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1. Historical Survey The term “Thirty Years’ War,” first used shortly after 1648, denotes the series of political and military engagements that had its focus in central Europe from 1618 to 1648 but that affected the whole of Europe in its complexity, course, and consequences. At the beginning of the 17th century France was still resisting Hapsburg encirclement, the Estates-General were battling for freedom against Spain (though there was a 12-year truce starting in 1609), and the Nordic kingdoms of…

[German Version] (Jan 13, 1666, Kühndorf, near Meiningen – Jul 25, 1698, Berlin). While studying in Leipzig, Schade became a follower of A.H. Francke; he joined the Leipzig Collegium Philobiblicum and soon became a spokesman for the Pietist movement in Leipzig. Forced to leave Leipzig, in 1691 he became a deacon at Sankt Nikolai in Berlin, alongside P.J. Spener. There he preached revivalist sermons and led collegia pietatis. His polemic against perfunctory absolution as part of traditional penitential practice (“Beichtstuhl, Satansstuhl, Feuerpfuhl,” linking th…

[German Version] ( Jan 13, 1635, Rappoltsweiler, Elsass [Ribeauvillé, Alsace] – Feb 5, 1705, Berlin), father of Lutheran Pietism (I, 1). Son of a devout middle-class family with connections at court, he was brought up on edifying Puritan literature and J. Arndt’s Wahres Christentum. At the age of 16, he entered the University of Strasbourg (II); after foundation courses in philosophy (1653 master’s disserta-¶ tion against T. Hobbes), he studied the system of Lutheran orthodoxy (II, 2.a) under J.K. Dannhauer, a theology he remained faithful to throughout his…

[German Version] (Jul 17, 1627, Schotten, Upper Hesse – Sep 15, 1690, Gießen), studied in Marburg and then (after the university was relocated) in Gießen, where he taught in the boarding school after 1650. In 1659 he was appointed professor of ethics at Gießen; logic and metaphysics were added in 1661. In 1675 he became professor of theology. In 1677 he was also appointed superintendent of the Alsfeld diocese and in 1683 the Marburg diocese as well in the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt. Rudrauff made outstanding contributions to catechetics. He criticized P.J. Spener’s Pia desideria an…

[German Version] (Dec 15, 1608, Demmin, Hither Pomerania – Oct 18, 1655, Wolfenbüttel). During his time as a student in Straßburg (Strasbourg), Lütkemann was influenced decisively by Johann Schmidt. After travels in Italy and France, he received his master's degree from the philosophical faculty at Rostock, where he was appointed professor of metaphysics and physics in 1643. Appointed deacon in the church of Sankt Jacobi in 1648, he gained a reputation as an outstanding preacher. Forced to leave M…

[German Version] (Feb 3, 1640, Rothenburg ob der Tauber – Aug 18, 1680, Rothenburg ob der Tauber). After studying at Wittenberg under A. Calovius, in 1660 Hartmann became pastor in Spielbach, in 1661 rector of the gymnasium in Rothenburg, and in 1666 pastor of Sankt Jakobi and superintendent. After receiving his doctorate from Tübingen in 1670, he published several volumes of sermons (including Das wahre Christenthum… in einer Hertz Postill, 1671), a Biblischer Catechismus (1678), and numerous works of popular edification ( Fluchspiegel, 1673; Spielteufel, 1678; Lästerteufel, 167…

[German Version] (Feb 21, 1632, Wittenberg – Feb 13, 1682, Danzig [Gdansk]). After studying in Leipzig and Wittenberg (with A. Calovius), he was appointed professor of philosophy in Wittenberg, receiving his Dr.theol. in 1664. In the Syncretistic Controversy, he vigorously opposed the Helmstedt theologians. In 1669 he was appointed rector of the Gymnasium in Danzig and pastor of Sankt Trinitatis. In 1673 he was removed from office on account of his anti-Catholic sermons; his removal produced an up…

[German Version] I. Ethics The dichotomy of social and cultural reality in public and private spheres is characteristic of the modern life-world, and is the result of modern processes of change in social structure (Modernization). It is true that in the course of functional differentiation (Society: IV; V) essential ingredients of life, for instance work and vocation, are withdrawn from the private sector and transferred to the public one, but at the same time privacy centered on the family is assi…

[German Version] (Oct 22, 1639, Borgholzhausen, near Bielefeld – Jul 14, 1697, Kiel). After studying at Rostock and Straßburg (Strasbourg), he was appointed assistant pastor in Bielefeld in 1665 and in 1667 headmaster of a school there; for a while he was closely associated with the Labadists (J. de Labadie) in nearby Herford. In 1672 he was appointed superintendent in Lüneburg, and in 1689 was made general superintendent for Schleswig-Holstein and senior court chaplain in Gottorf. As a painstakin…

[German Version] (Mar 8, 1643, Leszno, Poland – Jan 15, 1715, Danzig [Gdansk]). After studying at Wittenberg with A. Calovius, in 1668 he was appointed deputy rector of the Gymnasium in Toruń; in 1673 he was appointed professor at the Danzig Gymnasium, and in 1681 deacon with the Katharinenkirche. In 1685 he was appointed rector of the Gymnasium and pastor of Sankt Trinitatis. His conflict with his Pietist colleague Konstantin Schütz turned into a literary debate with P.J. Spener that lasted for some years (e.g. Die Sektiererische Pietisterey, 1696/1697). Johannes Wallmann Bibliograph…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies Prayer is one of the most frequent and important religious acts in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It also appears in other religions – for example the indigenous religions of America. But it does not appear to be universal. Some Buddhist traditions, for example, are atheistic, and in them there is no prayer in the strict sense; these traditions often allow their adherents to pray to gods (e.g. Hindu gods), but they value the goals of such prayer less than enl…

