"Perfection is nothing other than faith in the Lord Jesus and is not in us or ours but in Christ or of Christ for whose sake we are considered perfect before God and thus his perfection is ours by ascription." -- August Hermann Francke.
Although the movement was relatively brief, the long-standing influence of Pietism reaches many aspects of our intellectual, political and religious culture today. Originating in the sixteenth and early seventeenth century, Pietism spread to influence Lutheran, Reformed and Wesleyan churches throughout Europe and North America, forever changing the face of Christianity. Preaching, which had previously been dense theological discourse, suddenly became directed toward the moral and religious life of the people in the pew. For the first time, congregants desired to grow their spiritual lives and devotional writing was born. The Pietists's emphasis on conversion through personal religious experience, heartfelt union with Christ, and the importance of Scripture as a guide in spiritual life, are still evident today in churches across the country. This classic collection of writings from the most prominent and important Pietists is essential to understanding our history as a religious people.
