener, Pia Desideria (Tappert).

2Ibid ., pp. 14-17.


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dissertation is an effort to provide an introduction to

Lutheran Pietism through an investigation of his works and

the sources of his religious thought. While Arndt never

intended that his writings be used to disavow the estab

lished Lutheran Church and its doctrinal teachings, one

cannot deny that they tended toward heterodoxy and separa

tism. Despite this fact, Arndt's importance lay in the

historical truth that he did exercise a primary influence

over the spirit of Pietism that was to flow through the

Lutheran Church not only in the seventeenth century, but in

its development down to the present. It is important at

the beginning therefore to clarify the meaning of the word

Pietism and the relationship between the various groups

who have been labeled Pietists.

Significant Differences Within Lutheran Pietism

In the most general sense, Pietism can be classified

as a religious endeavor within the stream of Christian his

tory which stressed a warmhearted, devotionally oriented

Biblicism, self-criticism and self-surrender through repent

ance, practical application of Christian truth, and a

face-to-face relationship in which laymen and clergy share

responsibilities in the ministries of the church. It was

this type of praxis pietatls in the developing stream of


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Christian history that Arndt was attempting to establish in

his works as the essence of his religious interpretation of

Christianity.

While the name Pietism originated in connection with

Spener's efforts, and while its prototype can be found in

Arndt, one cannot confine the desire for a spirit of prac

tical piety emanating from the "heart" to the Lutheran

Church of the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth cen

turies. The spirit of practical piety as a reaction to arid

religious intellectualism can be found in many movements

outside Lutheranism. Aside from the Christian tradition

there was the movement of Hasidism as a counteraction to

the dry spirit of orthodoxy within Judaism.^ There was

also the movement of Jansenism within the Roman Catholic

Church. The Quietism of Molinos, Guyon, and Penelon also

sought to deepen the piety of its followers. One can trace

a similar spirit of Pietism in the British and American

Evangelicalism, the Great Awakenings, revivalism, and

modern fundamentalism. But while there are certain simi

larities to sixteenth and seventeenth century Lutheran

■ M̂artin Buber, Hasidism and Modern Man, Edited and Trans, by Maurice Friedman (New York: Horizon Press, 1958), passim.


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Pietism in these movements, they are radically different

from the proto-Pietism of Arndt. One also needs to keep in

mind that while there is a similar spirit in the desire

for piety between Puritan Pietism and Continental Pietism,

there are also unique differences that arise out of their

approach to the implementation of Pietism.1

When one turns to the movement of Pietism within

Lutheranism, there are six separate groups that are more

or less related.

1. The Arndtian Pietists who carried on

his ideas immediately after his death.

2. Spener and those connected with his group.

3. Francke and the Halle theologians.

4. The Wurttemberg Pietists, centered around

Bengel and Oettinger.

5. Zinzendorf and the Moravian Brethren

movement.

6. The German radical separatist Pietists.

All these groups had originated before the middle of the

eighteenth century.

If one were to trace the widespread influence of

1John T. McNeill, Modern Christian Movements (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1954), pp. 73-74.


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Arndt's proto-Pletism, it would be necessary to consider

the churchly Pietism which grew up within Scandinavian,

Swiss, and American Lutheranism, along with the

Erweckungsbewegung (Awakening Movement) throughout European

Protestantism in the late eighteenth and nineteenth cen

turies. The essence of these later developments, which

is beyond the scope of this dissertation, Is evident in the

differing theological and ecclesiastical characteristics

which they displayed.

The proto-Pletistic influence of Arndt and his

immediate followers produced few doctrinal or ecclesias

tical divergences from standard Lutheranism, though one can

readily see that the spirit was different. The orthodox

party within the Lutheran Church insisted in the main that

true Christianity was a matter of assensus in regard to

Christian teaching, while Arndt and his followers, not

denying the creedal confessions of the church, implied that

fiducia was more the essence of true Christianity. The

later wiirttemberg Pietistic movement followed closely the

intention of Arndt to maintain the Pietistic spirit within

the ecclesiastical and theological structures of Reformation

Lutheranism. One can also observe in the later efforts of

Zinzendorf the same desire to maintain Moravianism within


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the Lutheran structure. But as history shows, he was not

too successful and there arose within this group a theology

that differed from that of traditional historic Lutheranism.

An examination of the later Halle school of thought

reveals a type of Pietism which emphasized penitential

conflict and datable conversion as the true evidence of a

genuine Christian life. Also there arose under A. H.

Francke's influence an ascetic, legalistic, and anti-

intellectual attitude. This posture was developed so

completely that there was not much resemblance to Arndt's

more liberal, individualistic spirit or Spener's views

which had developed Arndt's proto-Pietism to its fullest

extent within the Lutheran Church.

Furthest from the spirit of Arndt's proto-Pietism

were the Radical or Separatist Pietists who left the estab

lished Lutheran Church and in the main developed their

movement apart from the traditional theology and conven

tional ecclesiastical practices of mainstream Lutheran

Pietism.1 For the most part Radical Pietism disagreed with

the spirit of Arndt's proto-Pietism because Arndt always

insisted on loyalty to the teachings of the Lutheran Church.

■^George H. Williams, The Radical Reformation (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, n.d.), pp. 796-845, passim.


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In rejecting the idea that the practice of piety could be

carried on within the structures of the Lutheran Church,

the Radical Pietists turned primarily toward the teachings

of Anabaptism.1

Important Literature Concerning Pietism

An investigation of the literature which flowed from

the pens of the Pietists and those who were opposed to them

reveals a vast amount of material. While there are a number

of studies on Pietism, few of these are recent and many

evidence a bias which is anti-Pietistic. A very few able

studies on Pietism are available at the present time. Yet

there are some along with the earlier studies in this area

which must be mentioned as necessary sources for one who

wishes to conduct a scholarly investigation of the subject.

In most cases these works have yet to be translated from

the German.

The most complete study of Pietism was a three

pvolume work done by Albrecht Ritschl in the last century.

^Donald F. Durnbaugh, European Origins of the Brethren, compiled and translated by the author (Elgin, Illinois: The Brethren Press, 1958), pp. 37-131* passim.

2Albrecht Ritschl, Geschichte des Pietismus (3 Vols.j Bonn: Adolph Marcus Co., 1880, 1884, 1886).


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He devoted his first volume to Pietism among the Reformed

which he stressed as the most authentic form of original

Pietism. Unfortunately he devoted only a minor portion of

his work to John Arndt in his second volume of 584 pages,

and made only passing references to him in the other two

volumes. He classified the work of Arndt as only a carry

over from late medieval mysticism.1 In this attempt to

disassociate Arndt from traditional Lutheran Pietism, it is

obvious that Ritschl pays little attention to the Influence

of the early Luther in Arndt's religious thought. These

blind spots in Ritschl's work, along with many others, have

caused some scholars in the field of Christian history to

assert the need for a more thorough study in the history of

Pietism.2

A one-volume study on the development of Pietism

is that of Heinrich Schmid, Geschlchte des Pletlsmus,

published in Nordlingen by Beck in 1863. Unfortunately

Schmid gives no space to the influence of Arndt. After a

brief Introduction which treats scantily the antecedents

of Pietism in Lutheranism, Schmid begins his first chapter

1Ibid., pp. 34-38.

