Pietism and the Sacraments: The Life and Theology of August Hermann Francke by Peter James Yoder

Abstract

Reviewed by: Pietism and the Sacraments: The Life and Theology of August Hermann Francke by Peter James Yoder Mark Granquist Pietism and the Sacraments: The Life and Theology of August Hermann Francke. By Peter James Yoder. University Park, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2021. 207 pp. The author, who teaches at Reformed Theological Seminary, Dallas, examines the career and theology of Protestant pietist leader August Hermann Francke, focusing especially on his understanding [End Page 360] of the sacraments. This book is an important addition to our understanding of Francke, especially valuable because it is in English. Francke (1663–1705) was very important in the history of Pietism, even more (arguably) than the usually recognized founder of Protestant Pietism, Philipp Jakob Spener. Although Spener certainly ignited the pietist movement with the publication of his Pia Desideria in 1675, it was Francke (and his son Gotthilf) who organized the pietist movement through the establishment of educational and social service agencies in Halle, Germany. From his position in Halle, Francke directed a wide range of theological and ecclesiastical activities around the world. Francke shaped and defended its theology and activities against its critics. The importance of Francke is readily apparent in pietist activities in missions, education, and social services in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. What is less well known is the importance of Francke in shaping and developing Pietism as a theological movement seeking to remain within the confessional boundaries of Lutheranism. Scorn has been heaped on the pietists from several sides: from confessional-orthodox Lutherans who saw it a dangerous deviation from Lutheran dogmatic truth, and from later liberals who saw it as narrow-minded religious moralism. Certainly, it is possible to find examples of both tendencies, but it is inaccurate to blame these tendencies on Francke and those around him. Francke had a sophisticated theological system rooted not only in Luther and the Lutheran theological confessions, but also in the spirit of Luther's reformation, which was much more open to the themes of renewal and sanctification than Francke's critics would allow. Francke was able to develop a theology for the new awakening movement that allowed most pietists to stay within the bounds of Lutheranism, and to enliven and revive it as a religious force. To explore this, Yoder examines the centrality of the sacraments in Francke's theology, especially through his catechetical sermons. In good Lutheran fashion, Francke preached regularly on Luther's Small Catechism. Central to his thought was the idea of spiritual rebirth, or conversion, in which the believer seeks an awakening of [End Page 361] faith. But Francke constantly spoke of this awakening or rebirth (the word "conversion" has too many American overtones) as coming through the influence of the community of believers in the regular worship of the church and its sacraments. When Francke spoke of the sacraments, Baptism and the Lord's Supper, he did so within the framework of this experience of rebirth and awakening. The outward, formal elements of the sacraments themselves were a key in driving the believer to a deeper spiritual life. In this he wished to avoid a formalistic or perhaps mechanistic understanding of the sacraments—that they automatically delivered benefits regardless of the believer. To some of Francke's critics this seemed like he was moving away from traditional Lutheranism, but Francke thought he could find justification for this position in Luther's own catechism and other works. Francke was no separatist, and argued against those more radical pietists who sought to define a "pure" congregation of true believers as the true church. For Francke, the awakened believers in the church pushed the larger Christian community toward a renewal of the entire community. The question remains: what of the further trajectory of this theological emphasis? Some would fault Francke for later developments in Protestantism. Protestantism in the eighteenth century was developing and changing, but was this because of Francke, or was his nuanced understanding of the church and sacraments ignored? This work finally does not fully answer this question, but wisely leaves it for others to explore. Whether in the end you come down for or against Francke (or somewhere in the middle), this volume makes important...