Frühe Neuzeit

Studien und Dokumente zur deutschen Literatur

und Kultur im europäischen Kontext

Herausgegeben von

Ach im Aurnhammer, Wilhelm Kühlmann,

]an-Dirk Müller, Martin Mulsow und Friedrich Vollhardt

Band 197

Verteidigung als Angriff

Apologie und Vindicatio als Möglichkeiten

der Positionierung im gelehrten Diskurs

Herausgegeben von

Michael Multhammer

DE GRUYTER

120 - Guido Naschert

5

Der Begriff der ,Rettung' und die Bedeutung des ,Rettens' bei Breckling weist, wie sich zeigte, ein erhebliches Spektrum auf: Es reicht von konkreten Hilfeleis­tungen, über die Rettung der ,unschuldig Verfolgten' vor den Nachstellungen der Obrigkeit bis zur publizistischen Rettung der eigenen Ehre und Unschuld,

die sich nicht zuletzt in den Titeln der Druckschriften zu erkennen gibt. Im Falle

Brecklings ist die Semantik des ,Rettens' geradezu omnipräsent und verbindet unterschiedliche Teile seines Werkes und Wrrkens. Die Interpretation der Druck- -schriften und Wahrheitszeugenkataloge, die in der von der Forschung bereits

akzentnierten Spannung von Kritik und Toleranz stehen, zeigt, dass ,Rettung' hier weniger eine gelehrte Textsorte als viebnebr eine ,pietistische' Praxis ist. Sie

ist bei Breckling eng geknüpft an das Wahrheitszeugen-Konzept, was bedeutet, dass die Rettung verbunden ist mit der wertenden Zuschreibung von Zeugen­schaft. Oftmals kann man sogar von einer Rettung durch Anerkennung als ,Wahr­heitszeuge' sprechen.

Wo Breckling zur Feder greift, schreibt er deswegen keine Apologien im gerichtsrhetorischen Sinne. Wohl hat er sich gelegentlich vor den Konsistorien zu

verantworten, schreibt also Verantwortungsschriften, eine Gattung, für die noch keine Geschichte geschrieben worden ist. Statt sich vor den Gegnern zu rechtfer­

tigen, wählt Breckling die Strategie des Angriffs als bester Verteidigung. Dies ist Folge seiner Delegitimierung weltlicher und kirchlicher Gerichtsbarkeit gegen­über dem göttlichen Gewissenstribunat

Jn allen ihren Formen hängt die ,Rettung' schließlich eng mit der Konno­tation ,großer Gefillu' zusammen, aus welcher der zu Rettende befreit werden muss; eine Konnotation, welche der bloßen Verteidigung fehlt. Erst die große

Gefahr etwa des drohenden Weltgerichts führt zu der mit apokalyptischer Panik

aufgeladenen Rettungsrhetorik. Auch die Rettung des Unschuldigen impliziert

wesentlich die Gefahr durch seine Verfolger. Es ist diese semantische Aufladung

der ,Rettung'. die der Textsorte später noch ihren Bedeutungsraum sichert.

Peter James Yoder

Pietos et Apologia

August Hermann Francke's 1689 Defensions-Schri{t and the attack of Pietism

lts printing carne wiihout bis ,.knowledge or desire". So attestedAugust Hermann Franclee concerning the publication ofhis Apologia oder Defensions-Schrift an den Kurfürsten von Stfchsen.' Wbeiher or not Francke intended it for a public audi­

ence, the written defense quickly went from a private document submitted to the elector in 1689 to a public witness of the early arguments made by Pietists in

defense of their growing movement.' It also sigualed the beginning of Francke's influence. He would go on from Leipzig to establish bis well-known Stiftungen in Halle, where he would propagate Pietist doctrines through a number of networks involving education, missions, and book printing, to name a few. Nevertheless, the aggressive nature of Francke's Defensions-Schrift established him as an early representative of Pietism, and offers us a fine example of the religious rhetoric

and argumentation used in confessional disputes during the seventeenth century. The written apology as it appeared in late antiquity has been said to have

lacked a rhetorical uniformity, and time does not appear to have cured the gerue

of its diversity.3 Nevertheless early modern apologies do tend to include both the defensive and accusatory elements that are characteristic of "forensic apolo-

1 Gustav Kramer: Beiträge zur Geschichte August Hermann Francke's. HaUe 1861, p. 168. The

Leipzig Protocol, including Francke'sApologia, can be found in August Hermann Francke: Streit­

schriften. Ed. by Erhard Peschke (TGP, ll/1). Berlin/New York 1981. Kevorkian's claim that Fran­

cke passed theApologi.a araund while still in Leipzig should be weighed in light oftbis statement

made by Francke. See Tanya Kevorkian: Baroque Piety: Religion. Society, and Music in Leipzig,

1650-1750. Hurlington 2006, p. 157. Peschke also references Francke's later report about his Apo­

logia in Franclre: Streitschriften, p. 5. It would be to ow beneti.t to consider Francke's remaiks conceming the publication of the Apologia in light of Luther's desire to have his The Ninety-Five Theses read by a select few while avoiding a broader d.istribution. See Franz Passet: The Real Luther: A Friar at Erfurt and Wittenberg. Saint Louis 2011, p. 16.

2 The author recognizes the ongoing debate over the category .,Pietism". For the sake ofbrevity,

the investigation ofFrancke and bis followers in Leipzigwill be understood as one af the clearest

early outbreaks of the movement. 3 Bryan C. Hollon writes, .,[w]hatever the numerous second-century apologies share in com· mon, it is certainly not a uniformrhetorical approach", in: Is the Epistle to Diognetus an apology?

A Rhetorical Analysis. In: Journal of Communication and Religion 29 (2006), p. 127-146, here

p. 136.

122 - Peter j. Yoder

gies" in antiquity.4 To the extent that this is true, the apology of early modernity

betrays its name. It often served as a work intended not only to dispule accusa­tions levied against individuals, groups, or ideas but also as a strategic writing that was to strike at the heels of those who represented the opposition. As the

Reformation under Luther was beginning to take hold in surrounding territories,

men like Lazarus Spengler in Nürnberg used the gerne to both defend the Augus·

tinian friar's ideas and assault the practices and beliefs of the Catholic Churcb.'

Tbus, there is a sense !hat early modern apologies fall as much under the cat· egory of polemies as they do under their own genre. They acted not only as a mirror, reflecting the author's self-conception, but also as a periscope, redirecting the reader toward the assumed faults and failures of the accuser. These writings, therefore, offer valuable insight into the assumptions and belief systeros of the apologists, those they cbampioned, and those they maligned.

Without an opportunlty to redraft the Apologia before it appeared in print, Francke offers an unadulterated example of the genre its it appeared in the early modern period and a window into the early marks of Pietism. With this in mind, we approach Francke's work with an interest in those events that culminated in

the writing of the Apologia and in the ideas that formed both bis defense ofPietism and bis attack on the Lutheran leadership in Leipzig. The fust section of this work will consider the early mystic, radical, and Pietist influences an Francke. It is fol­

lowed by an introduction into the period of unrest in Leipzig (Leipziger Unruhe)

connected to Francke's ministry. The final section will examine the two main attacks Francke laced into his personal defense of bis theology and ministry. It

will begin by taking up the Pietist's claims to a specific knowledge of and obedi· ence to God's will, wbicb he used to build an assault against the spiritual state of the theological faculty in Leipzig. Tben we will consider how Francke employed bis notion of piety to attack bis accusers and the Iifestyles they promoted. in both of these accusations we will see how Francke articulated the Reformation and Luther's teachings in a manner that allowed him to critique the Leipzig clergy's ministry. By approaching the Defensions-Schrift in this way; we will gain insight into the shape of Francke's early Pietism and be provided a usefol example of

· how writers used early modern apologies as weapons of attack.