2Jaroslav Pelikan, From Luther to Kierkegaard (St. Louis: Concordia, 1950), p. 151* n. 26.


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with Spener. The work is also extremely limited in docu

mentation.

A definitive study on the life of John Arndt has been

done by Friedrich Arndt in his Johann Arndt: Ein blograph-

lscher Versuch, published in Berlin by L. Oehmigke in 1838.

However this book does not undertake any complete analysis

of the religious thought of Arndt. In the same category

there is also Otto Wehrhan's little book, Lebensgeschichte

Johann Arndt1s des Verfassers vom "Wahren Christenthum",

published at Hamburg in 1848. This book is valuable not

only from the standpoint of biography, but also because it

contains most of the letters written by Arndt.

Among those works which treat the religious thought

of Arndt is an exceptionally useful book by Wilhelm Koepp

entitled Johann Arndt, eine Untersuchung uber die Mystic

im Lutherturn, published by Trowitzsch & Sohn at Berlin in

1912. In this book the author traces the influence of

mysticism throughout Arndt's works and letters. He also

gives some attention to the influence of the early church

fathers on Arndt's religious thought. Another important

book which presents a brief analysis of the writings of

Arndt is Friedrich Julius Winter's, "Johann Arndt, der

Verfasser des Wahren Christentums," Schriften des Vereins

fur Reformationsgeschichte, published by Rudolf Haupt


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in Leipzig in 1911. In English the only three books in

publication that historically treat the life and work of

Arndt along with some analysis of his religious thought are

The Life of John Arndt Author of The Works on True Christi

anity by John G. Morris, published in Baltimore by T. N.

Kurtz in 1853 J John Arndt, A_ Historical Life Picture by

Karl August Wildenhahn which is a translation by C. F.

Welden edited by J. K. Shryock, published by M. J. Riegel

in Easton, Pa. in 1882; and The Rise of Evangelical Pietism

by F. Ernest Stoeffler, published at Leiden by E. J. Brill

in 1965. This latter work devotes a considerable section

to the religious thought and influence of John Arndt in

the developing stream of early Lutheran Pietism.

Other works in German of significance in more limited

sections germane to the subject of this dissertation are

noted in the footnotes and in the bibliography. Primary

sources from which the material of this study is drawn are

also noted in the footnotes and bibliography.

Thus it must be concluded that there has been very

little recent scholarly work on the early development of

German Lutheran Pietism. Much of the nineteenth and early

twentieth century studies relating to John Arndt and the

Pietism that can be traced to his influence are of a highly


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biased character. What is needed is more impartial studies

of major individuals connected with this movement and their

influence in this much neglected area. Pelikan has stressed,

in connection with the study of church history, that more

scholarly attention needs to be given to theological devel

opment in the period between the formulation of the Reform

ation confessions and the rise of rationalism.1 Research

covering this period has been restricted in our country

because of our limited access to much needed studies of

Pietism and its prime movers. Thus this fertile field still

needs further development.

Arndt's Indebtedness to Earlier Sources and Traditions

Part of the purpose of this dissertation is to treat

the subject of Arndt's indebtedness to earlier sources and

traditions. Investigation shows that not only is Arndt

indebted to the traditions and devotional ideas of the early

church fathers, the medieval mystics, and Luther, but that

he on occasion incorporated portions of their writings into

his works without giving documentation as to his sources.

This dissertation has attempted to bring these sources to

light wherever it has been possible to do so. However

Yaroslav Pelikan, o£. cit., p. 151.


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Arndt has clearly stated his indebtedness to the lmitatio

Christl of Thomas a Kempis, Tauler, and the German

Theology.-*- There are also indications that Arndt used some

of the philosophical teachings of Paracelsus in chapter nine

pof his Ikonographia. Further the second book of True

Christianity shows evidence of being adapted from the writ

ings of Angela da Foligno, and Valentine Weigel, while the

second part of book four contains excerpts from Raymond of

Sabunda's Theologia naturalls. There is also some evidence

that Arndt was influenced by earlier Roman Catholic prayer

/iliterature in his works. Some scholars have suggested that

Arndt may have acquired his ethical zeal from the writings

of the Calvinistic tradition.^ However there is no firm

evidence at the present to substantiate this claim.

Thus the question of Arndt's dependence upon other

•^Winter, o£. cit., p. 32.

Wilhelm Koepp, Johann Arndt, elne Untersuchung uber die Mystic im Luthertum (Berlin; Trowitzsch & Sohn, 1912),

3f . Ernest Stoeffler, The Rise of Evangelical Pietism (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1965)* pp. 205-06.

^Paul Althaus, Forschungen zur evangelischen Gebets- literatur (Gutersloh: Druck und Verlag von C. Bertelsmann,

1927), P. 65.

5stoeffler, ojd. cit., p. 205.


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writers for the ideas of his proto-Pietism has engendered

scholarly interest. Ever since Arndt first published his

writings, friends and enemies even in his own lifetime have

attempted to discern the sources of his ideas. Certainly

much of what he wrote was of a different spirit than that

of classical Lutheranism. The real question here turns on

how strictly one demands evidence of direct borrowing and

immediate reference to an acquaintance with particular

writings. The attempt will be made in this dissertation to

document those portions of Arndt's writings which indicate

redaction on the basis of similar ideas and admitted

acquaintance with the religious thought of others.

Origins and Structure of Arndt's Proto-Pietism

Upon reading Arndt's works, one becomes aware that

he was a man extremely sensitive to the needs of his time.

The failure of the church to address itself to the personal

spiritual needs of the layman and the preoccupation of its

leaders with theological minutiae and polemics against

fellow Protestants created an almost total indifference to

the cultivation of the spiritual life of the Christian.

Arndt sought to correct this condition by emphasizing the

need for and the practice of personal piety. While the

spirit of Arndt's religious thought was different from that


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which pervaded Lutheranism in his age, it was not unrelated

to the emphasis on personal piety that had been a basic

feature of the Christian tradition.

It is thus the purpose of the first part of this

dissertation to Investigate the historical context of

Arndt's religion. In this section particular attention

is given to the concept of personal piety, in the tradi

tion of the Christian church, and its influence on the

religious thought of Arndt. Early patristic influences

on Arndt's religious ideas are first investigated. Next

the influence of medieval mysticism in Arndt's writings

is examined. This is followed by an investigation of those

Reformation and post-Reformation Influences that contributed

to Arndt's proto-Pietism. The immediate causes of Arndt's

religious reaction to post-Reformation Lutheranism are then

discussed and analyzed.

The second part of this dissertation investigates

the important theological insights of Arndt's proto-Pietism.

The Biblical emphasis, the Christocentric emphasis, the

emphasis on living faith, and his doctrine of renewal are

discussed and analyzed. These dominant theological insights

are shown to be basic to Arndt's proto-Pietism.

The third section of this study treats in detail

Arndt's understanding of the practical features of the


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Christian life. Daily repentance, the exercise of prayer,

the practice of Christian love, and the lifelong struggle

for perfection are described and examined. The last chapter

of this section treats the oppositive element in Arndt's

proto-Pietism and its influence on later Lutheran Pietism.

My desire in this investigation of John Arndt's

religious thought is to point to it as the major influence

in the rise of Lutheran Pietism. It is hoped that this

study will provide a reasonable appreciation of John Arndt

as one who most*effectlvely introduced the spirit of Pietism

into the Lutheran Church.


