Protestant Tradition--Simple Guides by David Rhymer

Author:David Rhymer [Rhymer, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-85733-636-8
Publisher: Kuperard
Published: 2011-07-19T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 6

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Revival & Expansion:

18th & 19th Centuries

Priests and Methodists

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There were those who believed, after the first hundred years or so of Protestantism, that its mainstream and established forms were just too dry and dull, too wordy and rigid. Martin Luther’s rediscovery of the power of divine grace and the assurance that this was sufficient for his forgiveness and acceptance by God seemed to have got lost somewhere. A certain ‘Calvinistic clinical coldness’ had, in much of Protestantism, overwhelmed this central ‘conversion’ experience. There was a desire, therefore, for something ‘warmer’, something more spontaneous and ‘real’, more inwardly convincing than just the intellectual rigour of Protestant theology.

This longing gave rise to what became known as Pietism. Pietism stressed a spirituality based on personal devotion and religious experience. It influenced both Lutheranism and Calvinism and became especially strong amongst the Moravian Brethren, under the influence of Count Nikolaus Von Zinzendorf (1700–60). It was the warm piety of the Moravians that was to impress a young Anglican clergyman who had trained for the priesthood at Oxford University – John Wesley (1703–91).

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