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1. The concept Revival (or awakening; German  Erweckung) as a Pietist term with biblical roots denotes activation of faith. Efforts of all religious bodies to intensify personal faith are documented throughout Europe from the 17th century on (Jansenism, Quietism, Pietism, and Hassidism). The term itself was used both collectively and individually from the early 18th century on, initially in Halle Pietism and the Moravian Church (Unitas fratrum). It could be understood in a religious, pedagogical, or p…

1. GeneralThe early modern expectation of God’s kingdom (or God’s reign) is not a central theme of historical theology but rather of the history of piety and popular religion; only occasionally did it play a formative role in shaping theological concepts. The distinction between academic theological or philosophical reflection on the concept of the kingdom of God (e.g. in German Idealism) and imminent expectation of the kingdom of God with its consequences for popular theology and practical piety…

1. Contexts and scholarly perspectivesBelief in miracles and individual and collective experiences called miracles occurs in many different forms across many cultures and periods of history, and is freighted with many different interpretations and functions. As an expression both of subjective beliefs and of a specific worldview that implies the possibility of the alterability of the world, the phenomenon is not confined to the religious context. It combines interpretations of reality with an explic…

1. Concept 1.1. AsceticismAsceticism is a “fundamental concept of European cultural history”, [18] whose use in the Modern Period can scarcely be said to make sense without a knowledge of its history in Antiquity and the Early Medieval Period. The term goes back to the Greek verb askeín (“to practise something”); the “practice” (Gr. áskesis) referred to was frequently defined in terms of method, and related to physical (e.g. sportive or military) as well as, by extrapolation, intellectual and moral areas of life (such as philosophy and virtue). S…

1. Introduction 1.1. ConceptSorcery and spells occur in a variety of cultural contexts. Alongside divination and the use of oracles, they form part of magic in a wider sense. Pluriform sorcery as a form of social interaction is closely related to witchcraft (Witch), popular religion, superstition, and other topics. Recent scholarship has tended to avoid the term in favor of magic. However, despite many overlaps, there are clearly recognizable differences between magic and sorcery, in regard to the …