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TABLE OP CONTENTS

Page

PREFACE .................................................. i

PART I. THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF JOHN ARNDT'S

RELIGIOUS THOUGHT

Chapter

I. EARLY PATRISTIC INFLUENCE ON ARNDT'S RELIGIOUSTHOUGHT ........................................... 2

Irenaeus

Augustine

General Patristic Influences In the Ikonographia

and True Christianity

Summary of Patristic Influences on Arndt's Thought

II. MEDIEVAL MYSTICAL INFLUENCES ON ARNDT'S RELIGIOUSTHOUGHT .............................................. 29

Tauler and The German Theology

Thomas a Kempis and The Imitation of Christ

Bernard of Clairvaux

Raymond of Sabunde and Angela da Foligno

A Summary of Arndt's Mysticism


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III. REFORMATION INFLUENCES ON ARNDT'S RELIGIOUS THOUGHT ..................................... 51

Mystical Elements in the Young Luther's Writings

Luther's Early Christology

The Lutheran Source of Arndt's Irenic Spirit

Influence of the Lutheran Pastor Weigel

Summary of Reformation Influences on Arndt's Religious Thought

IV. IMMEDIATE CAUSES OF ARNDT'S RELIGIOUS REACTIONTO POST-REFORMATION LUTHERANISM ................. 8l

Confessional Controversies and Scholastic Orthodoxy

Caesaropapism of the Lutheran Princes

Post-Reformation Neglect of Personal Piety

Summary of Arndt's Religious Reaction

PART II. THE BASIC THEOLOGICAL INSIGHTS OF JOHN ARNDT'S RELIGIOUS THOUGHT

V. THE BIBLICAL EMPHASIS.............................. 105

The Authority of Scripture

Arndt's Concept of the External Word and

the Inner Word

Scripture Supplemented by Natural Revelation

The Bible as a Norm for Preaching

Summary of Arndt's Biblicism


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VI. THE CHRISTOCENTRIC EMPHASIS....................... 132

Arndt's Affirmation of the Christological Dogmas of the Ancient Church

The Major Emphasis In Arndt's Christology

Union With Christ

The Life of Christ as a Pattern of True Piety

Summary of Arndt's Christocentricism

VII. THE EMPHASIS ON A LIVING AND OPERATIVE FAITH . . 152

The Necessity of a Living Faith

The Meaning of Living Faith

The Result of - Living Faith

Summary of Arndt's Emphasis on a Living and Operative Faith

VIII. THE DOCTRINE OF R ENEW AL........................... 172

The Emphasis on Spiritual Renewal

The Nature of Renewal

The Renewed Man

The Influence of Arndt's Doctrine of Renewal

Summary of Arndt's Doctrine of Renewal

PART III. THE BASIC FEATURES OF ARNDT'S UNDERSTANDING OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE

IX. THE DAILY PRACTICE OF R E P E N T A N C E................ 197

The Need for Daily Repentance

The Essential Qualities of Repentance

Repentance Increases True Piety


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X. THE PRACTICE OF TRUE CHRISTIAN L O V E .............. 212

Arndt's Motivation to Emphasize Love

Essential Properties of True Christian Love

The Need to Avoid Self-Love

Love as the Motive of praxis pletatls

XI. THE PRACTICE OF P R A Y E R .......................... 228

The Importance of Prayer for Personal Piety

Prayer as a Holy Exercise

The Inspirational Element of Prayer

XII. THE PERFECTIONISTIC EMPHASIS .................. 241

Arndt's Religious Idealism

Christian Self-Criticism and Arndtian Perfectionism

The Influence and Results of Arndt's Perfectionism on Lutheran Pietism

A Life Long Struggle of Earnest Effort

XIII. THE OPPOSITIVE INFLUENCE OF ARNDT'S PROTOPIETISM ............................................. 260

Arndt's Reaction to Rigid Confessionalizing

The Protest Against Religious Formalism

A Recall to Education in Christian Virtues

The Influence of Arndt's Mood Concerning Theological Controversy

XIV. SUMMARY AND CO NC LUSI ONS.......................... 282

BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................... 301


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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Acknowledgments should be extended to Dr. Ernest

Stoeffler whose classroom lectures first created interest in

John Arndt, and who has given direction to this study as my

dissertation advisor. Dr. Owen Alderfer and Dr. Rendell

Rhoades rendered astute criticism and much helpful advice.

Mrs. Nancy Rhoades, librarian of Ashland Theological

Seminary, who has given of her time to provide for me

numerous books through inter-library loan service. Finally,

my gratitude is expressed to my wife and family whose

patience and encouragement have proved helpful in the com

pletion of this work.


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PART I

THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF JOHN ARNDT'S RELIGIOUS THOUGHT


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CHAPTER I

EARLY PATRISTIC INFLUENCE ON ARNDT'S RELIGIOUS THOUGHT

There is ample evidence that Arndt was influenced in

the development of his religious ideas by the writings of

the early church fathers. While it is extremely difficult

to document all of the sources of patristic influence on

Arndt, it is known that he quoted numerous passages from

Cyprian, Augustine, Chrysostom, Gregory of Nazianzus,

Bernard, Dionysius, Irenaeus, Basil the Great, and Bona-

ventura.1 Influenced by the writings of the early church

fathers, Arndt used many of their ideas for the purpose of

either illustrating or supporting his thesis that personal

piety as he understood it, was an essential part of the

Morris, ojd. cit., p. 133 f. A more thorough reading of Arndt's writings reveals that Arndt also quoted from the

works of Polycarp, Ignatius, Justin the Martyr, Tertullian, Cyril, Origen, Clement of Alexandria, Clement of Rome, Epiphanius, Lactantius, Athanasius, Ambrose, and Laurentius. Following the practice of the early church fathers, Arndt occasionally quoted from ancient sources outside of Christianity such as Seneca, Ovid, and Plato. Cf. Wilhelm Koepp, Johann Arndt eine Untersuchung uber die Mystic im Luthertum

(Berlin: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, 1959)> p. 148.

-2-


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stream of Christian tradition.

Arndt's reading of the early church fathers had

strengthened his conclusion that if theological teaching

were to be effective it must express itself at the ethical

level in a life of piety. One is reminded of the statement

of Justin that the reality of religion consists not in words

but in deeds1 when Arndt in the spirit of true pastoral con

cern wrote:

As it is a most false and absurd thing for anyone to profess himself a Christian, and yet to lead at the same time an unchristian Life; or to pretend to Faith and the true Church, and yet never produce any of its true and genuine fruits; so it is no less a most preposterous and blameable practice for a man to pray, and desire to be heard, and yet to rebel at the same time against God with a wicked and profligate life. Such a man approaches the Lord with fair words

but spurns at him with profane and Impious deeds: hehonors God with his lips, but blasphemes him with his whole life and conduct. This is certainly so palpable an error and yet so obvious everywhere among those that profess Christianity, that I thought it worth my

while openly to rebuke it in my book of True Christianity published for that very end and purpose.2

John Arndt was painfully aware of the fact that the

1Justin Martyr, Discourse to the Greeks, 35. Res nostrae rellgionis non in verbis sed in factis conslstunt.

