Johann Christoph Blumhardt

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Johann Christoph Blumhardt
(1805–1880)

Johann Christoph Blumhardt (born July 16, 1805 in Stuttgart , † February 25, 1880 in Boll ) was a pastor of the Württemberg revival movement , Protestant theologian and hymn poet.

Life

Childhood and youth

Möttlinger Evangelical parish church from 1746, originally Marienkirche, renamed in 1955 to Blumhardtkirche

Born in Stuttgart in 1805 as the son of a baker and wood knife, Johann Christoph Blumhardt grew up in poor circumstances. He is a second nephew of the Stuttgart theologian Christian Gottlieb Blumhardt . His childhood was shaped by the Christian home and the lively expectation of the Kingdom of God in the circles of Swabian Pietism . As a gifted student at the Stuttgart grammar school, he received aid; the tuition fees were waived.

Study of theology

In 1820 - after a second entrance examination, the " Landexamen " - he received a scholarship from the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Schöntal . During his theology studies in Tübingen he learned a. a. Eduard Mörike , who also lived as a student at the Evangelical Abbey and to whom a close friendship developed.

The way to the pastor

After successfully passing the first theological exam, Blumhardt started his first vicariate in Dürrmenz (near Mühlacker ) in 1829 . In 1830 he was called to Basel as a missionary teacher. After seven years he left Basel to go to Iptingen as a parish assistant .

Pastor in Möttlingen

In July 1838 he was appointed pastor in Möttlingen (near Bad Liebenzell ). Here he married Doris Köllner, a daughter of his missionary friend Karl Köllner . In 1842 their son, who later became the theologian Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt , was born.

Evangelical parish hall Möttlingen

Gottliebin Dittus, a young woman from the community, suffered from an inexplicable illness: she was plagued by convulsions, strange voices spoke out of her. For two years - in 1842 and 1843 - he accompanied this woman in pastoral care, repeatedly reminding her of God's promises and praying with her. At Christmas 1843, her suffering ended, which Blumhardt later referred to in a report of illness to the church consistory as a "ghost fight". The loud cry of the healed “Jesus is victor” becomes Johann Christoph Blumhardt's watchword.

The penitential and awakening movement

This healing triggered a repentance and awakening movement. On January 8, 1844, four believers from the church came to go to confession. On January 27th there were 16, on January 30th 35, then 67, 156, 246 people, finally almost the whole village. Foreigners also flocked to Möttlingen for Blumhardt's church services. At a Whitsun festival there were 2,000 departures. In the following time further healings were reported, first in Blumhardt's family, then in the community and among the visitors. The liberal press ridiculed the events as fraud and belief in miracles. The consistory of the higher church authority forbade him to mix the healing of physical illnesses with pastoral care.

Blumhardt became certain that the coming of the Kingdom of God was imminent and that before that there would be a “second outpouring of the Holy Spirit”. This conviction inspired him to act socially. Following the example of Pastor Oberlin from the Steintal in Alsace, he opened a kindergarten in 1844 and appointed the healed Gottliebin Dittus as the first kindergarten teacher. In the years of hunger and times of great poverty, he and his wife set up a soup kitchen and founded a charity with a “cattle hire fund”.

Pastoral care in Bad Boll

In 1852 Blumhardt moved with his family to Bad Boll , the royal Württemberg bath for the upper classes . With financial support from his friends, he bought the spa there, where he founded a healing and pastoral care center. Thanks to Blumhardt's charisma, the center attracted guests from all over Europe and welcomed guests from all walks of life. He managed it until his death in 1880. After his death, his son Christoph Blumhardt continued his father's work.

Blumhardt in the judgment of contemporaries

Blumhardt was already controversial during his lifetime. Otto Funcke , who met him several times himself, writes: “There was a strength emanating from him.” Funcke's father, who was a doctor, rejected Blumhardt as “enthusiast” .

The writer Ottilie Wildermuth came to Boll for the first time in 1862 and harbored considerable prejudices against Blumhardt. After getting to know him personally, she let go of her doubts about him; until her death she drove regularly to see Blumhardt and his wife, with whom a friendship developed.

Commemoration

In the evangelical calendar of names , February 24 is the day of remembrance for Johann Christoph Blumhardt.

The Blumhardt memorial in Bad Liebenzell-Möttlingen and the Blumhardt Literature Salon in Bad Boll commemorate the life and work of Blumhardt .

Since 1955, his 150th birthday, the Protestant church in Möttlingen has been named Blumhardt Church . In the Protestant parish of Neukölln, the Johann Christoph Blumhardt Church, built in Berlin-Britz in 1963/64, commemorates him. A Christian private school founded in 1997 in Mühlacker- Lomersheim is named after him.