4 Frances Young: Greek Apologists ofthe Second Century. In: Apologetics in the Roman Empire: Pagans, Jews, and Christlans. Ed. by Maik Edwards, Martin Good.man and Sirnon Price. Oxford

1999, p. 90. Quated in Hollon: ls the Epistle lo Diognetus an apology? (Note 3), p.136.

5 RenaldRittgers discusses Spengler'sApology for Luther's Teachings in: The Reformation of the

Keys: Confession, Conscience, and Authorlty in Sixteenth-Centwy Gennany. Cambridge 2004,

p.58lf.

Pietas et Apologla - 123

1 Precipitating Events

(Francke's Mysticism, Radicalism, and Pietism)

Born 1663 in Lübeck to )ohannes Francke and Anna Gloxin, Augnst Hermann moved with bis family as a child to Gotha. Like the surrounding German terri·

tories, the Tbirty Years War ravaged the region !hat included Gotha, and during

the decades following the Peace of Westphalia many took the devastation left in

the wake of the war to be a direct consequence of God's judgment on the land. Disposed t?-_this belief, Duke Ernst the Pions responded by instituting a religious program in Gotha and the surrounding region with the hope !hat it wonld result

in a heightened concem for the Christian life.' Tbe lingering effects of the duke's pro gram, with its emphasis on catechizing and education, certainly played a role in the young Francke's life, and it is likely !hat the two matriarchal figures in bis hause, bis mother and sister, planted the spiritual seeds of what would later develop into Francke's form of piety. While Augnst Hermann was still a child, Johannes Francke died, leaving his son to the guidance of the two warnen. They, in turn, introduced Francke to a selection of seventeenth-century devotional works.

His older sister Anna, for example, often read to her brother from Johann Amdt's wrltings.7 These early experiences likely gave Francke a proclivity towards the

reforming ideas circulating in the Lutheran cburcb. Yet as Francke left Gotha as a teenager and began a life in academ.ia, there were four vital periods involving mysticism, radicalism, and Pietism that shaped the character of bis religious thought and led to bis conflict with the theological faculty in Leipzig.

Girded financially by a scbolarsbip from the Schabbel Foundation, Francke traveled a path of learning !hat eveninally led him to the University of Leipzig, where after a successful disputation in 1685, he received the title of magister. 8

It was in Leipzig where he and his triend Pan! Anton, who would later serve prominently with Francke in Halle, began leading a seminar on biblical exegesis

6 Mary Noll Venables: Pietist b:uits from orthodox seeds: the case of Ernst the Pious of Saxe­

Gotha-Altenburg. In: Confessionalism and Pietism, Religions Reform in Early Modem Emope.

Ed. by Fred van Liebmg. Mainz 2006, p. 91-109.

7 Gustav Kramer: August Hermann Francke. Ein Lebensbild. 2 vols. Halle 1880-1882 vol 1

(1880), p. 7. See also Mactin Brecht (Hg.): Geschichte des Pietismus. Bd.1: Der Pietism�s �m

siebzehnten bis zum frühen achtzehnten Jahrhundert. Göttingen 1993, p. 440.

8 Kramer: Beiträge zur Geschichte August Hermann Francke's (note 1 ) , p. 60; Markus Matthais

(Hg.): Lebensläufe August Hermann Franckes. Leipzig 1999, p.15. Although it is often the case

tb.at the academic titles ,.magister'' and .,master'' are used interchangeably, there are clear dif­ferences in the training and preparation required for these two types of academic accomplish­

ments, and therefore the traditional German title of .. magister" w1ll be maintained throughout.

124 - Peter J. Yoder

called Collegium philobiblicum, wbich was initially made up of eight magisters.'

As was customary during these seminar meetings, Franclee would explicate a

section of the Old Testament, and then the group would turn to a New Tesla·

ment text, which Anion would explaln." Both magisters, along with their peers,

specifically focused on a scholarly exaroination of the Hebrew and Greek texts,

seeking to refine their understanding of the languages. It was common at this

time that universities would allow for such academic meetings. These seminars

provided small incomes for young magisters and needed courses for professors

overwhelrned with tbeir responsibilities. More importantly, for a young scholar

like Francke, it allowed him to remain in academia.

In 1687 while still holding seminars at the university on Leipzig, Francke was

drawn to the ideas of Miguel de Molinos (1628-1696)." His newfound interest in

the Spanish mystic coincided with an on-carnpus disputation at the university

concerning the dangers of Quietist theology. It was duri.ng these discussions that Francke decided to translate into Latin, and have printed, the mystic's Guida

spirituale and Della communione cottidiana.U In doing so, Francke drew bimself

into the debate and caused alarm among some as to bis theological leanings. In

bis defense, Francke claimed he provided the Iransialion to aid the academic

debate. Those involved in the discussion over Molinos' theology did not have a

complete version of the mystic's work at their disposal, and Francke believed

.,many wished" to read the Catholic priest for themselves.U What lies behind

these circumstances is the question as to whether Francke affered this translation

out of the hope that parts of Molinos' Quietist message would affect students and

theologians in a similar way to how it had affected him. Molinos· ideas concem�

ing faith, contemplation, and the prob!ematic nature of scholarly approaches to

the Christian life (!hat is, "head" versus "heart" knowledge) held some sway in

9 Kram er: August Hermann Francke (note 7), p. 19.

10 Kram er: Beiträge zur Geschichte August Hermann Francke's (note 1), p. 60. 11 RobertP. Baird: Miguel deMolinos: Life and Controversy. In: Miguel deMolinos: The spiritual guide. Ed. byidem. Mahwah 2011, p.l-15. For an early study on Francke and Molinos see Herbert Stahl: August Hermann Francke. Der Einfluss Luthers und Molinos' auf Ihn. Stuttgart 1939. 12 Brecht: Geschichte des Pietismus! (note 7), p. 442f. 13 Matthias: Lebensläufe August Hermann Franckes (note 8) , p.18 f.

Pietas et Apologia - 125

Francke's early theology." His thought nevertheless found bis way into Francke's

theological systern indirectly. At certaln points Molinos affirmed particular teach­

ings of Johannes Amdt, and as a result, Francke was able to dismiss all of those

questionable doctrines held by Molinos while at the sarne time incorporating

ideas that reinforced mystical themes already present in Arndtian Lutheranism.

The small controversy caused by bis translation does not appear to have had any immediate consequences, andin the autumn of1687 Francke found bimself again

in possession of a schalarship from the Schabbel Foundation, wbich allowed

him to take up an undistracted study of biblical exegesis. With the new source of

funding, Francke departed Leipzig on!y to be confronted with the religious expe­

rience !hat would shape bis theology for the rest ofbis life.