2John Arndt, The Garden of Paradise, or Holy Prayers and Exercises (London: Printed and Sold by F. Downing, inBartholomew close near West Smithfield, 1716), p. ix. Following references to this edition will be Arndt, Garden of Paradise (London, 1716).


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organized church of his age had failed to communicate to its

clergy and laity the spirit of piety of the early church

fathers. Influenced by the writings of the early church

fathers Arndt had concluded that the failure to stress per

sonal piety resulted in a type of Christianity that stressed

proper verbal confession without the demand for proper ethi

cal conduct.

An analysis of the patristic influences on Arndt's

religious thought reveals that the writings of two of the

early church fathers dominate his thought more than others.

While there are many references to different early church

fathers scattered throughout the writings of Arndt, one must

first turn to those who exerted a profound influence on his

religious thought. It is necessary to do this in order to

understand the fundamental patristic structures of Arndt's

proto-Pietism.

Irenaeus

Arndt used Irenaeus as a major source to support his

own religious ideas. However Arndt was selective in his

use of Irenaeus. This selectivity arose from the fact that

he was bound to the creeds of the Lutheran Church.1 It

1John Arndt, True Christianity, A new American Edition by Charles F. Schaeffer (Philadelphia: The United Lutheran Publishing House, 1868), pp. xlil, and 374. All subsequent references to this edition will be Arndt, True Christianity (Sch).


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was Arndt's conscious endeavor to remain within the accepted

creeds of the Lutheran Chruch that would not allow him to

accept everything that Irenaeus wrote. Arndt wrote as a

member of the Protestant Reformation and would therefore cer

tainly not accept the teaching of Irenaeus on the primacy of

Rome.1 Nor could he accept the idea of episcopal succession

2as taught by Irenaeus. Furthermore Arndt would not be in

agreement with the implied subordination in some of the

Christological teachings of Irenaeus. There is also no

doubt about the fact that Arndt would reject the mariology

4of Irenaeus. Apart from these divergences between Irenaeus

and Arndt, one can discern in Arndt's writings a close affin

ity to Irenaeus' view of redemption. The teaching of Irenaeus

that the Son of God in his redemptive work delivers mankind

5from its slavery can be observed in Arndt's second book of

1Johannes Quasten, Patrology (Westminster, Maryland:The Newman Press, 1958), I, 302-03. Cf. also Philip Schaff, History of The Christian Church (Grand Rapids: Wm. B.Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1962) ~I, pp. 149.

2Ibld.

3Schaff, op_. clt., I, 554.

^Quasten, o£. clt., pp. 297-99.

3Cyrll C. Richardson, Early Christian Fathers, The Library of Christian Classics (Philadelphia: The Westminster

Press, 1953) I, pp. 350-51.


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True Christianity where he asserts that all is recovered in

Christ that was lost in Adam .1 Arndt also shows the influ

ence of Irenaeus1 teaching that in Christ there is a new

creation and a new source of higher life, overcoming the

2defects of the basically good yet weakened creation. The

idea of the old Adam and the new Adam as taught by Irenaeus3

is elaborated upon by Arndt in his second book where he sets

Adam and Christ in contrast.^- Arndt frequently insisted

that Christianity must be more than a verbal faith. There

must be a joyous and loving fellowship with God at the level

of spiritual consciousness. In writing on the restoration

of the image of God in man, Arndt declared, "As the right

eousness of Christ is verily begun in sincere believers, so

it follows that they also enjoy a real beginning and fore

taste of divine joy and comfort."3 Arndt insisted that this

1 Arndt, True Christianity (Sch), pp. 269-70.

^Richardson, ojc. cit., p. 351.

^Gregory T. Armstrong, Die Genesis in der Alten Klrche

(Tubingen: J. C. B. Mohr, Paul Siebeck, 1962), pp. 72-73.

^Arndt, True Christianity (Sch), pp. 184-87. Here Arndt seems to be following the doctrine of recapitulation as stated by Irenaeus. Cf. Armstrong, o£. clt., pp. 72-79.

Arndt ends this section of book II by suggesting that Christ the new Adam renews all that was lost in Adam for the benefit of all mankind.

3 Arndt, True Christianity (Sch), p. 145.


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ls an essential part of the new life in Christ. In these

words of Arndt, one can observe the influence of Irenaeus

who declared, in his doctrine of redemption, that the new

life in Christ is a life of faith that is much more than

simply correct information about God. It is also an

experience of a joyful turning to God on the part of the

believer.^

The classical idea of the atonement which has been

attributed to Irenaeus^ is also found in Arndt. Like

Irenaeus, Arndt declared that God is the effective agent in

3the redemptive work of man. Furthermore Arndt, influenced

by Irenaeus1 theology, declared that it is Christ who over-

4comes the enemies of man, i.e. sin, death and the devil.

Arndt also taught, as did Irenaeus, that it is God's love

that removes the sentence of condemnation that rests on man

r.and creates a new relationship between man and Himself.^

^■Richardson, 0£. cit., p. 351.

^Cf. Gustaf Aulen Chrlstus Victor, Trans, by A. G.

Hebert (New York: The Macmlllen Company, 1951) PP. 4-6.

^Arndt, True Christianity (Sch), pp. 251-55. Also cf. Auleh, op. clt., p. 34.

^Ibid., p. 250. Also cf. Aulen, 0£. cit., pp. 22-28.

5lbid., pp. 109-13. Also cf. Irenaeus, A Refutation and Overthrow of the Knowledge Falsely So Called, 5.* 21.

Cf. Early Christian Fathers, The Library of Christian Classics.

I, 388.


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Influenced by Irenaeus, Arndt also declared that the new

relationship was established between God and man in terms of

renewal or the new life. It is a new life of righteous

living as a direct result of the redemptive work of Christ."*"

One is reminded of the teaching of Irenaeus that He (Christ)

p became what we are so that we might become what He is,

when Arndt declares in his third book of True Christianity

concerning the work of God on behalf of man, "This is, then,

one of the greatest demonstrations of the love of God, that

God is made man, and has showed himself a true lover of men,

having taken upon him what is human that he might give us

what is divine. He is become a Son of man, that he may

make us children of God. He came down to us upon earth,

that he might lift us up unto heaven."3

Arndt was also profoundly influenced by Irenaeus1

teaching on the Eucharist. He followed Irenaeus' teaching

that the new life in Christ is nourished by the body and

4 blood of Christ in the reception of the Eucharist.

-*-Ibid., p. 105. > also cf. Quasten, 0£. clt. I, 309.

2Richardson, ojd. cit., p. 351.

^Arndt, True Christianity (Sch), p. 251.

^Quasten, o£. cit., I, 304.


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According to Arndt, this nourishment received through the

Sacrament is essential in sustaining a life of devout Chris

tian piety. In writing on this idea he asserted, "Thou

believest that Christ was the true Lamb of God offered for

us upon the cross . . . yet consider: What good can this do

thee, unless the same Lamb of God become the daily food and

1 2nourishment of thy 'inward man' ." Arndt further taught the

nourishment of the new life of the Christian as a guarantee

of the believer's resurrection.^ This idea also reveals

4the influence of Irenaeus. Arndt also believed that

Irenaeus' understanding of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper

was applicable to views held concerning this Sacrament by the

^The expression "inward man" according to August Langen, Per Wortschatz des Deutscher Pietlsmus (Tubingen:

Max Niemeyer Verlag, 1954}" 158, is taken from Paul'sconcept of man 2 Cor. 4:16. Paul indicated that the Lord, or Spirit, dwells in the Christian's inner self providing grace necessary to bring the flesh under discipline. Cf. also The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible (New York:

Abingdon Press, 1962), II, 704.