Works

  • Collection of older, mostly unknown chorales and melodies for church hymns, set for four parts and initially edited for use in the new Württemberg hymn book by Christoph Blumhardt, pastor in Möttlingen near Calw. First section (No. 1–100, melodies for three- to six-line songs) . Stuttgart, publishing house of the JF Steinkopf'schen Buchhandlung. 1843.
  • Bible songs or passages of the Holy Scriptures brought into singable rhymes, along with some festival and mission songs , by Joh. Christoph Blumhardt, former pastor in Bad Boll. Reissued by Christoph Blumhardt for use in Bad Boll. Second improved edition. Self-published by the editor. Stuttgart. Print by Chr. Scheufele. 1884.
  • The hymn of praise to Mary. An alternating song for solos (two female voices), choir and organ (harmonium) by Joh. Christoph Blumhardt. Neudietendorf in Thuringia: Friedrich Jansa 1921.
  • Collected Works. Writings, Annunciation, Letters , 14 volumes. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.
    • Row 1. Fonts . Edited by Gerhard Schäfer.
      • Volume 1. The fight in Möttlingen. Texts . Edited by Gerhard Schäfer with the assistance of Paul Ernst. With an introduction "On the healing history of Gottliebin Dittus" by Theodor Bovet. 1979.
      • Volume 2. The fight in Möttlingen. Notes . With the collaboration of Dieter Ising and Paul Ernst. 1979.
    • Row 2. Annunciation . Edited by Joachim Scharfenberg and Paul Ernst in connection with Peter Beyerhaus, Rudolf Bohren, Martin Schmidt and Manfred Seitz.
      • Volume 1-4. Leaves from Bad Boll . Facsimile edition with a foreword and explanatory appendix edited by Paul Ernst. 1968-1970.
      • Volume 5. Sheets from Bad Boll. Explanatory appendix by Paul Ernst. 1974.
    • Row 3. Letters . Edited by Dieter Ising.
      • Volume 1. Early letters to 1838. Texts . 1993.
      • Volume 2. Early Letters to 1838. Notes. 1993.
      • Volume 3. Möttlinger Letters 1838–1852. Texts . 1997.
      • Volume 4. Möttlinger Letters 1838-1852. Notes . 1997
      • Volume 5. Bad Boller Letters 1852-1880. Texts . 1999.
      • Volume 6. Bad Boller letters 1852–1880. Notes . 1999.
      • Volume 7. Letters; Lists and registers for Volumes 1–6 . 2001.
  • Selected Writings. Volume 1: Explanation of the Scriptures, Volume 2: Annunciation, Volume 3: Pastoral Care - Questions of Faith, Letters, Prayers, Songs. Edited by Wolfgang J. Bittner. Neufeld, Metzingen / Gießen 1991; Schwarzenfeld 2006, ISBN 3-937896-41-4 .
  • Victory over hell. The history of illness and healing of Gottliebin Dittus in Möttlingen . Edited by Katja Wolff. Edition Tempelbibliothek, 2005, ISBN 3-930730-33-2 . Online text
  • Handbook of world history for schools and families , 7th, improved edition, Verlag der Vereinsbuchhandlung, Calw 1877. Digitized

literature

Web links

Commons : Johann Christoph Blumhardt  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikisource: Johann Christoph Blumhardt  - Sources and full texts

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Bernd Moeller , Bruno Jahn: German Biographical Encyclopedia of Theology and the Churches (DBETh). Walter de Gruyter, 2011 (p. 149)
  2. ^ Gerhard Ruhbach; Ulrich Scheffbuch: Blumhardt, Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt (1842-1919) . In: Evangelical Lexicon for Theology and Congregation , ed. Helmut Burkhardt; Uwe Swarat, Vol. 1. Wuppertal: R. Brockhaus Verlag 1992, ISBN 3-417-24641-5 , p. 285.
  3. ↑ Otto Funcke: In the forge of God . Brunnen Verlag, Gießen / Basel 1938, p. 161.
  4. ↑ Otto Funcke: In the forge of God . Brunnen Verlag, Gießen / Basel 1938, p. 91.
  5. ↑ Jonathan Schilling: Ottilie Wildermuth and Pietism. Faith and piety in the life and work of a 19th century writer . In: »Blätter für Württembergische Kirchengeschichte«, 117 (2017), pp. 181–213, here: pp. 193–195.
personal data
SURNAME Blumhardt, Johann Christoph
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Pastor of the Württemberg revival movement, Protestant theologian and hymn poet
DATE OF BIRTH July 16, 1805
PLACE OF BIRTH Stuttgart
DATE OF DEATH February 25, 1880
Place of death Boll