Superintendent Kaspar Hermann Sandhagen in Lüneburg affered Francke

the opportunity to continue studies in Hebrew under bis supervision, so in late

September Francke traveled north "with great joyfulness". He daims, "I hoped tluough such a path to gain a more full assurance of that which was my main

aim, namely to become an upright Christian" .15 Whatever we might speculate con­

cerning the nature of Francke's Christian faith before bis trip to Lüneburg, it_ is

clear from the magister's subsequent accounts !hat he saw bimseil at !hat time as

a student trapped in the enticements of academia; enticements that had drawn

him away from a "true" faith in Christ. The outward forms of Christianity Francke

used to further bis worldly faith and false spiritual comfort would all be upended

shorily after bis arrival. Almost inunediately upon entering the town, the young

magister was asked to preach at St. Johanniskirche, and he took the task to heart, desiring to .edify the listeners"." As he began to devote hirnself to the biblical

text of bis sermon Uohn 20:31), he abruptly carne to the realization !hat the very

faith he would be exhorting bis audience to possess, he bimself lacked. "I arose

from meditating on the sermon, and found !hat it bad much to do with me. For

in the depths of my heartl carne to see !hat! prohahly didn't possess true faith". u

This realization struck at the very core of Francke's psyche. It brought with it an

intense period of spiritual struggle (Anfechtung) concerning bis sin and the onset

of what Francke claimed to be an atheistic disposition toward God and divine

revelation.18 He could no langer confidently claim that the God of the Bible was

14 Erhard Peschke: Bekehrung und Reform. Ansatz und Wurzeln der Theologie August Her­mann Franckes. Bielefeld 1977, p. 30-40. 15 Matthias: Lebensläufe August Hermann Franckes (note 8), p. 25. 16 Ibid. 17 Ibid., p. 26. 18 Francke's reference to atheism should be seen as an expression of what was often tenned by theologians at the end of the seventeenth century as ,.practical atheism"'. See Peter James

126 - Peter }. Yoder

any more valid than the deilies extolled by Judaism or Islam.� Tbe unbearable weigbt of Francke's inner dilemma brougbt him to bis kuees in prayer. He went on to write, "[t]ben [God] suddenly beard my prayers. Jus! as one flips a band, so were all of my wo nies cast away. I was assured in my heart by the grace of God in Christ Jesus; I conld call God not only ,God' but also ,my Father'; all the sadness and unrest of my beart was at once taken away, and I was suddenly overwbelmed as if with a stream of joy so that out of complete confidence I praised and wor­sbipped God".20 This dramatic conversion experienceinstantly became the center of Francke's religious thought. His ministry would move forward from this point and yet always be reflexive on the event. What Francke underwent in that Lüne­burg room detennined bow be would articulate the nature of the Christian faith, both in its cerparate and individualistic expressions.21

Ftom Lüneburg Francke beaded down the Eibe River to Harnburg in early 1688, wbere be was to continue bis studies under Esdras Edzard and Eberbard Anckelmann, while tutoring Jobann Wtuckler's children. Winckler was a friend of Phitipp Jakob Spener and the senior pastor at the highly attended Micbae· liskirche.22 Wblle Harnburg was important in the development ofFranck:e's inter­es! in educating children, it also provided him the opportunity to befriend radical Pietists tu the area. He attended Eberbard Zeller's conventicle and becarne close witb Nikolaus Lange, both of wbom the Harnburg ministerium banned from the Lord's Supper for their radical beliefs." It was duting bis time in Harnburg !hat Ftancke likely indulged in notions perfectionism, adopting beliefs !hat rebom Christiaus conld completely obey the law of God. Depending on the nature of Molinös' influence an Francke, the magister's perfectionism in Harnburg would likely bave bad a greater affinity to the passivism of the Quietists than tbe syner· gism of Jolm Wesley's docirine of sanctification, which wonld gain a foothold in England and America several decades later.

Tbougb we bave yet to find extant writings by Ftancke to substantiate this early radicalism in bis theological joumey, tbere is much to be said for the nature

Yoder: Blood, Spit, and Tears: August Hermann Francke's Theology of the Sacraments. Disser­tation 2011, p. 81-90. 19 Matthias: Lebensläufe August Hermann Franckes (note 8), p. 26.

20 Ibid., p. 29. 21 This is confumed in Erhard Peschke: Die Theologie August Hennann Franckes. In: August Hennann Francke: Wort und Tat, Ansprachen und Vorträge zur dreihundertsten Wiederkehr sei­nes Geburtstages. Ed. byDietrlch Jungklaus. Berlin 1966, p. 42.

22 Claudia Tietz: Johann Winckler (1642-1705). Anfänge eines lutherischen Pietisten. Göttin­gen 2008.

23 .Kram er: August Hermann Francke (note 7), p. 40.

Pietas et Apologia - 127

of the accusations brought against him and tbe adm.onitions he later received from Spener. 24 After Hamburg, polemicists returned over and over again to accounts of Francke's inter�ction with Edzard and Anckelmann. Secondhand testimonies clairned !hat the young magister bad discussed pedectionism with Anckelmann and !hat Edzard bad at one point believed his pupil tobe possessed by the devil." These allegations would continue to bannt Francke weil into bis m.inistry in Halle. Even Spener felt it necessary to write Francke in 1693. encour­aging him to clatify bis theological position on perfectionism." Yet the magis­ter's theology during this period should not be reduced to singular controversial doctrine. Prominent themes in Francke's articulation of conversion- a powerful Bußkampf and sadness over sin and a perceived breakthrough combined with joy-were apparent in bis Lüneburg experience, as evidenced in both bis Leb­

enslaufand bis later Lebensnachrichten.17 Harnburg became a phase in Francke's theological development wbere be began to openly articnlate the social and reli· gious implications of his budding theolo� of conversion.

Tbe final period !hat defined Francke's early thougbt actually occurred shortly after Francke retumed to Leipzig. Having been in the city for only eight days, Francke traveled to Dresden, wbere be spent two months with a former acquaintance, Phflipp Jakob Spener. By this time, Spener bad already fasbioned hirnself as a dedicated reform·minded Lutheran, and bis Pia Desideria (1675)

establisbed him as a tather of a budding Pietist movement. Enjoying Spener's fellowsbip and coming under bis instruction, Francke began what wonld become a very intimate relationship with bis ,.spiritual father··. In many ways, Spener acted as a well-trusted counselor to the young magister. someth.ing d:isplayed in their Iengthy correspondence that would continue until Spener's death. Upon

Francke's retum to Leipzig, he inunediately evidenced Spener's influence. In 1687, Spener bad visited Ftancke's seminar on biblical languages and ctiticized the scholarly approach the magisters took in their studies, believing it would be better if the Old Testament portion were limited." When Francke retumed

24 Veronika Albrecht-Birkner und Udo Sträter: Die radikale Phase des frlihen August Hermann Francke. In: Der radikale Pietismus: Perspektiven der Forschung. Ed. by Wolfgang Breul, Marcus Meier and Lothar Vogel. Göttingen 2010, p. 57-84.

25 Kramer: Beiträge zur Geschichte August Hermann Francke's (note 1), p.ll4. 26 Albrecht-Birlmer/Sträter: Die radikale Phase des frühen August Hennann Francke (note 24), p.61!. PhiUpp Jakob Spener: Briefwechsel mit August Hennann Francke. 1689-1704. Ed.. by

Johannes Wallmann and Udo Sträter with Veronika Albrecht-Birkner. Tübingen 2006, p. 293. 27 Kramer: Beiträge zur Geschichte AugustHermann Francke's (note 1), p. 61.

