Church History, Volume 3 (of 3)Kurtz, J. H. (Johann Heinrich)
History
Church History, Volume 3 (of 3)
Kurtz, J. H. (Johann Heinrich)
Church history
in France, Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Spain, and Bohemia.
§ 175.10. =The Luther Centenary, A.D. 1883.=--The celebration of
Luther’s birth was carried out with great enthusiasm throughout
all Germany, more than a thousand tracts on Luther and the
Reformation were published, statues were erected, special
services were held in all Lutheran churches, high schools, and
universities, and brilliant demonstrations were made at Jena,
Worms, Wittenberg, and Eisleben. There were founded at Kiel a
Luther-house, at Worms and at the Wartburg Luther libraries, in
Leipzig and Berlin Luther churches. At Eisleben a bronze statue
of the reformer was solemnly unveiled representing his tearing
the papal bull with his right hand and pressing the Bible to his
heart with his left. Another noble monument was raised by the
munificence of the emperor by the issuing during this year of
the first volume of pastor Knaake’s critical edition of Luther’s
works. A “German Luther Institute” aims at assisting children
of the poorer clergy and teachers, and a “Reformation History
Society” has undertaken the task of issuing popular tracts on the
persons, events and principles of that and the succeeding period
based upon original documents. Protestants of all lands, with the
exception of the English high-church party, contributed liberally;
the Americans had a copy of the great Luther statue of the Worms
monument (§ 178, 1) made and erected in Washington. Even in
Italy the liberal press eulogised Luther, while the ultramontanes
loaded his memory with unmeasured calumny and reproach. The
threatened counter-demonstrations of German ultramontanes fell
quite flat and harmless. The =Zwingli Centenary= of January 1st,
A.D. 1884, was celebrated with enthusiasm throughout the Reformed
church, especially in Switzerland. On the other hand, the
celebration of the five-hundredth anniversary of Wiclif’s death
on December 31st, 1884, created comparatively little interest.
II. Protestantism in General.[526]
§ 176. RATIONALISM AND PIETISM.
At the beginning of the century rationalism was generally prevalent,
but philosophy and literature soon weakened its foundations, and the
war of independence moved the hearts of the people toward the faith of
their fathers. Pietism entered the lists against rationalism, and the
Halle controversy of A.D. 1830 marked the crisis of the struggle. The
rationalists were compelled to make appeal to the people by popular
agitators. During A.D. 1840 they managed to found several “free
churches,” which, however, had for the most part but a short and
unprosperous existence. They were more successful in A.D. 1860 with
the _Protestantenverein_ as the instrument of their propaganda (§ 180).
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