Samuel Lutz

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Samuel Lutz

Samuel Lutz , latinized Lucius (born August 10, 1674 in Biglen , †  May 28, 1750 in Oberdiessbach ), was a Reformed pastor of the Pietist direction in the canton of Bern .

Youth and studies (1674–1702)

The pastor's son, Samuel, stood out early on for his excellent memory, lively imagination, and religious zeal. He received his first lessons from his father and is said to have spoken fluent Latin at the age of seven . In 1688 his father died and Lutz was brought to Bern to become a clergyman at the high school .

In contrast to the Reformed Orthodoxy , which had received its strictest form in the Consensus Helveticus of the Swiss Reformed cantons in the year before Lutz was born, - u. a. stimulated by Samuel König - especially during the time of his theological studies to stimulate the pietistic direction in Bern . The students in particular were affected by this, and Lutz came under the influence of these circles. As a result, he aroused suspicion among the suspicious church authorities, and his acceptance into the ministry in 1700 was not without difficulties and deferral.

Burgdorf and Yverdon (1702–1728)

In 1702 he received a vicar position in Burgdorf , but did not escape the suspicion of the authorities there either. Thanks to his undisputed scholarship - he was an excellent knowledge of the Hebrew language - he was repeatedly suggested for an academic chair. The first time he was passed over, the second time he refused; on the other hand, in 1703 he was given the newly established and less sought-after position of a German-speaking pastor in the town of Yverdon , which at that time belonged to the canton of Bern . Here he now developed a profound effect.

His insistence on personal conversion and his struggle against a secularized habitual Christianity, however, soon aroused unrest, and there was resistance on the part of his fellow officials. He was repeatedly indicted in Bern, and Lutz had to justify himself to the authorities in 1706, 1707 and then again in 1711. The innocence with which he defended his convictions and the modesty of his demeanor, which was strange for the elites of his time, repeatedly aroused suspicion, no matter how much his character and talent earned him respect.

Amsoldingen (1728–1738)

He was denied an office in the capital, although his reputation was already beginning to penetrate into the distance. He performed as a preacher in Basel , St. Gallen and Frankfurt am Main with great success. He was offered jobs in Köthen and Zweibrücken , and he only turned down a call to Büdingen because his parish withheld him. In 1728 he finally got the pastor's position in Amsoldingen near Thun , and since his conscience forbade him to swear the prescribed oath of association, it was even generously waived .

The frequent visits from strangers, for which he sometimes went to bed for intensive pastoral discussions, his own tours and sermons in foreign pulpits, as well as holding religious meetings in the open air, repeatedly caused offense. The unmistakable integrity of his way of life, the self-sacrificing loyalty to duty with which the unmarried man lived entirely for his spiritual profession, the zeal with which he devoted himself to teaching the youth in a way that was still quite unusual at the time, however, always silenced the accusers. Shyly avoided by most of his fellow ministers, he found all the more favor with the others, and he also developed a devoted following in circles of the patrician .

Oberdiessbach (1738–1750)

At the end of 1738, at an advanced age, he was transferred to the larger parish of Oberdiessbach near Thun. Here he received a visit from Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf in January 1740 , who had probably come into contact with Lutz through his close friend from Bern, Friedrich von Wattenwyl . Earlier, Count Heinrich Ernst zu Stolberg-Wernigerode had stayed with him for a few days . In the end he was left fairly unchallenged in his work, which expanded through his travels and his correspondence. He preached for the last time on Easter day 1750 and died on May 28th.

Allegory

The most original work by Lutz is Das Schweitzerische von Milch und Honig, Flowing Canaan and lofty mountain country from 1731. It grew out of a sermon he had given in the Simmental and attempted an allegorical interpretation of alpine farming, farmer and shepherd life, milk treatment, butter- and cheese-making, trade and traffic, customs and character of the mountain people. In the difference between stable feeding and lush alpine grass, Lutz saw a symbol for the contrast between law and gospel . He compared the driving of the butter in the bucket with the visitation by which the Church and Christians are driven. He also allegorized ruminating : a cow eats all day long; so you look at Jesus and look at him day and night, for God's sake don't get tired or weary . The pastors and dignitaries of the Simmental, to whom Lutz had dedicated his work, did not receive it as favorably as he had expected in his naivete, but when the book appeared one asked unabashedly whether the author had lost his mind ...

character

Emil Blösch judged Lutz as follows:

Lutz was a pietist in the full but also in the best sense of the word, personally undemanding, in his sermons bold, witty, imaginative, childlike, naive, often touching with warmth and truth, not infrequently also tastelessly allegorizing; of essentially biblical attitude and thoroughly practical direction: an opponent of external orthodoxy, but also an enemy of all mere religious piety and all addiction to the “spiritual delicacies” of enthusiastic chiliasm and all sectarian seclusion.

Works

  • Christmas thoughts , Schaffhausen 1725
  • The spiritual solstice , Welsch-Neuburg 1726
  • The lily branch of gentle and all-enduring love blooming under the thistles of all kinds of adversities , St. Gallen 1726
  • Reflections on the Heavenly Pearl , Bern 1727
  • The eternal starry sky arising from God's promise and Abraham's faith , Bern 1728
  • Guardian of Jerusalem , n.o. 1728
  • The loving-faithful heart of God , Basel 1730
  • The Swiss Canaan , flowing from milk and honey , Bern 1731 Digitized and full text in the German text archive
  • (Ed.), Key to the Holy Scriptures , o. O., 1731
  • The Hope of Zion Oder: A heavenly and beautiful painting of very happy blissful times , Bern 1732
  • The Swiss Canaan, flowing with milk and honey, and the lofty mountains, with its heavenly advantages ... , n.d., n.d.
  • Excerpts from his letters , Herrnhut undated
  • The New World, the creator of the Prince Foundation , Schaffhausen 1734
  • A fragrant bouquet of beautiful and healthy heavenly flowers , Basel 1736 digitized and full text in the German text archive , digitized
  • Divine clover leaf , Schaffhausen 1745
  • Warning to the dear youth, before the terrible danger of the manifold seduction to evil: Prelude recently communicated by DJJ Rambach, who is highly deserved for the Church of God and now resting in God; Anjetzo but from a fatherly-minded heart made more extensive, and placed closer to the heart of young people , Schaffhausen 1747 ( digitized and full text in the German text archive )
  • Last trumpet part, holding in, a witty Pentecost sermon ... This edifying sermon is followed by the soul. Authoris Strange curriculum vitae, and last speeches held ... , Bern 1751
  • A new bouquet of beautiful and healthy celestial flowers , Basel 1756, digitized
  • Four main types of people (edition of Martin Luther's declaration of the Galatians 1717), Basel 1756
  • S. Lau (ed.), Samuel Lucii, Predigers zu Diessbach in Canton Bern, Image of God to the First Christians in the New Testament ... , Bern 1757

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Lutz, Samuel
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Lucius, Samuel
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Pietist pastor
DATE OF BIRTH August 10, 1674
PLACE OF BIRTH Biglen , Canton of Bern
DATE OF DEATH May 28, 1750
Place of death Oberdiessbach , Canton of Bern