28 Susanne Schuster: Johann Benedikt Carpzov und August Hermann Francke. ,.Orthodoxe" und .,pietistische .. Grenzziehungen im Zusammenhang der ,.Leipziger Unruhen ... In: Erudi-

128 - Peter J. Yoder

from visiting Spener io Dresden io 1689 and took up seminars afresb io Leipzig, there was a noticeable change in the direction and disposition of his meetings. They focused solely an New Testament epistles and intentionally moved from an investigation of the text to its application. The Iasting importance of this shift in Francke's theology can be seen, among other places, in bis continued habit of leadiog conventicles on the sarne Scriptural texts from wbich be taugbt io Leipzig (2 Corintbians, Epbesians, Philippians, and Titus)." These books would form a trusted corpus to which be turned as be later mioistered io places like Erfurt and Gotha. Thus it was most likely during Francke's two-month stay with Spener !hat the importance of being attentive to the pastoral letters of the New Testament and the usefulness hause visitations were impressed upon him.30

Yet Francke's time witb Spener sbould be understood as part of a body of early experiences !hat sbaped bis life Along with Francke's Dresden visit, bis translation of Molinos, bis conversion experience, and his time in Harnburg came to form an important series of events thatwould overflow and result in the Leipzig Unrest of 1689.

2 The Leipzig Unrest of 1689

Francke's return to Leipzig did not ioitially bring with it the fireworks !bat would later spark the flarnes ofworry io the Leipzig leadersbip. Rumors thathe migbt bave participated in radical circles while studyiog and teachiog io Harnburg bad not yet reached the ears of the uoiversity and city Ieaders, and the authorities evidenced no initial caution toward the magister's revived academic acti.vities. Tbus Franclee took up bis former roJe io the Collegium philobiblicum and io addition began boldiog moming and evening meetings, which focused on New Testament texts. In a rapid manner, attendance of these gatherings grew to such an extent that he was forced to reserve !arger lecture balls normally set aside for faculty members." Meetings

tio-Confessio -Pietas. Kontinuität und Wandel in der lutherischen Konfessionskultur am Ende des 17. Jahrhunderts. Das Beispiel Johann Benedikt Carpzovs (1639-1699). Ed. by Stefan Michel and Andres Straßberger. Leipzig 2009, p. 183-202, here p.185. 29 To this list ofNew Testament books Francke would add Paul's epistles to Ti.mothy. 30 Schuster: Johann Benedikt Carpzov und August Hermann Francke (note 28), p. 185 f. 31 Kramet: August Hermann Francke (note 7), p. 43 f. For a detailed study on the Leipzig perlad ofFrancke's nrlnistry seealso Hans Leube: Orthodoxie und Pietismus. Gesammelte Studien. Ed. by Diebich Blaufuß. Bielefeld 1975, p.153-267; Royko Mari: Begeisterung und Ernüchterung in

christlicher Vollkommenheit. Tübingen 2004, p.l5 ff.

PietasetApologia - 129

overflowed with oulookers, and the popularity of these lectures quickly caugbt the attention of the faculty. The success of Francke's activity had so changed the conversation io Leipzig about the direction and purpose of theological and biblical Seminars that the students appeared at moments dismissive of their responsibil· ity towards requlred siodies. The faculty would later complaio to the authorities, "[w]ben someone brings up the Collegiis philosopbicis, !ogicis, metapbsicis, and so forth, they laugh about it with the belief that they knew it was easier to carry out their studies ... 31 A story is told that one student assodated with Francke's meet­iogs burnt bis copy of a text on metaphysics." Accounts like these emboldened the faculty to act against the growiog disruption to their educational systern.

Whether or not their later iovestigation ofFrancke and bis followers was stirred solely by a jealousy toward bis seminar meetings is left io part to speculation, but the sudden success of Francke's work was not the only reason for the dty Ieader· ship's concem. Francke had also begun holding hause meetings, visitations, and sermons io and around the city. A local baker, Martin Meioig, iovited Francke to dioe at bis bouse. Around the dioiog table, Meioig found opportunity to inquire of Francke conceming spiritual matters, andin return Franclee was provided a private space wherein he could approach pressing themes of the soul.34 Francke's friends and followers did likewise, using living rooms and student dorms to discuss the characteristics of "true faith". While hause meetings allowed for more intimate con­versations on matters Of piety, they gained a reputation for, and inevitably created a sense of dividedness withln, the early-modem community, directly challenging nonns surroundiog gender roles and the bierarcbical struciore of the Lutheran cburch io Leipzig. As such, these gatheriogs found just as many enemies williog to derogate the practi.ces as allies willing to praise them.35 Rumors and stories began swirling about the nature of these activiti.es, and they gave rise to an unreserved concem aboutFrancke's theology. Francke's eventual mouthpiece in London, Anton Wilhehn Böhme, gave a glimpse ioto this wben he later reported !hat "the Clarnours against these private Exercises grew more hat and violent: both the Masters and Members thereof were charged with ahundance of Heretical Opinions" .36

32 Kramer: August Hermann Francke (note 7), p. 46. 33 Ibid.., p. 47. 34 Kevorkian: Baroque Piety (note 1), p. 156. 35 Ibid. 36 A. W. Boehm: A short Account of Same Persans who have been Instrumental in promoting the most Substantial Points of Religion in some Parts of Germany. In: Pietas Hallensis: Or, An Abstract Of The Marvellous Footsteps Of Divine Providence [ ... ] August Hermann Francke. Lon­

don 1707, p.19. Fora study ofBöhme's life, see Amo Sames: Anton Wllhelm Böhme: (1673-1722);

Studien zum ökumenischen Denken und Handeln eines halleschen Pietisten. Göttingen 1990.

130 - Peter J. Yoder

On 4 August 1689, the theological faculty's attack on Francke and bis minis­try took on a deddedly public character. )ohann Benedict Carpzov held a burial sermon for )V!artin Born, in wbich he sought to vilify Francke's budding Pietist movement.37 Born, a theology student, suddenly died at a time when he was pre­paring to preach for bis homiletics exercises. His death might have gone rela­tively unnoticed had he not served the brazen Carpzov well as an example of what the polemitist considered to be the iguorance of Francke and bis followers. It

was Born, according to Carpzov, who defied conventional actions by seeking to present bis sermon among pious friends during a conventide meeting instead of before an attentive congregation in the church.38 The theology student's disposi­tion, wbich he exhibited toward the institntional church, revealed the dangeraus tendencies being encouraged by Francke's private meetings. These conventicles were not merely causing students to neglect their studies but they were also stir­ring up contempt for the ecclesiastical and civil authorities. Thus Carpzov took the liberty granted by the burial sermon to make an open critique of Francke's theology.

Framing bis arguments within three points of contention, Carpzov focused an what he believed were the improper teacbings these private meetings inculcated conceming Scripture. First, members of these gatherings falsely believed they could ascertain the meaning of a biblical text using merely the words contained therein. Tbis, Carpwv pointed out, neglected the traditton of the church and the historical context of the passage. These overzealous magisters and students also invoked an inappropriate degree of emotionalism in their speech.39 The attractive­ness of Francke's own oratory style is well documented, and it would continue to draw in friends and dismay foes throughout bis life. 40 Lastly, Carpzov pointed out that Francke and bis followers elevated a doctrine of morality (doctrina morum) above and against the foundational teacbings on faith. At the saroe time that Francke was conducting seminars and holding private meetings, he also penned a short Iist of rules for godliness, wbich he claimed were intended for bis own spiritllal life but wbich also found its way to the printing press.41 Carpzov and bis

37 Kramer: August Hermann Francke (note 7), p. 48. Johannes Carpzov: Doppelte Verthäidi­

gung Des Eben-Bildes Der Pietisterey. Freyberg 1692, p.14.

38 Carpzov: Vorrede. In: Ibid., p. 15. 39 Ibid .• p. 16. 40 One of the first remembrances Johann Anastasius Freylinghausen bad of Francke, bis fu­ture coworker and father-in-law, was of bis captivating speech. See Kramer: August Hermann Francke (note 7), p. 73. 41 Ibid., p. 47. For a recent reprint of Francke's Lebensregeln see August Hermann Francke:

Werke in Auswahl. Ed. by Erhard Peschke. Berlin 1969, p. 350--5.

