Reclaiming Pietism: Retrieving an Evangelical Tradition

by Roger E. Olson, Christian T. Collins Winn

Overview

The historical movement known as Pietism emphasized the response of faith and inward transformation as crucial aspects of conversion to Christ. Unfortunately, Pietism today is often equated with a “holier-than-thou” spiritual attitude, religious legalism, or withdrawal from involvement in society.

In this book Roger Olson and Christian Collins Winn argue that classical, historical Pietism is an influential stream in evangelical Christianity and that it must be recovered as a resource for evangelical renewal. They challenge misconceptions of Pietism by describing the origins, development, and main themes of the historical movement and the spiritual-theological ethos stemming from it. The book also explores Pietism’s influence on contemporary Christian theologians and spiritual leaders such as Richard Foster and Stanley Grenz.

Watch a 2015 interview with the authors of this book here:

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781467443197
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	01/08/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	204
File size:	374 KB

About the Author

 Roger E. Olson is professor emeritus of theology and ethics at Baylor University's George W. Truett Theological Seminary. Among his many other books are The Story of Christian Theology: Twenty Centuries of Tradition and Reform and The Mosaic of Christian Belief: Twenty Centuries of Unity and Diversity.
 Christian T. Collins Winn is adjunct professor of religion at Augsburg University and teaching minister and theologian in residence at Meetinghouse Church in Minnesota. He previously served as professor of historical and systematic theology at Bethel University from 2005 to 2018. He is happily married to his wife, Julie, and they have two wonderful sons, Jonah and Elijah.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction x

1 Defining and Redefining Pietism: How a Good Word Got a Bad Reputation 1

2 Pietist Backgrounds: Precursors and Cousins of Pietism 19

3 Reforming the Reformation: Classical Pietism's Beginnings, Part I 38

4 Reforming the Reformation: Classical Pietism's Beginnings, Part II 61

5 A Portrait of Pietism: Its Authentic Hallmarks 81

6 Where Pietism Flourished on New Soil: Great Britain and North America 108

7 Pietism for a New Era: The Re-invention of Pietism in the Nineteenth Century 132

8 Contemporary Appropriations of the Pietist Impulse: Four Exemplars 160

Conclusion: Pietism as a Way of Doing Evangelical Theology 182

General Index 187

Editorial Reviews

Word & World
"A very valuable book. . . . Well worth reading."

J. I. Packer
"The Pietist heritage, highlighting the priority of a vital relationship with God, is currently undervalued but is extremely valuable, so this full and friendly history from inside the movement, the first of its kind, is a great gift to us all."

Donald K. McKim
"What an excellent historical and theological introduction to Pietism -- its origins, developments, and emphases! The authors successfully reclaim Pietism as 'a main ingredient in the evangelical recipe.' . . . A sound and splendid retrieval of an important, many-faceted movement, this book must be highly recommended."

First Things
"Olson and Collins Winn . . . . offer a coherent picture of Pietism and its importance for Evangelical theology."

World & Word, Spring 2016
"A very valuable book, and the best contemporary, one-volume introduction to the subject that I know. . . . Very well worth reading, and I would commend it to all readers."

From the Publisher