^Arndt, True Christianity (Sch) pp. 380-81.

3John Arndt, Per gantze Catechismus Erstlich in sechtzig Predlgten aussgelegt und erklaret, mit schonen Exordiis gezieret und in no'thige und ntt tzliche Fra gen und Antwort verfassett (Frankfurt: in verlegung Antori Hummen S .

Erben, 1665), p. 166.

^Quasten, ojd. cit., pp. 304-05.


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Lutheran Church of his age. Concerning the Lord's Supper he

wrote,

For this reason he gives us his body in the form of bread, and not in the form of a body, which is a palatable food; he also gives us his blood in the form of wine, and not in the form of visible

blood, which is pleasant drink; yet so, that with the bread and with the wine the essential body and

blood of Christ, namely the heavenly good, is united through a high heavenly, imperceptible, mysterious union, from which the celebrated saying of Irenaeus originated: In a Sacrament are two things, a

heavenly and an earthly. From this it became a customary saying in the church, with, in, and under the bread and wine; in or under the form of bread and wine. ^

In reference to Arndt's concept of union with God,

one can find its parallel in some instances in the teaching

pof Irenaeus. Arndt taught that the perfection and salvation

of men depended on union with God. Furthermore, in Arndt's

-^John Arndt, A_ Sacramental Sermon on Maundy-Thursday, translated from the German by the Rev. Philip Henkel (New-

Market: Printed S. Henkel's office, 1834), p. 9. Cf. alsoThe Augsburg Confession, art X. Philip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom with a_ History and Critical Notes (New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1877T > III* 13.

2Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 5*1 so, then since the

Lord redeemed us by his own blood, and gave his soul for our souls, and his flesh for our bodies, and poured out the Spirit of the Father to bring about the union and communion of God and man - bringing God down to man by (the working of) the Spirit, and again raising man to God by his incarnation - and by his coming firmly and truly giving us incorruption,

by our communion with God, . . ., Early Christian Fathers,The Library of Christian Classics, I, 386.


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estimation, this union with God is accomplished through the

redeeming work of Christ. In regard to this idea, Arndt

declared,

As man by his apostasy from God, . . . was separated from him, and fell from the perfection in

which he was created, so he must of necessity return to his original tranquility and happiness, by a union

with God; in which the whole of human perfection consists. It was therefore necessary, that the son of God should become man in order that human nature, being again united to God, might thereby be restored to its

primitive integrity and perfection.1

In the rest of the chapter which begins with the above quote,

Arndt warns against the dangers of a "perverse will" in man

that can result in a loss of the benefits that are offered

to man through the redemptive work which Christ alone

2accomplished. One is again reminded of the influence of

Irenaeus who stated, "But if thou, being obstinately hard

ened, dost reject the operation of His (God's) skill, and

show thyself ungrateful towards Him, because thou wert

created a (mere) man, by becoming thus ungrateful to God,

thou hast at once lost both his workmanship and life."3

■''Arndt, True Christianity (Sch), p. 182.

2Ibid., pp. 182-84.

3lrenaeus, Against Heresies 4, 39:2; The Ante-Nicene Fathers, translations of the writings of the Fathers down to

A.D. 325> the Rev. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson (New York: The Christian Literature Company, 1896) I, 523.


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While Arndt frequently used the term "union" in refer

ence to the believers relationship to God and Christ, it is

not the central theme of his religious thought. Arndt's

main theme was the new life in Christ, an emphasis which is

implied in the recapitulation theory of Irenaeus.1 It is the

New Testament concept of the new life espoused by Paul and

pelaborated on by Irenaeus that is the quintessence of

Arndt's Pietism. "Christians are to grow," he declared, "in

faith and in a virtuous life" until they reach the stature

of a perfect man in Christ. In the last part of the fourth

book of True Christianity where Arndt referred to the redemp

tive work of God through Christ in creation, he uses a

quotation from Irenaeus to support his own idea on the new

life. In setting forth the idea that the faithful soul in

union with the Son of God is capable of union with the beauty

and glory of God, he affirmed, "Upon this Irenaeus has a fine

thought. He says that 'the glory of man is God, but the

receptacle of all the operations of divine wisdom and good

ness is man'".^ Thus the influence of much of Irenaeus'

1Richardson, ojd . cit., p. 351*

^Quasten, ojd . clt., I, pp. 295-96.




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theology can be observed in the religious thought of Arndt.

It is not here being advocated that the redemptive theology

of Irenaeus was the only important patristic influence on

Arndt's thought; rather that it was a_ major influence in

much of Arndt's thought.1 There are three primary reasons

why Arndt would have a natural attraction to the redemptive

theology of Irenaeus. First, it was based primarily upon

2Scripture. This fact would be in agreement with Arndt's

attempt to confirm everything he wrote by Scripture.

Secondly, the redemptive theology of Irenaeus still survived

3in the devotional language of the Middle Ages. Arndt

frequently used the devotional language of the Middle Ages

■̂ Cf. Aulen, o£. cit., Yet of all the Fathers there is not one who is more thoroughly representative and typical, or

who did more to fix the lines on which Christian thought was to move for centuries after his day. His strength lies in the fact that he did not like the Apologists' and the Alexandrians ' work along some philosophical line of approach to Christianity, but devoted himself altogether to the simple exposition of the central ideas of the Christian faith itself, p. 17. For further support of this idea, cf. Wilhelm Bousset, Kyrios Christos (funfte auflage; Gottingen: Vandenhoeck &Ruprecht, 1965. He refers to Irenaeus' theology as "Die Kunftige Gestaltung der Dinge" and says of Irenaeus, "Man kann ihn wirkllch etwa den Schleiermacher des zweiten Jahrhunderts nennen." p. 33^.

^J. N. D. Kelly, Early Christian Doctrines (New York:

Harper & Brothers, 1958), pp. 38-39*

3Aulen, o£. clt., p. 6.


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in expressing his own ideas of true Christian Piety.1

Thirdly, the redemptive theology of Irenaeus is believed to

have had a profound effect on Martin Luther and constitutes

an important part of his expression of the Christian faith.

Thus Arndt could feel free to draw upon the thought of

Irenaeus without alienating himself from the basic teaching

of the Lutheran Reformer.

Augustine

The second major source of early patristic influence

on Arndt's religious thought was Augustine. Arndt often

used Augustine as a source to support his accent on praxis

pletatis. It has been said of Augustine that he lived the

theology that he wrote. Augustine did more that set

abstract principles down in writing; he carried them into

practice.^ Some have evaluated his City of God not only

as an explanation of dogma, but also as an exposition of

■^Langen, o£. cit., pp. 399-400.

Aulen, o£. clt., pp. 6-7.

•^Saint Augustine, The City of God, Trans, by Marcus Dods, with an introduction by Thomas Merton (New York: Random House, Inc., 1950), p. x.

