occasional papers of the chester ronning centre ————————————————— I ————————————————— Pietism and the Challenges of Modernity R lectures by David J. Goa — Cam Harder Eugene L. Boe the chester ronning centre for the study of religion and public life THE CHESTER RONNING CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF RELIGION AND PUBLIC LIFE augustana campus, university of alberta OUR PURPOSE To cultivate a deeper understanding of issues and themes at the intersection of religion, faith, and public life and to do so in the academy, in the public forum, and in religious communities. OUR MISSION To establish a hospitable ambience in which women and men of faith and of social concern are encouraged to join in a continuing conversation on the relationship between religion and public life. OUR GOAL To focus and inform the thinking of all who deal with issues and themes where religious faith and public life intersect, and to enhance public com­ prehension and religious understanding on these subjects. We will do this through promoting • interdisciplinary research, meetings, and publications that foster an active community of discourse among scholars and public intellectuals on issues that arise where religion and public life come into contact; • ethical reflection that draws on religious as well as secular sources in addressing such themes as human rights, our care for the life of the world, and our appreciation of di:erences among cultures; • understanding among public figures of the broad significance of religious perspectives for the shaping of public policy; and • awareness within religious communities of the fragile and complex nature of the public sphere in a pluralistic world. OUR ACTIVITIES • Forums on Religion and Public Life • Religion and Public Life Seminars • Augustana Distinguished Lectures • Ronning Centre Consultations • Cafés on Religion and Public Life • Ronning Centre Conferences • Ronning Centre Study Circles • Research Projects • Ronning Centre Round Tables • Publications THE FRIENDS OF THE CHESTER RONNING CENTRE An Invitation The Friends of the Chester Ronning Centre provides an opportunity for interested and concerned men and women, whether or not they are in any way religious, to join us in a hospitable context as we explore the compelling issues and themes that must engage our attention wherever religion, faith, and public life intersect. In this way it becomes possible for a wide and diverse group of people to contribute to, and benefit from, a better understanding of religious perspectives on public life and public perspectives on religious beliefs, practices, and organizations. We invite you to become a Friend of the Chester Ronning Centre. Friends of the Centre will receive • invitations to our conferences, seminars, lectures, forums, cafés, study circles, and symposiums; • our regular newsletter; • noti;cations of our publications and research projects; • invitations to conversations with public intellectuals and scholars, going beyond the mere news stories of the day; and • opportunities to influence and support fruitful conversation and research on the most compelling religious and public issues of our time. For more information please call us at 1 780 679 1558, or write to The Chester Ronning Centre for the Study of Religion and Public Life Augustana Campus, University of Alberta 4901 - 46th Avenue Camrose, AB t4v 2r3 occasional papers of the chester ronning centre i The presentation and the publication of the papers in this booklet have been funded by the Chester Ronning Centre Distinguished Visiting Fellows Endowment occasional papers of the chester ronning centre ————————————————— I ————————————————— Pietism and the Challenges of Modernity R lectures by David J. Goa — Cam Harder Eugene L. Boe camrose, alberta the chester ronning centre for the study of religion and public life 2011 The Chester Ronning Centre for the Study of Religion and Public Life University of Alberta, Augustana Campus 4901 - 46th Avenue Camrose, AB, Canada t4v 2r3 <www.augustana.ca/ronning> Director: David J. Goa Telephone 1 780 679 1104 E-mail <[email protected]> R Chester Alvin Ronning, OC, CC (1894–1984), in whose memory the Centre is named, Principal of Camrose Lutheran College, 1927–42, subsequently served Canada as one of her most eminent diplomats. He and his family made their home in Camrose Contents Prefatory Note . vii Pietism, a Prairie Story: Spiritual Transformation or Colonization by David J. Goa . 1 Pietism and the Social Transformation of Norway by Cam Harder . 15 Pietism and the Sacraments in the Christian Life: The Contribution of Erik Pontoppidan by Eugene L. Boe . 39 Pietism and the Bible in the New World: Reading for Friendship, Reading for Proof by David J. Goa . 59 Biographical Notes . 