Protestantism And Modernity
Evangelical Pietism (conservative)
Out of 17th century – lutherism
Creeds and formal religion
Feelings over rational thinking
Changing human life – not examining it
Sensing a purpose rather than analyzing it
Experiencing the divine
Spread out on international scale
Francke and Spener in Holland
Wesley in England
Count Zinzendorf & Moravians in Bohemia
Jonathon Edwards and American revivalists
Absolute dependence on God
The Oxford Movement (conservative)
John Henry Newman (1801-90)
Via Media
Appeals to tradition
Return to Anglican Book of Common Prayer
Argues for the Apostolic succession & sacraments
Conversions to Catholicism!
The Biblical Movement (liberal)
New Methods of Biblical Scholarship
Linguistic, archaeological, historical
Lower Criticism vs. higher criticism
Threat to biblical faith?
Julius Wellhausen (1844-1918)
The Documentary Hypothesis
OT Biblical scholarship – persuasive
Liberal theologians – rethinking
NT scholarship
Gospels – contradictions? (John’s Gospel)
Liberal foundational
Scientific method
Optimistic for Christianity’s future
New forms of Christianity – Jesus of faith
Fundamentalism and biblical inerrancy
Social Concern (liberal)
Industrial Revolution
Renaissance
Medieval monasticism
“Reformers and Pietists”
Dedication to God – everywhere
‘Holiness’ (Law & Wesley) for everyone
Protestantism – openness to the world characteristic
World is good – resources are good
Common ideal – wealth shared
Modernity and the industrial revolution nixed it!
Catholics and Protestants:
Defend the status quo or effect social change
Christian values of social justice and conscience
William Booth (1829-1912) – the Salvation Army
Social Gospel – restructure society
Major contributor to Christian diversity
New period of Western Christianity
Significant
Individualization and interiorization
“A walk, not a talk”
Transnational and transconfessional
Philipp Jacob Spener (1635-1705) and August Hermann Franke (1663-1727)
Piety – prayer & Bible over dogma
Called people:
Life-changing spiritual awakening
Separate from established churches
Brethren Churches (Alexander Mack 1679-1735)
State churches of Germany
Organized a new denomination
Persecutions
American in 1729
The Moravians (Zinzendorf 1700-1760)
Pietist tradition
“Whoever has God in his head is an atheist.”
New forms – worship and devotion
Pluralism
Methodists (John Wesley 1703-1791)
Anglican
Oxford University
“Strangely warmed”
Moravians
America
Sermons:
Introduced rationalism
Moral discourse
Justification by faith through sanctification
Holy Spirit
Holiness and Pentecostal movements
Christian perfection
3rd religious awakening in England
French Revolution, Industrial Revolution and Methodism
Methodism – England Pietism – Lutheranism
Served the lower classes
Liquor; slavery and war
Free medicine
Education
Puritanism In America
Influential Minority
Elizabethan settlement [X]
Response to religious divisions
1559 Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity
Anglicanism [X]
Simpler Church ritual – Calvinistic
“Pure” form of early Church
Forced to America
Congregationalists
Anti-episcopal
Americas (Plymouth Rock)
Biblicists – covenant theology
God’s law – enforced by magistrates
Moral purity
Convincing conversion
Practices and beliefs
Sermon – hours, singing
Theology – new Jerusalem (America)
Role in final drama of world history
Theocratic democracy
Zealous Nationalism
Covenant conformity
Natives – convert or subdue
Pequot natives
Massacred
Captain John Underhill
Millennial Theocracy in New England
“Save the world”
Dualistic worldview – Book of Revelation (NT)
Redemptive