If my mainline seminary education was typical, very little is taught about Pietism. When I found a dingy copy of Pia Desideria at a used book sale while on vacation a few years after graduation, I recognized the title and its author, Philipp Jakob Spener, but could not remember much else. Reading it, I had the reaction that quite a few people still have. The book was obviously written centuries ago, and while it doesn’t have that “contemporary air” that reviewers are always finding in old books, some of what Spener addressed had direct application to our present situation.

And so began my interest in “the flowering of the German Lutheran Churchly Pietists” a period from 1675-1725, roughly spanning the careers of Spener and August Hermann Francke. I still await the awakening of fellow clergy and our professors to its benefits. There have been a few stirrings. Bethel had a conference on “The Pietist Impulse” in 2009, and a collection of articles was released in 2011 as The Pietist Impulse in Christianity. The label Pietism is tossed around a bit in social media, and I was even interviewed recently for a podcast, but for the most part, pietism is spoken of as a form of legalism, basically. We also hear that pietists are anti-intellectual, are all about having a religious experience, they don’t care about the Sacraments, and all sorts of things that I do not see in my historical research. Of course, the problem here is we are talking about is a movement spanning four hundred years, and radicals who really were “enthusiasts” are included under that label, but we should follow the advice that a movement is known by its broad middle and not its fringes.

Roger Olson and Christian Winn have attempted to explain how a “good word got a bad reputation” in the readable, historical and theological work Reclaiming Pietism. It will have to be seen if this 2015 offering from Wm. B. Eerdmans is up to the task of its title. After all, as they say, not even religious scholars in the United States today know what Pietism is. That is a little odd since the two most influential forms of Christianity here were Puritanism and Pietism. No American history course is complete without a segment on the Puritans, yet as Olson and Winn point out there is a good case to be made that Pietism was just as influential if not more so.

It is as if Pietism fell off the radar. When mentioned at all, it is a pejorative term. It may be surprising for Americans to learn that Pietism studies are taken seriously in Germany. They see, as we should, that it was important to their development. It is perhaps worth noting that the Wikipedia page for the former dean of Pietism research in America is in German.

In Germany in the 1980s and 1990s Martin Brecht and Johannes Wallmann had a long debate whether the movement should be dated from the time of Johan Arndt and include Reformed thinkers from Britain and the Netherlands, or if it was begun by Philipp Jakob Spener and properly understood as having Lutheran roots. Germans followed the papers from Brecht and Wallman with great interest and academics took sides. Only a handful of people here know anything about this.

If for no other reason than giving educators a resource to fill that blank, Reclaiming Pietism meets a need. However, since it is a clearly written, historical survey taking advantage of the work of Stoeffler from about fifty years ago and the more recent work of Douglas Shantz, Jonathan Strom and others, it may well excite even more research. Olson and Winn are leading scholars themselves in the new Pietism research, Winn having been a student of Donald Dayton at Drew concentrating in the work of the Blumhardts before teaching at Bethel University in St. Paul, and Olson having a long career as an educator and author, now teaching at Baylor.

Christian T. Collins Winn, ed., From the Margins: A Celebration of the Theological Work of Donald W. Dayton (Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock, 2007), 433 pages, ISBN 9781556351358.

The editor of this volume has accomplished his purpose (publishing a Festschrift), celebrating the work of Donald W. Dayton. For those who are unfamiliar with Dayton’s writing, this book will serve as an introduction to the width and depth of his contribution to the Pentecostal church. For those who have read some of Dayton’s works, this book will expand and refresh their remembrance. The introduction of the book included an apt summation in the orientation of the book as being as much Fest [German, celebration] as Schrift [German, writing]. The format of this book followed the various articles that Dayton wrote, and then two responses were given for each article. Some of the responses gush with accolades for Dayton, in a manner that is foreign to the academic genre. Some of the responses are stiff with academic formality, which seem out of step with the tone of the book. However, all of the responses appropriately affirm the significance of Dayton’s contribution.

Now retired, Donald W. Dayton, taught theology and ethics at North Park Seminary, Northern Baptist Theological Seminary, Drew University, and Azusa Pacific University. He is the author of numerous books including Theological Roots of Pentecostalism (Scarecrow 1984) and Discovering an Evangelical Heritage (Harper & Row 1976).

The diversity of these articles establishes the range of Dayton’s thinking. These include the history of the Holiness and Pentecostal Movements, the need for social justice, the influence of Wesley, and foundational element Pietism. The argument for biblical feminism is engaged by Dayton and he seems to take particular delight in confronting this area of hypocrisy in the church. Moreover, Dayton employs both ecumenism and Barth in lively dialogue, to the delight of this reviewer. The growing influence and academic contribution of the church in Korea is engaged by Dayton as he relates his experiences with Korean scholars. In addition, a fascinating chapter on James Dean (the rebel without a cause) will jar the reader to think again, and to revisit the dusty memory of a fading American icon.

A rather amusing response is given by Dayton, as a closing self-commentary on this book and on his life-long work. He opens his life story for us to see the beginning, middle, and continuance of his journey. Candidly, he invites the reader to discover his roots, and perhaps to identify with his youthful rebellion and with the labor of maturity. While this book may stretch those who are uncomfortable with the academic genre, it is certainly well worth the reader’s effort. Undoubtedly, every reader will find a reward in some or all of its chapters.

Reviewed by John R. Miller

Publisher’s page: Wipf and Stock