Pietoset Apofogla - 131

colleagues used Francke's Schriftmäßige Lebensregeln to accuse the magister of propagating a legalism and perfectionism that undermined the symbols of the Lutheran faith. The professor of theology attempted in this final point to show how Francke's moralism had crept into and infected others through bis private conventicles.

By the fall of 1689, Francke's and bis followers' activities caused enough of a distraction to elidt a special investigation by the Leipzig theological faculty into bis teacbings and practices. Students and townspeople alike were called in and interrogated as to the nature of the activities of these so-called "Pietists". The shape and_.content of the faculty's questioning reveals the underlying theologi­cal concems they held and confirms Christian Peter's thesis that the conflict in Leipzig .,announced not only the emergence of a new piety but also the rise of a new theology".42

For the pwposes of this study it is useful to note that the faculty's interroga­tion ofFrancke andhis followers focused on three major themes.43 First, Francke's werk was seen as an affront to the authority of the Leipzig ministerium. The con­venticles and private meetings both directly and indirectly subverted the spiri­tual bierarchy established within the church, allowing for those who were neither ordained nor trained to undertake the pastoral care of others. In the view of the faculty, as pious churchgoers met araund dinner tables and rehashed sermons or considered biblical texts, they ceded their spiritual wellbeing not to their pastor but to men like Francke. Secondly, by including common townspeople in these meetings and leading discussions in German, as opposed to the scholarly Latin, Francke's conventicle werk challenged divisions witb.in the social structures of the city. The inclusive nature of these conventicles was not limited to social status but extended to gender. Warnen becarne active participants, and their involve­ment brought with it the ire of men like carpzov. According to supporters, the conventicles Francke propagated both in Leipzig and later in Erfurt properly rep­resented the farnily of God, but for those clairning Lutheran orthodoxy they repre­sented a divergence from proper, divinely ordained social structures.44 Lastly, the

42 Chrlstlan Peters: .,Daraus der Lärm des Pietismi entstanden." Die Leipzlger Unruhen von

1689/1690 und ihre Deutung durch Spener und die hallischen Pietisten. In: Pietismus und Neu­

zeit 23 (1997), p.103-130, here p.104.

43 The complete set of questions asked can be found in Francke: Streitschriften (note 1), p.14-

18.

44 Defending against later attacks on Francke's work in Erfurt, Jena professor Caspar Sagittari­

us included women alongwith men and children in the group of ,.true Christians" who possessed

a .,spiritual anointing [that] taught them all", in: GründlicherBeweiß/ das seine Theologische Lehr-Sätze von dem Rechtmäßigem PIETISMO noch fest stehen [ ... ] (1691), 0". For infonnation

132 - Peter J. Yoder

faculty questioned Francke's orthodoxy, an area öf concern that stood bebind and

engulfed the two previous themes. Those activities which were seen as affronts

to the social and ecclesiastical structures arose, according to the investigators,

from Francke's heterodox teachings. Men like Carpzov assumed Francke's spe·

cific form of biblicism and bis concem for a "new Reformation" were in conflict

with the Church's symbols and the historical significance of Luther's refonning

work. The magister was dismissing the dominant interpretive tradition of the

church and io its place emphasiziog personal responsibility in the study of Scrip·

ture; the individual came before the corporate body, the cart before the horse. To these suspicions of separatist-leaning ideas were added rumors of Francke's

mysticism and perfectionism. The role ofMolinos' Quietism andFrancke's time in

Hamburg resurfaced in the questioning, evidencing the continued role Francke's

earlier activities played in later impressions of bis ministry. Tobe sure, the faculty

entered into this investigation already convinced that Franclee was directly

responsible for propagating heterodox beliefs. 45

3 The Apologia and Attacks of Francke

The faculty's investigation was nothing less than an attack on the character of

the Pietist magister. Beyond the bite of the insinuating questions asked to stu­

dents aod townspeople, Francke's own Defensions-Schrift shows he understood

the investigation as such. Franclee found it necessary to provide an apology of

bis activities in order to counter the accusations which he believed were brought against him "without forethought" and which wen! against the biblical com·

mandment not to bear false witness." Through the help of philosophy professor

and interim university rector Adam Rechenberg, a Pietist sympathizer and triend

of Spener, Francke was allowed to examine the reports from the faculty's special

investigation.47 Following the faculty's line of questioning closely, ilie young

magister constructed a defense of his theology and practice and addressed it to

on Sagittarius see Johannes Wallmann: Der Pietismus an der Universität Jena. In: Pietismus und Neuzeit 37 (2011), p. 36-87. 45 For example, they asked participants leading questions like .. What was intent toward which bis new teachings were actually aimed?"; "How and from what place wouldhe have come to such ideas?" and "From what you have seen, wherein lie the particularities of Francke's teachings?"' Francke: StreitsehriDen (note 1), p.l4-18.

46 Francke: Streitschriften (note 1), p. 83 and 89. 47 Kevorkian: Baroque Piety (note 1), p.157.

Pietos etApologla - 133

the elector. In doing so, he reinvigorated the conflict over bis thought and assured

it would not remain within the walls of the academy. Yet the content of Francke's

Defensions-Schrift evidences a two·fold purpose. Francke not only employed it

to explaio his activity io and around Leipzig, but he also used the apology to

establish a polemical front agaiost what he believed to be the failings of the theo·

logical faculty. On the surface, the document reveals an organizational schema set out to prove Francke's innocence of all accusations, but from the outset he adopted a mode of writiog !hat wove ioto a self·proclaimed defense the threads

of an attack. With this cord of arguments Francke hoped to build simultaneously a safety net for his mioistry and a symbolic noose to bang the questionahle faith

and assumed orthodoxy of bis attackers.

The Apologia addresses three major arguments made agaiost him by the

faculty: the first conceming Francke's orthodoxy, the second concerning bis

various seminars and private meetings, and the third concerning the disruption

caused by his activities. He approached each of these accusations with a detailed

defense, at tim es takiog great paios to lay out the faults of their assumptions and

the reasons for bis actions. At moments these explanations run on to excess, so

for the sake of clarity, we will concem ourselves with the two underlyiog argu·

ments !hat appear throughout his Defensions-Schrift. To prove !hat his opponents

were d.isiogenuous in their allegations aod to attack the merits of their faith and

mioistry, Francke argued 1. !hat he had obed.iently carried out God's will in accor­

dance with the testimony of bis good conscience, and 2. that the outworking of

his ministry was a piety not found elsewhere in the city. His opponents, on the other haod, had failed io both respects and thus proved themselves unfaithful to

God and the Lutheran trad.ition.

