jonh arndt
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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.
^Arndt, True Christianity (Sch), p. 127.
^Arndt, True Christianity (Sch), p. 457.
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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.
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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