74 v Prefatory Note Having studied theology at Bethel and Göttingen in Germany and later at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, I rarely ran into Pietists who would claim that name proudly. The word Pietist was usually used pejoratively to describe someone who was legalistic, moralistic, pre­ occupied with personal salvation and little given to the social, cultural, and economic issues of our day. Even friends who acknowledged they grew up in a Pietist household and parish oken remarked that they were trying to overcome their past. A common way of doing this was to turn to a historical- critical reading of the Bible rather than the literal and devotional approach that had suIced for their parents. A more radical way was to leave the church completely, since it appeared to require unquestioning adherence to certain moral absolutes and a Fxed set of beliefs. When I moved to Camrose to start teaching at Camrose Lutheran College, I found myself in a town in which many claimed Norwegian Lutheran Pietism as their initial spiritual home: for good or ill. Messiah Lutheran Church and the Canadian Lutheran Bible Institute and Camrose Lutheran College itself were founded by Norwegian Pietists. My perspective on Pietism gradually started to shik. There were those who seemed to Ft into the stereotype of people devoted to their own spiritual purity by “not drinking, not dancing, not playing cards”. But, then again, even some of those seemed to have a deep concern and compassion for others. So I was delighted when David Goa, director the Ronning Centre for the Study of Religion and Public Life, started talking with Pastor Ken Ward at Messiah Lutheran in Camrose and with the folks at Trinity Lutheran in Edmonton about doing a series on Pietism. What especially intrigued me was that David Goa, whose father was a Pietist and a socialist, was going to try to recover some of the genius of Pietism rather than rehearse the stereotypical critiques. Stereotypes have some truth to them, though one-sided. So what ex­ plains the stereotype that Pietists have a dour piety marked by many “do not”s? David Goa in “Pietism, a Prairie Story” examines what happened to Norwegian Pietism when it came to the USA and Canada. Like other vi immigrants, Norwegian Pietists were confronted by a diJerent language and culture that did not convey the same meanings, associations, or his ­ torical resonances that their Norwegian mother tongue had conveyed. The young generation not only learned to think and speak in English. The theological literature that was available in English and that appeared to have a good spiritual discipline came from Great Plains evangelicalism and fundamentalism and was thus quite diJerent in focus from Hans Nielsen Hauge’s writings and thought. Another reason that it was hard for Hauge’s thought to cross the ocean and be the main inspiration for Norwegian Lutherans was that—in part owing to the inGuence of fundamentalism —“the moral imagination was being colonized”. For Hauge the focus was on a spiritual transformation that led from despair to a life-giving involve­ ment with those in need. But to save the next generation from despair and darkness, many lovingly protective parents replaced spiritual transforma­ tion as the heart of Christian faith with moral do’s and don’ts. Cam Harder gives us a fresh perspective on Hans Nielsen Hauge that many within the tradition in the Prairies will be surprised at. Hauge’s conversion experience at age 25 led him from cynicism and despair to a joyful faith in God and a very active, entrepreneurial life of improving the social and economic circumstances of the bonder in late eighteenth and early nineteenth century Norway. He gave women leadership roles. He equipped the laity to study the Bible on their own and to connect their faith to the challenges they and their neighbours were facing in this world. He laid the groundwork for future trade unions and for political parties and voluntary associations in Norway. He rediscovered in his own way that if the church is to fulFl its task of spiritual formation for active disciple­ ship in this world, then “small is beautiful”, to borrow E.F. Schumacher’s phrase. Most of his preaching and teaching happened in small groups in homes (conventicles) and in the open air; and yet he always valued the Sunday gatherings at church for Word and Sacrament. This should give hope to our small rural and urban congregations. The preaching of the Word and the right administration of the Sac­ raments have been the two key signs of where the Church of Christ is pres­ ent from the time of the Lutheran Confessions on. So what are some of the distinctive giks and challenges that Pietism brings to the reading of the Bible and to the use of the Sacraments? To these questions the Fnal vii two articles turn. Eugene Boe describes and analyses Danish Pietist Erik Pontoppidan’s writings concerning the sacraments which had a signiFcant inGuence on Hans Nielsen Hauge. Pontoppidan describes the sacrament of baptism (very much as Luther does) as a means of grace for children.