3.1 Francke's first attack: the will of God

In light of what Francke called "procedures unlit of honor" surroundiog the initial

iovestigation, he feit it necessary to defend agaiost the attacks on his own char·

acter and more importantly the actions that ,,painfully suppressed God's glory and His truth".48 Hiding behind this seemingly noble claim was Francke's belief !hat he "wholeheartedly d.id the will of God" io seekiog a spiritual awakening

in the lives of students and local citizens. 49 Tirls presumption provided Francke

with a personal, ioner confumation which compelled him torward io his minis·

48 Francke: Streitschriften (note 1), p. 83. 49 Ibid., p. 91.

134 - Peter J. Yoder

try. Yet at the very moment !hat be claimed to bave acted upon- and presumably known- the will of God, be indirectly attacked the spiritnal state of the theologi· cal faculty. Under Francke's developing theological system, individuals were to follow certain spiritnal steps if tbey were to know and please God; steps that

Francke claimed to bave nndergone in Lüneburg.50 If the faculty misunderstood and misrepresented Francke's ministry, as the magister believed, they revealed their own spiritual missteps and lack of understanding. Thus their attacks on

bim arose not from an earnest zeal to please God but from a desire to further a

spiritnal fa�ade built upon the foundation of wbat Francke labeled later in bis

ministry an "bistorical faith"." By claiming God's will in calling into question the faculty's claims, Francke beckoned bis audience to wonder, did these Leipzig theologians possess ,,true" faith?52

In Francke's theology, conversion- or the act of rebirth- embodies the initial spiritual step necessary to know and act upon God's will. Important to this process is that conversion provides individuals with clear and healthy ( or "good")

consdences, which allow them to detennine how they might act in accordance

with God's desires. As noted above, Francke bad gone througb bis own moments of self-doubt and rebirth in Lüneburg. This spiritnal transition compelled bim to turn to bis conscience as a source of revelation and convicti.on concerning the divine law and bis own eternal state. The consdence, in Francke's theology, did

not force individuals unto righteousness, but believers who sought the inner tes­

timony oftbis spiritual organ were provided knowledge of whether they acted in accordance with God's will. A good conscience affirmed the believer's actions while a bad conscience brought conviction of sin.53 This theological construct carries important weight for us in understanding Francke's defense from, and attacks on, the Leipzig faculty. Addressing bis seminar work, he claimed that he ,,sensed no unrest in [his] conscience, rather thankfulness to God for His grace !hat be has granted up nntil [thls] point"." The most pressing vindication that Francke- could possess with regards to his ministry was the inner testimony of

5o Erhard Peschke believes these steps to some degree structu:re Francke's theology in: Studien zur Theologie August Hermann Franckes. 1. Vol. Berlin 1964, p. 59. 51 .,Historical" or "delusional" faith is often used by Francke to describe those who place their

trust solely on outward Christian confessions. See for example AugustHermann Francke: Predig­ten I. Ed. by Erhard Peschke (TGP, II/9). Berlin 1987, p. 187. 52 Francke's deep·seated doubt conceming �e faith of those who opposed him, whether fa. culty or dergy, is boldly setforthin bis 1698 sennon Von denfalschen Propheten. See Francke: Predigten I (note 51), p. 438-84. 53 Yoder: Blood, Spit, and Tears (note 18), p. 93--95. 54 Francke: Streitschriften (note 1), p. 90.

Pietas etApologia - 135

a good conscience. lt provided him with a personal substantiation and defense that bis ministry was in accordance with God's will. Yet it also armed him with ammunition against bis foes.

With the confidence of a good conscience and an awakened soul, Francke

took to bis university work in a decidedly different way. While be adarnantly defended hirnself from accusations of distorting the purpose set out for seminars, in a moment of unexpected self-disclosure at the end of bis Defensions-Schrift.

Francke openlywisbed !hat God would use bis mouth to "awaken some souls from

the sleep [!hat carne from] the safety of a worldly life"." In stating this, be made it clear that his Leipzig ministry was to some degree an effort to convert those ,,lost" souls among his audience, whether it was during a seminar or in a private, hause meeting. This admission conflicted to some degree with bis repeated claim that be did nothing out of the ordinary for someone living according to the call of Scripture and the .,Overflow" of God's blessings.56 Francke claimed the faculty. in contrast, m.isrepresented bis ministry. describing it as a .,shameful innovation", .,Quakerism", .. Schwennerey", or a .,new sect". ':il In doing so. they revealed what

be believed to be their ignorance of God's will and the Christian obligation to act

in neigbborly Iove; they betrayed their own corrupted spiritnal condition. To the degree that they did so and to the degree that Francke stood in a renewed posi� tion before God, the young magister believed he was able to appraise their werk

througb the inner testimony of bis beart in accordance with the Scriptures. They bad failed to see the will of God being worked out in bis ministry and thus proved tbat they did not possess or live in accordance with the faculties of rebom Chris·

tians. By defending bis ministry in thls way, Francke mounted an attack agairrst the sincerity of the faculty's Christian faith.

Moreover Francke framed this first attack on the spiritual state of the faculty within the doctrine of Christian liberty.

If I have spoken incorrectly, someone please show me where in the Scriptures the ground is for these distlnctions [concerning what can be addressed in seminars] and in what ways I have overstepped the boundaries of an acceptable ChristlaD freedom. But if one desires to add constraints to that which God Himself bestowed to and bid of all Christians, and for which they have been sent, then he clearly places bimself above God and His Ward.. 58

55 Ibid., p. 109. 56 Cf. ibid., p. 86. 57 Ibid., p. 99. 58 lbid., p. 91.

,, '

136 - Peter j. Yoder

As Francke's ministry unfolded in Leipzig he took hold of every available oppor­

innity to act upon bis "Christian freedom" to "awaken" those around bim, and

the most visible platform at bis disposal were his seminars held with university

students. They became a place not just for instruction and inculcation but for

practice and "application unto piety" ." When the faculty barred bim from con· tinuing these meetings, he saw it as an affrontnot only to bis own work but to the docb:ine of Chrlstian freedom as established in the will of God.60 Thus when the facultyrestrained Francke's influence, they placed themselves above and against

not just the magister's ministry but the very God they claimed to serve.

Out oftbis accusation, Francke assembled an assault on the very core of fac·

ulty's claim to authority. Since these scholars had not obeyed God's directive nor

properly served the church, they no Ionger represented a ministerturn uphold· ing the theology of Luther. Jnstead they resembled the papal "monopoly" seated in Rome. 61 Tust as the pope and bis clerics bad fought against the Wittenberg Reformer's attempts to bring Christian liberty to what Luther believed to be an enslaved church, so too the Leipzig leadership subveried Francke's attempts to

build up the Lutheran church according to what he believed were the biblical means set out by its founder. In doing so, the ministerium forfeited their claim

to Luther's theological throne. One of the ways they evi.denced this was what Francke labeled their "brotherhood"." The spiritual prtesthood of ail believers

that Luther held up as a central symbol of the Reformation had become an exclu­

sive assembly consisting of the Leipzig clergy. They were the "learned Doctors"

who watched over the "lowliest laity". 63 They deterrnined what could and could

not be taught in the context of the faith, and to Francke's dismay, they determined

who had the authority to conduct spiritual instruction. The ministerium's restric­tions on what those outside the "brotherhood" could do or say had so strangled

the growth of godliness in Leipzig, that Francke would have his audience wonder

whether tbis spirttual monopoly, wbich like the papacy was filled with "blind" shepherds who "stuck the laity uoder the pews", could earnestly follow God's

will and seek their neighbor's wellbeing.64

59 Ibid., p. 90 and 95.

60 At this point in the Apologia Francke clallns to have "wholeheartedly done God's will", and

thus connects his arguments conteming the will of God with Christian freedom.

61 At several points Francke refers to bis accusers as a "monopolium". See Francke: Streitschrif..

ten (notel), p. 101.

62 lbid., p. 87.

63 lbid.