^Joseph Mausbach, Die Ethik Des Heillgen Augustinus (Preiburg-im-Breisgau: Herdersche Verlagshandlung^ 190977*I, pp. 1-34. passim.


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living theology.1 Augustine implied in all his writings

that Christianity is more than an objective code, more than

a philosophy, and more than a system of rites. For Augus

tine, Christianity is a belief that is lived, experienced,

and expressed in action. This action which is expressed,

experienced, and lived is to forward the growth of man in

2spiritual union with God. Augustine's influence on Arndt's

thinking is most clearly traced through this sense of man

in spiritual union with God. Arndt's familiarity with the

writings of Augustine is obvious from the many references

that he makes to him in his own writings.^ Arndt's emphasis

on critical self-examination of the soul as essential to

genuine Christianity shows similarity to Augustine's teach

ing on The Lord1s Sermon on the Mount and in the autobio

graphical Confessions concerning the development of the soul.

In these two works seven steps are set forth. The steps

are (l) poverty of spirit, (2) piety in reception to the

sacred Scripture, (3) knowledge of one's own miserable

defection from God, (4) hard-working painstaking cultivation

•̂Ibld., I, 19.

2Ibid.

^Wilhelm Koepp, ojd. clt., p. 48. Cf. also Winter, op. cit., p. 79, cf. Morris, ojd. cit., pp. 133-39.


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of the hunger and thirst for righteousness, (5) further open

ness to God's gracious mercy extended to others in need of

help, (6) clean-hearted, pure-minded, self-liberating prepara

tion for the contemplative vision, and (7) wisdom wherein

the purified intelligence contemplates truth and the divine

perfection even as it comes to experience true peace and

genuine similitude to God.1

Corresponding ideas are expressed in the writings of

John Arndt. The idea of poverty of spirit as necessary to

true Christian living isfound in the introduction to his

Ikongraphia.2 In Book I Chapter XIX of True Christianity,

Arndt sets forth the basic contention that to be conscious

of one's own misery before God is to be conscious of God's

grace. In Chapters XXII and XXIII of Book II there is

another statement of the necessity of humility through

poverty of spirit in the consciousness of the Christian.

And Chapter V of Book II develops a whole section on the

■̂Ray C. Petry, Late Medieval Mysticism, The Libraryof Christian Classics (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press,1937), XIII, 27-30. Cf. also Arndt, True Christianity (Sch),

III.5.1; I.6.8.9; 1.2; Preface, III.7; 1.24.7; II.9.13; 1.11.18.

^John Arndt, Ikonographla (Halberstadt: bey Georg Koten, 1596), P.2, recto. All subsequent references to this work will be Arndt, Ikonographla (Koten, 1596).


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idea of poverty of spirit. This section begins by stating:

Many are the means which men make use of to

come to a union with God; such as reading and other external exercises of religion. But in truth, next to that true, living faith which purifies the soul from the love of the creatures . . . there is no

better or easier method than that of humility. This, however, does not consist in words, or in any external behavior; but is seated in the bottom of the soul, so that the man upon all accounts, both natural and spiritual, reckons and esteems himself as nothing; and being truly poor in spirit (Matt. 5:3), he values neither wealth nor honor, body nor soul, peace nor

joy, nor anything in this world, in comparison with his duty and the glory of God.

Augustine's teaching on the need for piety in the use

of the sacred Scripture is likewise expressed throughout

Arndt's writings whenever he discusses the Scriptures. The

Scriptures are not to be despised by the true believer

(Bk. 1.38:8); they are God's means of grace and help to the

Christian (Bk. 1.36.20,21); they are not a dead letter, but

a communication of the Living Word (Bk. 1.6,2); when applied

to in faithful piety they help to strengthen faith and ward

poff temptation to despair (Bk. 11.51:16).

Arndt's religion, influenced by Augustine, is expres

sive of the need to be aware of one's own miserable

defection from God. This idea runs through most of the

Ijohn Arndt, True Christianity (Sch), p. 389.

2Ibld., pp. 131, 120, 17, 349.


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Arndt-Spener tradition of Lutheran Pietism. In Arndt's

proto-Pietism there is also a dominant accent on confession

of sin, repentance, and the need for constant self-

examination. This idea finds its parallel in Augustine's

fourth, fifth, and sixth points concerning the Christian

life.1

The ethical influence of Augustine's De Doctrina is

/

discernable in Arndt's sermons on the Ten Egyptian Plagues,

in which he implies the need for knowledge of one's own

miserable defection from God, the need for a daily self-

examination in order to continue in the faith, and the

necessity for a pure heart in order to keep from being

2defiled by the decadent morals of the time.

The whole idea of piety as set forth by Augustine

suggests that it is a good work, not in the sense of earning

a reward, but rather in the sense of thankful worship. It

is the service of worship of God.^ One sees immediately

1su£ra_, pp. 13-1 .̂

2 **John Arndt, Predlgten uber die zehen Egyptlschen

Plagen (Neue Ausgabe, Stuttgart: Johann Christoph Bertu-lius, 1771)t PP. 1-7* also for a discussion of similarideas leading to piety in Augustine's De Doctrina Christiana, cf. Etienne Gilson, The Christian Philosophy of Saint Augustine (London: Victor Gollancz Ltd., 1961), pp. 123-24.

3Augustine, ojd. cit., p. 305.


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the same Idea of humble thankfulness in Arndt when he writes

of the prophet Samuel, through whom God made clear that he

judges the actions of men by judging their hearts:

By this example God declares, on the one hand, that he has no regard to any man's person be he ever so great and eminent, when the heart is destitute of piety, love, faith, and humility; and on the other, that he esteems persons and works according to the inward spirit and intention of the mind, and thence allows or disallows them, according to Prov. 21:2.

Moreover, all gifts and endowments, how considerable

soever they be, and how admirable, great, and glor- ius they appear in the eyes of men, in nowise please the Lord, unless they be accompanied with a pure heart, a heart that has a steady respect to the honor of God and the profit and edification of our neigh

bor; and which, at the same time, is freed from pride and arrogance, from self-love, and self-interest, and any of those sinister views which are apt to mingle

with the works of a Christian.1

In his book of prayers, Arndt includes a prayer "for Chris

tian Thankfulness," in which he sets forth essentially the

same ideas that Augustine expresses concerning the pious

2life as one of thankful worship.

In the major themes of Book One of True Christianity,

there is also evidence of the influence of Augustine's

classical theology in Arndt's thinking. This can be seen

in the idea that the Holy Trinity is expressed in the image

of God in man through spirit, mind, understanding and

■^John Arndt, True Christianity (Sch)., p. 108.

2 Arndt, Garden of Paradise (London, 1716), pp. 31-33.


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will.^ The restored image of God is essential to the pious

practice of sincere sorrow for sin, repentance, living

2faith, and holy living.

Most scholars agree that there is a definite mysti

cism in Augustine's works.^ It has been suggested that

Augustine Christianized Neoplatonism as Aquinas later did

4the system of Aristotle. The basic idea of Augustine's

mysticism is that God is not found by reason alone; the

seeker must experience him in will and heart as well as in

reason. It must be pointed out, however, that Augustine's

Neoplatonism never superseded his Christian faith. For

Augustine sin, the Fall, salvation, grace, and election,

6all kept their rightful Christian meaning and application.

