Pia Desideria
Overview
This classic work, first published in 1675, inaugurated the movement in Germany called Pietism. In it, a young pastor, born and raised during the devastating Thirty Years War, voiced a plea for reform of the church which made the author and his proposals famous. A lifelong friend of the philosopher Leibnitz, Spener was an important influence in the life of the next leader of German Pietism, August Herman Francke. He was also a sponsor at the baptism of Nicholas Zinzendorf, founder of the Moravian Church, whose members played a crucial role in the life of John Wesley.
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Key Features
- Includes the first English translation of this classic work on German Pietism
- Contains a substantial introduction to Spener’s primary text
- Provides insight into this important theological movement
Top Highlights
“This second proposal is the establishment and diligent exercise of the spiritual priesthood.” (Page 92)
“Thought should be given to a more extensive use of the Word of God among us. We know that by nature we have no good in us. If there is to be any good in us, it must be brought about by God. To this end the Word of God is the powerful means, since faith must be enkindled through the gospel, and the law provides the rules for good works and many wonderful impulses to attain them. The more at home the Word of God is among us, the more we shall bring about faith and its fruits.” (Page 87)
“Many preachers are more concerned to have the introduction shape up well and the transitions be effective, to have an outline that is artful and yet sufficiently concealed, and to have all the parts handled precisely according to the rules of oratory and suitably embellished, than they are concerned that the materials be chosen and by God’s grace be developed in such a way that the hearers may profit from the sermon in life and death.” (Page 115)
“Beware! Satan has the intention of detaining you with unnecessary things and thus keeping you from those which are necessary. Once he has gained an opening in you of a hand-breadth, he will force in his whole body together with sacks full of useless questions, as he formerly did in the universities by means of philosophy.’” (Page 51)
“People attended church partly because they were required to do so by law, and attendance was sometimes thought of as a good work whose mere performance gave them credit in God’s sight.” (Page 7)
Praise for the Print Edition
It is hard to believe that the English-reading world has had to wait 289 years to have an English translation of the most important document of German Pietism! . . . Consisting of three parts, a brief review of ‘corrupt conditions’ prevailing in the evangelical church; a presentation of the possibility of church renewal; and six specific proposals for the renewal of the church . . . Pia Desideria is relevant to contemporary yearnings and efforts, not because its program should be borrowed in toto, but because it witnesses to the recurring need for and possibility of God’s renewal of his people.
—Review and Expositor
About Philip Jacob Spener
Philip Jacob Spener (1635–1705), the “Father of Pietism,” was a German theologian. He was the pastor in the Lutheran Church at Frankfurt and authored numerous works, including Allgemeine Gottesgelehrtheit.