64 Ibid., p.101 and 107.

While the Leipzig clergy erected and maintained spirttual wails between

themselves and those they cailed "common townspeople", Francke claimed to stand most properly witbin the trad!tion of Luther." For, he took up the call to

care for the souls of those whom the clergy had neglected. He had abided witbin

the churcb's teachings on Christian liberty, which offered bim the rtght as a

member of the spiritual prlesthood to instruct others. In response to those like Carpzov, who worried about a ,.new Reformation" under the Pietists, Francke claims, "! intended nothing other than to readlly and sincerely Iead my own

Christianity for [the sake of] God and man. Jncluded in this is that I also edify

the Christians around me at the given opportunities. If that is a reformation,

then all Christians should be reformers".66 The ordination which he lacked, and

which allowed the faculty to question bis orthodoxy, became to some degree a

mootpoint for Francke. ,.Must one :first have the authority's permission and hold

special ceremonies to ord.ain and introduce a tutor, who is to privately educate children in Chrtstianity (ofteotimes with adults among the group)?"" If not, then why, wondered the magister, should his instruction require that hebe ordained? He was only carrying out the obligations set out in Scripture. Those ordained

men who neglected the spiritual care of their congregants, an the other hand, were acting in a way not even found among the "heathens" who lived by the "law

of nature"." Even those completely cut off from God koew through the "light of nature" that they should seek the welfare of those living in their "fatherland", but

Francke's opponents denied the general biblical command to love one's neighbor

and allowed their partshioners to remain in their sickened spirttual state." By conducting themselves in this way, Francke argoed that the theological faculty

showed that they had rejected the teachings ofLuther for the comforts of Catholic doctrines and thus neither koew nor followed God's will - they Jacked the essen· tlal elements of true falth.

65 Ibid., p. 102. Juxtaposing hirnself to what he daimed were the derogatory names used by

the faculty, Ftancke employed Matthew 12:50 to defend calling a fellow Chrlstian .,brother"; see

ibid., p. 87. 66 Ibid., p.103.

67 lbid., p. 102. Carpzov later reacted against th.is idea, claiming that U Francke were conect,

then everyone should be allowed to teach. Carpzov: Doppelte Verthäidigung (note 37), p. 26. 68 Francke: Streitsclniften (note 1), p. 93. 69 !bid., p. 93t

138 - Peter J. Yoder

3.2 Francke's second attack: the pious life

To this assault on the faculty's relationship to the will of God, Francke added the

cause of piety. Like the foregoing argumentation, Francke's attack was built upon

a personal defense. Reacting to the accusation ofbeing the source of falsity and

disorder, he countered that bis adversaries should have taken note of bis frlends

and family, ,,who followed my advice in their studies, just as in the course of their

private godliness" and thus affered witness in the spe�ial investigation to his

innocence/0 What might seem a benign defense of his own activity was actually

the platform for an expansive attack an the faculty's misdirection and inaction.

As Francke described it, he had championed the cause of God while bis oppo­

nents bad been abettors to a Noabic flood of sins.n And tbe prongs ofbis attack

were based upon the witness of godliness. Piety in accordance with Scripture, in

Francke's theological system, was the open proclamation of God's true disciples.

While Francke was able to Iook at his own followers and see a recognizable

change in Iifestyles, bis purview of those outside of bis network of like·minded

believers was not nearly as positive. The townspeople and students gathered not to stndy Scriplure or encourage each other in holy living, but to drink, smoke, and

engage in unbecoming talk. "They gather by the fifties, the hundreds, or more so

that one ouly sees a revellng in eating, drinking, [card] playing, dancing, pranc·

ing, [and] fighting (the secret sins go unspoken, from which such disorderllness

[as these] nndisputedly flow)".n Francke makes it a point to note that there is

a decided difference in "meetings'' (collegia) occurring in Leipzig. Those under

bis guidance overflowed into a form of piety but those under the city leader­

sbip's watch were a hotbed for sin. It is at !bis point in the Defensions·Schrift that

Francke set forth one ofhis earliest descriptions of the Christian life. ln the midst

ofbeing seen as strangers and heretics, the godly are those,

who do not go about in a disorderly, wild life (1 Peter 4:4), but ratherwallt honestly as in the

day (Rom 13:13); who Iookforward to public worship on Sundays and other days. They seek

their rest not in sinful and fleshly gatherings, but rather in godly and Christian conversa·

tions, in reading and studying the Holy Scriptures. They unite in heart·felt prayer, in praise

and thanks of God, [and] they go thereafter refreshed and adroitly to their work. And they practice Iove toward their neighbors.73

70 Ibid., p. 86.

71 Ibid ., p. 95.

72 lbid., p. 98. 73 Ibid., p. 99.

Pietos et Apalogla - 139

In !bis way, Francke drew a dividing llne between those who participated in

"worldly" meetings and those involved in his gatherings, and his later mioistries

in Erfurt and Halle would reflect bis ongoing desire to implement !bis form of

piety in bis local commnnity. 74

Ibis description of Christian conduct set out by Francke displayed the nnder·

lying logic supporting the furthering ofbis defense and tbe establishment ofhis

second attack on the theology faculty. His followers evidenced biblical godli­

ness, while those nnder the direction of the faculty took to worldly pleasures,

neglecting the things above. At the root of this divide was the use of Scripture.

ln Francke's thought, the fervent study of the Bible inevitably led to godliness. .,The students have shown that it is not enough to for one to critically exa.mine the

Scriplures, but rather through the reading and study of the Scriptures he must

become more pious, like one who wanders in the Sun, and thereby is warmed ... 75

Thus he claimed that parisbioners should not only know the symbols of the

church but also should be able to read (and interpret) tbe Bible." This was in

contrast, according to the young magister, with the faculty' s program. They had neglected the diligent stndy of Scriplure for the furthering of their own books.

Francke puts the "sincere godliness" of Johann Benedict Carpzov on display,

pointing out that he had halted bis seminar on the Old Testament book of lsaiah

and instead held one on homiletics.77 Ibis took place nnder the direction of the

same Carpzav, wha preached against "many lovers af the divine Ward" .78 With

the neglect of Scriplure carne the neglect of godliness, and inherent for Francke

in this was the faltering of true faith and real salvation.

Ta give a resounding tone ta his attack, Francke again resorted ta Luther. As Carpzov had shown, there was a tendency to place their theological works

aver the study of Scripture. This was in cantrast ta the Reformer, who "worried

whether he should publish bis books because he feared people would prefer not

to diligently read the Bible"." Francke then opeuly questioned whether Luther's

dispasitian was still maintained in Leipzig. Carpzav sexved as a prime example,

7 4 See the descrlption set out in Francke's Glauchisches Gedenkbüchlein in Francke: Werke in Auswahl (note 41), p. 74-91.

75 Francke: Streitschriften (riote 1), p. 90.

76 Ibid., p. 91.

77 Ibid., p. 83 and 88.

78 Ibid., p. 88.

79 Ibid., p. 88. In the crltical notation provided, Peschke refers bis readers to Luther's introduc· tion to the 1539 ptintlng of the Bible (WA 50, p. 657 ff.).

140 - Peter J, Yoder

dismissing the complaints of students wbo desired to study Scriplure but found no one to guide them. This Iasted to Francke like the "yeast of the pope"." It

also led Francke to question the unnecessary attacks on bis Lebensregeln. 81 The small tract that made its way to the public without Francke's initial knowledge bad done nothing more than promote piety. He called the text "blameless" and "righteous", and wendered why such zealousness was not applied to root out the sbameful books !hat filled most stores in Leipzig." Herein lay the kerne! of Francke's attack: the faculty looked more like the monopolizing papacy than those who belonged within God's community.