[German Version] (Oct 17, 1582, Quedlinburg – Aug 17, 1637, Jena) was the most important theologian of Lutheran orthodoxy (II, 2.a). Comforted spiritually in a youthful illness by his “spiritual father” Johann Arndt, the very talented Gerhard initially studied medicine at Wittenberg, then theology at Jena, Marburg (with B. [I.] Mentzer) and again in Jena. After earning his doctorate in theology (1606), he was retained for church offices (1606 superintendent in Heldburg, 1615 general superintendent…

[German Version] (Oct 22, 1633, Hamelin – Sep 17, 1722, Hanover). After studying in Helmstedt (under G. Calixtus), Rinteln, and Strasbourg, in 1659 Molanus was appointed professor of mathematics, and in 1664 also of theology, in Rinteln. In 1671, he became a conventual in Loccum Abbey, in 1674 church director of the duchy of Calenberg (Hanover), and in 1677 abbot of Loccum. Though unimportant as a theologian, Molanus, as leader and organizer of a constantly increasing church territory ( inter alia union with Lüneburg 1705), can be considered the father of the Hanover region…

[German Version] The Formula of Concord ( Formula Concordiae) of 1577 is the result of the trans-regional settlement effort conducted in protracted, tedious negotiations intended to provide a common doctrinal basis for the Lutheran state churches that had splintered through doctrinal disputes after Luther's death and had separated into various doctrinal traditions – notably that of the Philippists (adherents of Melanchthon) and the Gnesio-Lutherans. Through its inclusion in t…

[German Version] (Jan 2, 1629, Rendsburg – Apr 5, 1693, Quedlinburg), was a classic author of Lutheran devotional literature; like J. Arndt, he urged internalization of Christianity, but he was more focused than Arndt on Luther and his doctrine of justification; he ¶ was a brilliant stylist of immense erudition, drawing on secular sources for his writings. After studying in Rostock (with J. Lütkemann), in 1653 he was appointed archdeacon in Stendal; in 1667 he was appointed pastor of Sankt Jacobi in Magdeburg, where he served for 23 year…

[German Version] (May 12, 1671, Uichteritz near Weißenfels – Aug 18, 1756, Hamburg), one of the last spokesmen for late Lutheran orthodoxy (II, 2.a). Neumeister began his theological studies in Leipzig with V. Alberti in 1689. After a brief period of teaching, he held various ecclesiastical offices, beginning in ¶ 1697. In 1704 he was appointed senior court chaplain, consistorial counselor, and superintendent in Sorau. In 1715 he became senior pastor of Sankt Jacobi in Hamburg. Neumeister flirted with Pietism as a student, but his ideas change…

[German Version] (Feb 25, 1651, Wrocław [Breslau], Poland – Oct 4, 1689, Moscow), a chiliastic mystic. While still a student of jurisprudence in Jena, Kuhlmann came under the influence of the Lutheran mysticism of H. Müller and published a collection of poems entitled Himmlische Liebesküsse ([Heavenly love-kisses] 1671, repr. 1971). In the Netherlands, he underwent a process of transformation between 1674 and 1678, influenced by the writings of J. Böhme and the eschatological expectations of Johannes Rothe, which caused him to become a church-critical millennialist ( Neubegeister…

[German Version] (1614, Münzenberg – Feb 20, 1683, Giessen). After studying in Marburg, he taught at the Pädagogium and was Archidiakonus there. In 1652, he became professor of Hebrew and theology in Giessen; in 1654, director of the institute for stipend recipients; in 1654, doctor of theology; in 1656, superintendent; in 1676, professor primarius. Misler wrote, in addition to numerous disputations, dogmatic ( Orthodoxia iuxta seriem articulorum Formulae Concordiae, 1669) and controversial writings ( Speculum Anti-Jesuiticum, 1660), as well as sermons. Twice (1653 and…

[German Version] (Dec 13, 1636, Lübeck – May 17, 1705, Magdeburg). After studying in Rostock and Altdorf, Fischer became a candidate for pastoral office in Stade, where he came into conflict with Lutheran orthodoxy (II, 2.a) after translating Puritanical literature (R. Baxter). In 1667–73 he was superintendent in Sulzbach/Upper Palatinate. In 1673 Charles XI appointed him superintendent in Riga; after becoming general superintendent of Livonia in 1678, Fischer, who was friends with P.J. Spener and…

[German Version] (Sep 7, 1640, Frankfurt am Main – May 21, 1690, Frankfurt), founder of separatist Lutheran Pietism. After studying at Jena and Tübingen, he began to practice law in Frankfurt am Main. Schütz ascribed his awakening to reading the sermons of J. Tauler. He inspired P.J. Spener to establish the Collegium pietatis in Frankfurt, in which he played a leading role for years, until he finally separated from the unreformable “Babel” of the Lutheran state church and championed an “impartial”…