The Priesthood of All Believers and the Theology of Pietism

Pietism and pietistic emphases are becoming popular again because during the seventeenth and early eighteenth century the Pietists sought to revitalize Christianity in ways familiar to twentieth century Christians seeking to do the same. Pietism sought to foster a more vigorous personal and public piety among the people. They sought to improve the education of ministers in practical piety so that they might better guide and edify their people. They sought to encourage the reading of the Bible, Christian education of the youthful and the mature, demonstrated social concern and resposibility in their philanthropic enterprises, and embarked upon ambitious programs of domestic and foreign missions. In a state-church environment where erastianism had led to spiritual smugness or apathy, the Pietists sought to reform the life of the church by reasserting the rights and responsibilities of the priesthood of all believers emphasized by Luther but neglected in seventeenth century German Lutheranism. They felt that this revitalization of the laity would lead to a reform of church and society. They believed, moreover, that his would require the improvement also in the education of clerics. In this the Pietists seemed to have achieved initial success in that the movement spread rapidly and widely. Yet, over the longer term, Pietism\u27s attempt to reform the life and practice of the church did not effect truly permanent changes in society. It is the purpose of this study to demonstrate that one major cause for this was that Pietism, in its practices and emphases, transformed itself into a theological movement and promulgated a theology not totally consistent with classical Lutheranism