Description
Book SynopsisExplores how conversion and religious experiences developed within German Pietism, arguing that the Pietist relationship with conversion was much more complex and problematic than it is often presented to be.
Trade Review“Church historians and historians of theology will appreciate Strom’s careful discussion of Bußkampf and the stages of conversion; historians of religion will revel in the complexities of Pietist belonging. . . . This brief review cannot do justice to this thought-provoking book.”
—Benjamin Marschke German Studies Review
“Jonathan Strom’s argument provides a level of nuance in understanding the nature of Pietist conversion and conversion narratives that has not previously been achieved. This book offers a sophisticated contribution to the field of Pietism studies, and it will appeal to scholars in the field, graduate students, and upper-level undergraduates.”
—Douglas Shantz,author of An Introduction to German Pietism: Protestant Renewal at the Dawn of Modern Europe
“Jonathan Strom’s manuscript is a landmark study that redirects our understanding of one of the key concepts of Pietist religion in a fundamental way.”
—Hartmut Lehmann,coeditor of In Search of Peace and Prosperity: New German Settlements in Eighteenth-Century Europe and America
Table of ContentsContents
List of Illustrations
Preface
Abbreviations
Introduction
I August Hermann Francke's Conversion
II Early Pietism and the Diverse Cultures of Conversion
III Conversion in Light of Death: von Schönberg and Henckel's Last Hours
IV The Busskampf and Conflicting Views of Conversion after Francke
V Pietist Periodicals and the Conversion Narrative
VI Conversion at Dargun
VII Execution Narratives and the Collapse of the Conversion Narrative
VIII Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index