In summing up the influence of Augustine's mysticism

on Arndt's religious thought one is led to class it as an

•^John Arndt, True Christianity (Sch), p. 1.

2Ibid.

^Cf. Gilson, ojc. clt., pp. 20-21, Joseph Mausbach,

op. clt., II, pp. 117-26.

^Aloys Dirksen, Elementary Patrology (London:

B. Herder Book Co., 1959)> P» 165.

^Gilson, ojd. cit., pp. 20-24.

^Ronald A. Knox, Enthusiasm (New York: Oxford University Press, 1961), p. 580.


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evangelical influence with neoplatonic overtones.1 It is

also a Christocentrlc mysticism. In this sense the idea

of union with Christ found in the early church fathers and

given full expression in Augustine, contributes to the devel

opment of Arndt's proto-Pietism.

Augustine's Christocentric mysticism along with his

teachings on piety moreover helps to give to Arndt's writ

ings some of their profound ethical sensitivity.^ In

Chapter XXIX of Book I of True Christianity, where Arndt

dwells on the idea of man's proper ethical relationship to

his neighbor, he quotes Augustine in order to show that

repentance also involves ethical activity toward one's

neighbor who has been wronged. Thus he writes:

This restitution of things unlawfully taken away is commanded in such strong and expressive

words as to show that it is absolutely a necessary part of unfeigned repentance. St. Augustine has thus expressed his mind on this subject;'The sin is not remitted, unless the thing that is taken away may be restored.' . . . 'When the thing that is taken away may be restored, and is not restored, there is no true, but a feigned

Gaither von Loewenlch, Von Augustin zu Luther

(Namz: Essener Cruckeral Gemenwohl GmbH., 1959 )> p. ^1.

^Stoeffler, o£. cit., p. 205. It is probably this link with Augustine in Calvinism that has caused some scholars to associate Arndt's ethical sensitivity with the teaching of Calvin. For a thorough study of ethical teachings of Augustine cf. Mausbach's Die Ethik Des Helligen

Augustinus Vol. I & II.


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repentance.' . . . Therefore, in order that re pentance may prove true, and the conscience be freed from guilt, all possible restitution is

to be made; or if a man be not able to make full restitution, he ought feverently to implore the Lord, that he himself, in his stead, would restore the things taken from his neighbor, and thus do justice.

Thus Augustine also must be pointed to as an impor

tant source of ethical influence on the religious thought

of John Arndt. In the light of Arndt's familiarity with

the writings of Augustine it is an oversimplification to

assert that all of Arndt's thinking was moulded by the great

reformer Luther, or that all of Augustine's influence on

Arndt came by way of Luther. Arndt's proto-Pietism defi

nitely reveals the dominant influence of Augustine's thought.

General Patristic Influences In The Ikonographla and True Christianity

In addition to the dominant influence of Irenaeus and

Augustine there are many references to other early church

fathers scattered throughout the writings of Arndt. These

references reveal less dominant sources of early patristic

influence on Arndt's developing ideas of Pietism. The

Ikonographia and the first four books of True Christianity

clearly reveal Arndt's familiarity with the writings of the

^Arndt, True Christianity (Sch), pp. 96-97.


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early Greek Church as well as those associated with early

Latin theology.

In the Ikonographla there are numerous references to

the devotional ideas of the fathers of the early church.

The ideas of Origen, Clement of Alexander, Clement of Rome,

Lactantius, and Epiphanius concerning personal piety and

prayer are used by Arndt in developing his views concern

ing the right devotional use of pictures and images in the

church.1 The ideas of Tertullian in regard to personal

piety and the devout life are also used as sources by

Arndt to prove his case that when true personal piety is

involved external aids to genuine devotion are rightly

used. There is no fear of idolatry since true piety

2guards against it. The idea expressed by Cyril and

Chrysostom commending the use of the sign of the cross by

the early Christians as an act of pious devotion also in

fluenced Arndt in developing his own ideas concerning the

3essential need of piety at the personal level. In writing

the Ikonographia, Arndt influenced by the writings of the

early church fathers on personal piety had begun to develop

1Ikonographia (Koten, 1596), pp. 29-37.

2Ibid., p. 29.

^Ibid., p . 38.


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their concept of piety as basic to the practice of the true

Christian life. This fact becomes more obvious when Arndt

quotes from the Divine Institutes written by Lactantius in

order to support his own developing idea that personal piety

is a necessary part of the practice of true religion.'*'

Arndt also indicates in this same section that he has been

influenced in his thinking by Lactantius' work, Adversus

natlones.2

An analysis of the Ikonographla reveals the influence

of early patristic thought on Arndt's developing proto-

Pietism. All of the quotations from the early church fathers

used by Arndt have either explicitly or implicitly indicated

that all true worship stems from personal piety. It is this

idea that Arndt used to prove the major point of his argu

ment in the Ikonographla that the use of pictures and other

external aids to worship can be a valid form of Christian

•*~Ibld., p. 30. also cf. Lactantius, The Divine Insti- tues, The Fathers of the Church, translated by Sister Mary

Francis McDonald, O.P. (Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 1964), "We have said that the name of religion is taken from the bond of piety, because God has

bound and fastened man to Himself by piety, since it is necessary for us to serve Him as God and obey Him as Father."

VI, 49, 319.

2Ibid.


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worship. But of greater importance is the fact that Arndt

expands the patristic idea of personal piety as that which

makes valid all worship activity to the point where it is

vital to all true Christian living. In Arndt's estimation

there is no authentic Christian living without a conscious

practice of piety at the personal level. It is this ex

panded interpretation of the patristic idea of personal piety

that became a dominant part of Arndt's later major work,

True Christianity.

An analysis of the four books of True Christianity

reveals the following general early patristic influences on

Arndt's religious thought. In book I, there are no scat

tered references to individual early church fathers. He

refers to the holy examples of the early fathers of the

church as the basis of his idea that the purity of the doc

trine of the divine word must be maintained not only through

discussion and publication but also by true repentance and

holiness of life."*’ This general influence can also be

observed throughout most of Arndt's Pietistic writings.

In book II, Arndt indicates that he has been influenced by

Bonaventura's teaching that "the highest perfection of

1 Arndt, True Christianity (Sch), pp. 132-33.


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religion, consists in renouncing our own will."1 In the

same book, Arndt affirms that his ideas concerning Chris

tian patience in suffering and facing the evils of life are

2drawn partially from Tertullian. Arndt further indicates

in this book that he has been greatly influenced in his

ideas of piety by the lives and writings of St. Laurence,

St. Vincent and St. Ignatius in regard to patience as an

essential part of Christian living.3 in book III Arndt

declares in the preface that Cyprian's ideas concerning

prayer and contemplation as an essential part of true piety,

"express a great truth, and are a sort of epitome of this

book. In book IV, Arndt Indicates in the preface that he

has partially been influenced by the ideas of St. Ambrose,

Basil the Great, and Theodoret, "who have written largely

and learnedly upon the six days of creation. In chapter

four of this book, Arndt declares that its content has

largely been influenced by the "sixth homily of St. Basil.

1Ibid., p. 183.

3Ibid., p. 325.

5Ibid., p. 423.

2Ibid., p. 217.

4Ibld., pp. 376-77.

6Ibid., p. 440.


