A History of the Moravian ChurchHutton, J. E. (Joseph Edmund)
Religion
A History of the Moravian Church
Hutton, J. E. (Joseph Edmund)
Moravian Church -- History
At this point, however, a difficulty arose. As the rumour spread in the
surrounding country that the Count had offered his estate as an asylum
for persecuted Protestants all sorts of religious malcontents came to
make Herrnhut their home. Some had a touch of Calvinism, and were fond
of discussing free will and predestination; some were disciples of the
sixteenth century Anabaptist mystic, Casper Schwenkfeld; some were vague
evangelicals from Swabia; some were Lutheran Pietists from near at
hand; and some, such as the "Five Churchmen," were descendants of the
Brethren's Church, and wished to see her revived on German soil. The
result was dissension in the camp. As the settlement grew larger things
grew worse. As the settlers learned to know each other better they
learned to love each other less. As poverty crept in at the door love
flew out of the window. Instead of trying to help each other, men
actually tried to cut each other out in business, just like the rest
of the world. As the first flush of joy died away, men pointed out each
other's motes, and sarcasm pushed charity from her throne; and, worse
than all, there now appeared that demon of discord, theological dispute.
The chief leader was a religious crank, named Krüger. He was, of
course, no descendant of the Brethren's Church. He had quarrelled with a
Lutheran minister at Ebersdorf, had been promptly excluded from the Holy
Communion, and now came whimpering to Herrnhut, and lifted up his
voice against the Lutheran Church. He did not possess the garment of
righteousness, he decked himself out with sham excitement and rhetoric;
and, as these are cheap ribbons and make a fine show, he soon gained a
reputation as a saint. He announced that he had been commissioned by God
with the special task of reforming Count Zinzendorf; described Rothe as
the "False Prophet" and Zinzendorf as "The Beast"; denounced the whole
Lutheran Church as a Babylon, and summoned all in Herrnhut to leave it;
and altogether made such a show of piety and holy devotion to God that
his freaks and crotchets and fancies and vagaries were welcomed by the
best of men, and poisoned the purest blood. His success was marvellous.
As the simple settlers listened to his rapt orations they became
convinced that the Lutheran Church was no better than a den of thieves;
and the greater number now refused to attend the Parish Church, and
prepared to form a new sect. Christian David himself was led away. He
walked about like a shadow; he was sure that Krüger had a special Divine
revelation; he dug a private well for himself, and built himself a new
house a few yards from the settlement, so that he might not be smirched
by the pitch of Lutheran Christianity. Worse and ever worse waxed the
confusion. More "horrible"[75] became the new notions. The eloquent Krüger
went out of his mind; and was removed to the lunatic asylum at Berlin.
But the evil that he had done lived after him. The whole city on the
hill was now a nest of fanatics.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account