One of the most important impulses in the modern history of Christianity is Pietism, which began as a renewal movement in German Lutheranism, spread to the Lutheran churches of Scandinavia, and shaped the development of several Lutheran bodies in America. Yet most Lutherans and other Christians today know nothing of Pietism — or only know it as something to be avoided.

In this four-part online presentation, historian Chris Gehrz will suggest how the Pietist past can inspire renewal amid the challenges of the present.

April 23 - Part 2 of 4

Part Two: What is Pietism? "In North America," argues theologian Roger Olson, Pietism "became the dominant form of Protestantism... the grassroots form of religion" in the United States in the 18th and 19th centuries. Yet most American Christians today either don't know the words "Pietism" or "Pietist," or associate negative connotations with them.

In part two of this series, Chris defines Pietism as a religious ethos found in Lutheranism and other Christian traditions, a set of instincts about our relationships with God and each other, the transformative experience of faith, and hope for better times.

Further Reading for Part Two:

Chris Gehrz and Mark Pattie, The Pietist Option: Hope for the Renewal of Christianity (InterVarsity Press, 2017), https://www.amazon.com/Pietist-Option...

Roger Olson and Christian Collins Winn, Reclaiming Pietism: Retrieving an Evangelical Tradition (Eerdmans, 2015), https://www.amazon.com/Reclaiming-Pie...

Christian Collins Winn, Chris Gehrz, et al., The Pietist Impulse in Christianity (Pickwick, 2011), https://wipfandstock.com/the-pietist-...