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Summary of Patristic Influences on Arndt's Thought

Im summarizing the influence of the early church

fathers on Arndt's religious thought, one must take into

consideration what value there is for his proto-Pietism in

having chosen to include them in his works. First of all

it must be understood that it is Arndt's desire to show that

the essence of his religious thought is basically in agree

ment with the devotional piety of the early church fathers.

A great injustice is done to Arndt when one seeks to brand

his thinking as totally under the influence of late medi

eval mysticism .1 While it is true that many elements of

medieval mysticism play an important part in Arndt's

religious thought, it cannot be claimed that his ideas

concerning devotional piety are drawn only from these

sources. In the second place, Arndt chose to quote from the

writings of the early church fathers because he believed

that their emphasis on the pious life was an expression of

their true Christian experience. Arndt would be in complete

agreement with Mosheim who asserts that the faith and

actions of the early church fathers were often referred to

as paragons of true Christian piety. These served to inspire

1Albrecht Ritschl, Geschichte des Pietismus (three volumes; Bonn: Adolph Marcus Co., 1880-86)', II, 36-38.


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the lives of the Christian laity.1 It was this spirit of

piety expressed by the early church fathers that influenced

Arndt to such an extent that he believed it to be an answer

to the decadent Christianity of his own day. By repeated

references to the writings of the early church fathers,

Arndt had attempted to demonstrate that his own ideas re

garding personal piety as essential to Christian faith

were grounded in the tradition of the early church. Arndt

thus did not believe that he was Introducing into the

Lutheran Church an emphasis that was foreign to accepted

Christian tradition, but rather was recalling it to a

valid Christian teaching that had been greatly neglected.

In the light of this fact it can be affirmed that Arndt's

Pietism is not original, but traces its inception to an

influence of devout pastoral concern frequently expressed

by the fathers of the early church.

1John L. Mosheim, Ecclesiastical History Ancient and Modern translated from the original Latin by Archibald Maclaine (Cincinnati: Applegate & Co., 1857)* PP. 21-28.


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CHAPTER II

MEDIEVAL MYSTICAL INFLUENCE ON ARNDT'S RELIGIOUS THOUGHT

In analyzing the important features of Arndt's mysti

cism the Influence of some late medieval writings on his

thought must be considered. It is not too difficult to

ascertain what were some of these sources. At a very early

age Arndt had begun reading the works of St. Bernard, Thomas

a Kempis, and a book which had widespread influence at the

time called the German Theology.1 It is further evident

from the works of Arndt that he was also influenced by the

2ideas of Tauler, Raymond of Sabunda, and Angela da Feligno.

The Ikonographla, which is one of Arndt's earliest

works, reveals that he preferred the terminology of medi

eval mystical piety in presenting his deepest feelings

-*-K. R. Hagenbach, Kirchengeschichte von der altesten Zeit bis zum 19. Jahrhundert (7 vols; Leipzig: Verlag vonS. Hirzel, 1870), IV, 396.

2Stoeffler, o£. cit., pp. 204-06.

-29-


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about Christian piety.1 In the dedication where Arndt

expresses his own ideas of personal piety he used a number

of medieval mystical expressions such as, "pure well of

faith", "inner spirit of the heart", "inner man", "union

with God", heart-felt humility", "inward service of God",

2and "Sabbath rest in God and Christ".

In the preface to his Garden of Paradise Arndt indi

cates that he has been influenced by medieval mystics in

composing this book of prayers. While Arndt does not

identify these writers, one can easily observe the termi

nology of medieval mysticism in his summary of their

thoughts on the pious duty of prayer:

They compare Prayer to a ladder, on which we

ascend up to Heaven, and whereon the holy Angels come down with us again. They say, that by Prayer

we do friendly embrace the Lord, and that it is a Kiss of Peace and Love, given by the faithful Soul, or Spiritual Bride, to her heavenly Bridegroom Jesus Christ. Prayer, they say is an internal Sab

bath or a Day of Rest, on which the Soul takes her Repose in God, and rests awhile from all the Imployments of an inferior Nature. They call it a Spiritual Pavlllion upon spiritual Mount Lebanon,

wherein the heavenly Solomon, Christ our Lord,

taketh his Pleasure. It is a Medicine for our daily Infirmities, softning and mollifying our

•^Wilhelm Koepp, 0£. clt., p. 18.

2 Arndt, Ikonographla (Koten, 1596), pp. 3-5. also cf. Langen, o£. clt., who elaborates on the medieval sources of these terms in the Pietistic vocabulary of Arndt, pp. 393- 401.


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hard and unbelieving Hearts Into a Sense of divine Love . . .

Thus in the very earliest of Arndt’s writings as well

as in his later works, one can discern the influence of

medieval mystical piety on Arndt's religious thought. He

uses the vocabulary of the medieval Christian mystic in

order to express what he believes to be the essential nature

of true Christian piety. In Arndt's estimation the essential

nature of the Christian life is "inward." It is "inward"

because, according to Arndt, the new life begins in the

spiritual consciousness of man when the soul is converted

to Christ through faith. Arndt was convinced that certain

expressions of the medieval mystics best expressed the

deepest feelings of this "inward life." Influenced by their

religious thought in regard to personal piety, Arndt thus

took over, changed, and passed on into the stream of Lutheran

2Pietism many of the expressions of medieval mysticism.

In establishing an order of relative influence on

Arndt in regard to the persons and works treated in this

section, one must begin with Tauler and the German Theology.

These two are grouped together because Arndt, following the

■^Arndt, Garden of Paradise (London, 1716), pp. xiii-xiv.

2Langen, ojd . clt., p. 399.


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scholarship of his day, believed that the German Theology

was the work of Tauler. Later scholarship has shown the

German Theology to be a composite work of a number of

medieval mystics.1 The ideas of personal piety and Chris

tian disclpleship as taught by Tauler and the German

Theology are those which are most frequently found in Arndt's

works. Next in order of influence on Arndt's religious

thought are the ideas of Thomas a Kempis, especially those

found in his De_ imitatlone Christi. Arndt was particularly

fond of the idea expressed by a Kempis that Christian

'humility is an essential result of the new life in union

with Christ. Arndt is also indebted to Bernard of Clair-

vaux's teaching that repentance and increased personal piety

arise from the devotional contemplation of Christ. While

Bernard of Clairvaux's ideas are not found as frequently as

those of Tauler and a Kempis in Arndt's major work, True

Christianity, they do occur quite frequently in his devo

tional work on prayer entitled the Garden of Paradise. The

ideas of Raymond of Sabunda, who sought in a rational yet in

some respects rather mystical manner to demonstrate the

harmony between the "book of nature" and the Bible, are

•̂Theologlca Germanica, edited with an introduction by Thomas S. Kepler (Cleveland: World Publishing Co., 1952), pp. 26-27.


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dominant in part two of book four of True Christianity.

While Arndt was also acquainted with the mystical teachings

of Angela da Foligno only a few chapters of the second book

of True Christianity give evidence of her influence on his

religious thought. Therefore in order to understand Arndt's

ideas of personal piety it is also necessary to survey and

analyze how the ideas of the mystics mentioned above influ

enced his religious thought.

Tauler and the German Theology

That Arndt was intimately acquainted with the writ

ings of Tauler is easily subst

Documents

Jonh Arndt