A History of the Mennonite Brethren Church, Ja Toews

urce for spiritual UNDERSTANDING BIBLICAL REVELATION 365 renewal. The major channel of this influence was without question "Pfarrer" Eduard Wuest, whom Orlando Wiebe has described as "the chief representative of evangelical Pietism." 11 Of John Wesley it has been said that he did not originate a new theology, but that he did bring new fire into an old theology. This was also the contribution of Wuest to Mennonitism: he brought "new warmth," the warmth of a vital Christian experience, into what was otherwise a sound theological structure. The special contribution of Pietism to Mennonite Brethren theology is precisely this — it revitalized in many areas the rather dead and traditional Mennonite orthodoxy. According to C. Krahn, "the empha- sis on a personally experienced salvation, on the Christian outreach at home and abroad, and the use of newer forms of spreading the Gospel is particularly due to the revitalization which came through Pietism." 18 P. M. Friesen considered Pietism as a basically wholesome and beneficial movement which served as a necessary corrective and complement to nineteenth century Mennonitism. Friesen described Wuest as the "second reformer" of the Mennonites, Menno Simons being the first. Along with these positive contributions of Pietism its limitations should also be pointed out. Its emphasis on the "joyous justification doctrine" and a strong emotional aspect in the salvation experience produced some negative effects in the early M.B. Church. The emphasis on the inward experience of God's grace and its outward application to all areas of life was not always kept in proper balance. Pietism also lacked the concept of a believers' church. In Wuest's own congregation at Neuhoffnung believers and unbelievers, all baptized in infancy, remained "side by side" even though Wuest had originally emphasized the need for a separated church of believers only. 18 Although Anabaptism and Pietism are similar in many ways, there are also some basic differences between the two movements in their conception of the Christian life. Ernst Crous describes these differences as follows: In Anabaptism the new birth is sealed in baptism, sending the pilgrim forth on the strenuous way of discipleship and love in action with the kingdom of God as its final goal. Pietism begins with the struggle for personal repentance from sin (Busskampf) , followed by assurance of salvation and freedom to enjoy the new possession with relatively little concern for the strenuous responsibilities which confront the Anabaptist disciple. 20 The M.B. Church has been described as "Mennonite in doctrine, Pietistic in spirit." 21 This evaluation is in harmony with Friesen's metaphor that Pietism has brought "new warmth" into the house that Menno built. Pietism's major contribution to M.B. theology must be seen in the "spirit" which it instilled, rather than in the "content" which 366 HISTORY OF THE MENNONI