The Value of a Divine Encounter in Moravian Memoirs. From 1743 to 1864

This paper is compiled of memoirs, from six individuals within the Moravian Church, between 1743 and 1864, and they are being analyzed to understand how these individuals valued a divine encounter. The purpose of this paper is to see how individuals within a tradition, that advocates the need for a subjective divine experience, are affected by this tradition’s emphasis on subjective experiences. These individuals lived within the tension of three different Lutheran traditions, Orthodoxy, Pietism and the Moravian Church. In order to help explain how these individuals valued the “subjective religious experience” I have placed their memoirs within a theoretical framework built around these three traditions. In order to achieve this aim, I have formulated four questions: 1. In these Moravian memoirs how were the “subjective religious experiences” valued? 2. How did they describe these experiences? 3. According to their memoir, how did the religious experience effect the individual’s life? 4. Can I identify any negative consequences in the individual’s life caused by the emphasis of a “subjective experience” from the tradition they were in? I have discovered, within the memoirs, that they considered a “subjective religious experience” to be crucial for their assurance of salvation. Quite often their theology contributed to a lot of anxiety and pressure for the individual. Having said this, they also appreciated/valued the experiences they received, higher than anything else, and regarded them as life changing. My paper starts with describing the historical background of these traditions and explaining the theoretical framework of the memoirs. I then analyze the memoirs and focus on how they describe the divine encounter and the feelings and emotions connected to their assurance of personal salvation. I then discuss their view’s in relation to the theoretical framework of the three established Lutheran traditions of their time. From the analyses and the discussion, I then draw my conclusions about how the tradition of the Moravian Church’s emphasis on “subjective religious encounters” have affected their members