This was further demonstrated, according to Francke, in the faculty's depen� dency on the sermon. It is here where we find one of bis more controversial state­ments: "Our teaching carries with it [the understanding] thatwe can never do too much in [our] Christianity, but rather we always inherently have imperfection. How does one then come to believe that a public sermon is enough?"83 If the Ward of God was to spread and grow among the people of Leipzig, a desire Carpzov bad expressed from the pulpit, it could not bappen "without godly and edify­ing conversation". 84 Francke certainly had conversations that dealt specifically with God's Ward in mind when he marle this clairn, but he was treading a :Eine line. It affered his opponents even rnore ground ta question whether he was, by subverting the iraditional roJe of the sermon, straying from iraditional Lutheran teachings_ In Carpzov's later rebuttal to Francke's Apologia, be would clairn !hat the meetings during which sermons were supposedly repeated were nothing less than platforms for subverting the roJe of the clergy and the importance of the means of grace.85 Nevertheless, it was Francke's goal to claim piety, which was the outward exhibition of irue faith, arose from the individual's proper applica­tion of Scripture to the heart. By focusing on their own written works and the serrnon, the faculty was ignoring the Christian responsibility to cultivate godli­ness. Their adherents, indulging in earthly activities, dem.onstrated the failures of the faculty. The�Word was absent from their lives, and their own faitb - danger­ously similar to that found in Rome- cauld be called into questian. Francke's fol­lowers, on the otber band, exhlbited a life directed by the Scriptures and faithful to Luther's teachings. Was bis ministry a disruption to the church in Leipzig, as

80 Francke: Streitschriften (note 1), p. 88. 8"1 lbid., p.103f. 82 lbid., p. 104. 83 Ibid., p. 102

84 Ibid., p.107. 85 Carpzov: Doppelte Verthäidlgung (note 37), p. 51-59. Carpzov's acc'usations can be found in

bis twelve summary points.

Pietas et Apologia - 141

his opponents claimed? Francke simply responded that the cross of Christ was a stumbling block to Paul's opponents (1 Cor 1:23), and by association, the Leipzig faculty clothed themselves in the same spiritual attire ofbypocrisy as Paul's ene­mies.86

Still my opponents should point out to me where I've acted as a sttimbling block. For it's either false teaching or a bad example, by which others have become worse. But I can be

attributed with neither of these, as the Acta [of the lnvestigation] have thoroughly shown [ . . . ]."

Whether the feipzig theological faculty lmew it or not, the former of their com­plaints was conlingent on the !alter. Francke bandled bimself in wbat be per­ceived to be a godly fashion, and in doing so proved bis orthodoxy. Ibis signals what some historians see as the subtle transition occurring during this perlad away from notions of faith voiced in the Reforrnation.88

The magister's clairn to godliness, thougb, sbould be measured by the words coming more than a decade later from his own agent in England: Francke's con­venticles grew .,hot and violent". 89 There were disturbances in the city that arose from bis ministry. Both sides of the debate would eventually agree on this. The investigation, therefore, reveals the Iack of understanding the two parlies bad for their respective adversary's underlying theological com.mitments. Francke's two attacks on the theological faculty pointed to wbat be saw as a rampant dis­regard for pious living, while the faculty's own accusations were directed against Francke's apatby toward the rule of spiritual authority. Forthis reason we find tbe young magist er appealing to a greater authority: the will of God. To the rigbt band of this, Francke seated the rule of Luther. Both of these he confidently claimed to have followed. It is no surprise, then, that Francke used his assumed obedience to both God and the teachings of Luther as a catapult for bis attack on the Leipzig clergy. What could bring a greater confirrnation of the will of God and the words of Luther than godliness? Throughout his Apologia Francke would bave bis audi­ence believe !hat the theological faculty and its ministry was in want of true piety and therefore bad strayed from God and their spiritual forefather. They lacked the signs of true faith and in their place had constructed a second Basilica of St. Peter's in the market square, to wbich oulythey beld thekeys. Christian liberty

86 Francke: Streitschriften (note 1), p. lOS.

87 Ibid., p. 105. 88 James TUrner: Without God, Without Creed: The Origins of Unbelief in America. Balümore

1985, p. 28-34. 89 Boebm: A shortAccount (note 36), p. 19.

142 - Peter J. Yoder

and the spiritualpriesthood, doctrines Francke emphasized as central to Luther's

theology, were crushed under its foundation.

What role Francke's earlier dabbling in mysticism and radicalism played in this investigation is not altogether clear. Veroriika Albrecht�Birlmer and Udo

Sträter offer substantial iosight ioto how Francke applied the idea of Anfech­

tung in his early theology, but the concepts connected to spiritual struggle that

he would use elsewhere in bis writings are absent from bis Defensions-Schrijt.90

In fact, Francke does not even directly refer anywhere in bis apology to what is

understood as the core doctrine of bis theology, conversion. Yet the attacks he

foisted agaiost the faculty clearly iodicate !hat he questioned the state of bis

accusers· souls. Their neglect of piety, especially in failing to further a personal

application of the Scriptures and to measure the life lived accordingly, gave the

im.pression that these men lacked what Francke would articulate in later writ­

ings and sermons as Bekehrung. Such boldness in confronting the authority of the

faculty, as evidenced io the Apologia, could be traced to Francke's early experi­

ences with the Harnburg radicals, who were banned from the Eucharist for their

obstinate conventicle activities. We might also ask what role reforming Lutherans

like Theophil Großgebauer played io Francke's early theo!ogy." We know !hat he

treasured Großgebauer's writiogs io bis Halle mioistry, but had he already been

impressed wbile io Leipzig by the Rostock pastor's attack on the spiritual state

of the Lutheran clergy as expressed in hiS Wächterstimme auß dem verwüsteten Zion?92 Francke's attacks in the Apologia offer insight into bis early connection

between conversion and spiritual understanding, his application of Christian

freedom to the biblical command to love one's neighbor, and his growing assump­

tion !hat piety was the true mark of faith io Christ. The text itself provides us with

a fine exarople of how written apologies, often mistaken for benign se!f-defenses,

were used to strike at the heart of the opposition.

When the Defensions-Schrift arrived on the elector's doorstep, it almost

assured a further investigation of the unrest in Leipzig. A death io the family

prompted Francke to leave the dty shortly before be was officially barred the

90 Albrecht-Birkner/Sträter: Die radikale Phase (note 24), p. 59 ff. 91 A. W. Böhme attributed a great deal ofimportance to Großgebauer in describing early Pietism and Francke's ministry. See Peter James Yoder: Rendered ,.Odious" as Pietists: Anton Wilhelm Böhme's Conception of P1etism and the Possibilities ofFtototype Theory. In: The Pietist Impulse .in Christianity. Ed. by Christian T. Collins-Wmn et al. Eugene 2011.

92 Theophil Großgebauer: Wächterstimme auß dem verwüsteten Zion. Franckfurt am Mäyn 1661. Considering Francke's lifelong admiration of Großgebauer's Wächterstimme, it is our opi­nion that the Rostock pastor played a much larger role i n the development ofFrancke's theology than has been previously detennhled.

Pietas et Apologia - 143

spring of 1690 from holding meetiogs in the clty and seminars at the university.

His departure meant not only the end of his ministry there but also signaled the

rapid squelching of Pieti.sm in Leipzig.91 Interestingly, for this to be fully accom­

plished, Carpzov felt it necessary to publish a defense in 1692 regardiog the

very accusations Francke leveled in bis .Apologia. Thus the change of scenery in

Erfurt and Halle !hat Francke might have imagined would bring peace and quiet,

instead brought further investigations ioto bis theology and mioistry. Yet these

attacks becaroe a badge of honor as bis influence grew beyond the bounds of the

German-speaking wor!d.

93 Kramer: August Hermann Francke (note 7), p. 52.