Johann Christoph Blumhardt, Life and Work: A New Biography
Johann Christoph Blumhardt (1805-1880) was a pastoral counselor and theologian of hope. His theology and pastoral approach, shaped as they were by the awakening in his congregation and numerous incidents of faith healing, provoked earnest and lively debate, and the controversy continues today. Ising's work mines the original sources, the product of an interaction with Blumhardt's life and work that goes back many years. He has drawn a portrait that explores the shadows as well as its bright side. Readers are invited to enter fully into the nineteenth century, Blumhardt's century, yet are constantly reminded that the problems of that day have lost none of their currency within the altered mental horizons of today.
"This is the long expected, definitive biography of the Swabian
Protestant Pastor Johann Christoph Blumhardt … Ising shows that
Blumhardt's legacy deserves more than nostalgic remembrance. It
poses a genuine challenge to the perceptions and practices of
Christian counseling, which is often highly professional but no
longer dares to count on God's presence in the counseling process
itself."
--Christoffer H. Grundmann
author of Sent to Heal! Emergence and Development of Medical
Missions
"Blumhardt's biography, from its earliest beginnings until his
quiet death, has received magisterial treatment by Dieter Ising.
The narrative is as judicious as it is vivid; this is so
particularly with regard to Blumhardt's place within the framework
of Pietism and the 'surplus' in addition to Pietism that he was
able to find, the way he grew beyond his limitations."
--Paul Dieterich
Prelate (ret.), Lutheran Church in Wurttemberg
"There is now available a wealth of biographical material which
enables us, to a much greater degree than before, to illuminate
Blumhardt's place in the history of the territorial churches and in
contemporary church life. This has made possible the present
biography, a model of its kind, in which Dieter Ising has been able
to base his account on his comprehensive edition of Blumhardt's
letters as well as on further previously unpublished
materials."
--Gerhard Sauter
author of Die Theologie des Reiches Gottes beim alteren und
jungeren Blumhardt
"Until recently, Blumhardt has appeared as a mysterious figure.
This has now changed with Dieter Ising's clearly-written and
thorough biography . . . The result is a vivid portrayal of a man
set clearly in the context of his life and times and speaking to us
today in ways that challenge our own ways of thinking. This
biography must not be overlooked by anyone interested in
contemporary theology or pastoral care, especially with the healing
message so popular in the churches of the Southern Hemisphere. I
enthusiastically recommend it."
--Frank D. Macchia
author of Spirituality and Social Concern: The Message of the
Blumhardts in the Light of Wuerttemberg Pietism
"This is the long expected, definitive biography of the Swabian
Protestant Pastor Johann Christoph Blumhardt … Ising shows that
Blumhardt's legacy deserves more than nostalgic remembrance. It
poses a genuine challenge to the perceptions and practices of
Christian counseling, which is often highly professional but no
longer dares to count on God's presence in the counseling process
itself."
--Christoffer H. Grundmann
author of Sent to Heal! Emergence and Development of Medical
Missions
"Blumhardt's biography, from its earliest beginnings until his
quiet death, has received magisterial treatment by Dieter Ising.
The narrative is as judicious as it is vivid; this is so
particularly with regard to Blumhardt's place within the framework
of Pietism and the 'surplus' in addition to Pietism that he was
able to find, the way he grew beyond his limitations."
--Paul Dieterich
Prelate (ret.), Lutheran Church in Wurttemberg
"There is now available a wealth of biographical material which
enables us, to a much greater degree than before, to illuminate
Blumhardt's place in the history of the territorial churches and in
contemporary church life. This has made possible the present
biography, a model of its kind, in which Dieter Ising has been able
to base his account on his comprehensive edition of Blumhardt's
letters as well as on further previously unpublished
materials."
--Gerhard Sauter
author of Die Theologie des Reiches Gottes beim alteren und
jungeren Blumhardt
"Until recently, Blumhardt has appeared as a mysterious figure.
This has now changed with Dieter Ising's clearly-written and
thorough biography . . . The result is a vivid portrayal of a man
set clearly in the context of his life and times and speaking to us
today in ways that challenge our own ways of thinking. This
biography must not be overlooked by anyone interested in
contemporary theology or pastoral care, especially with the healing
message so popular in the churches of the Southern Hemisphere. I
enthusiastically recommend it."
--Frank D. Macchia
author of Spirituality and Social Concern: The Message of the
Blumhardts in the Light of Wuerttemberg Pietism
Product Details
- Title : Johann Christoph Blumhardt, Life and Work: A New Biography
- Authors:
- Ising, Dieter
- Ledford, Monty
- Publisher: Cascade Books
- Publication Date: 2009
- ISBN: 9781498270229
Dieter Ising wrote his doctoral thesis at Tubingen under the supervision of Jurgen Moltmann. His field of research is Wurttemberg church history and history of theology. In the Landeskirchliches Archiv Stuttgart he has edited the correspondence of Johann Christoph Blumhardt (7 volumes, 1993-2001) and is editing the correspondence of Johann Albrecht Bengel.