Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt (1842–1919) was a German

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

and one of the founders of

Christian socialism Christian socialism is a Religious philosophy, religious and political philosophy that blends Christianity and socialism, endorsing socialist economics on the basis of the Bible and the teachings of Jesus. Many Christian socialists believe cap ...

in Germany and Switzerland. He was a well-known preacher. In 1899 he announced his support for

socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

and joined the

Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together w ...

; for this, he lost his position as minister. The next year, he was elected to the state parliament of Württemberg. As the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

broke out, he declared his belief in a coming

Kingdom of God The concept of the kingship of God appears in all Abrahamic religions, where in some cases the terms kingdom of God and kingdom of Heaven are also used. The notion of God's kingship goes back to the Hebrew Bible, which refers to "his kingdom" ...

, declaring "we live in the time before a massive change in the world. This darkness will be vanquished through the Lord

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

." He was a significant influence on the theologians

Karl Barth Karl Barth (; ; – ) was a Swiss Reformed theologian. Barth is best known for his commentary '' The Epistle to the Romans'', his involvement in the Confessing Church, including his authorship (except for a single phrase) of the Barmen Decl ...

Hermann Kutter Hermann Kutter (1863–1931) was a Swiss Protestant theologian. Together with Leonhard Ragaz, he was one of the founders of Christian socialism in Switzerland. He was heavily influenced by Christoph Blumhardt. He combined Blumhardt's expectatio ...

, and Leonhard Ragaz, who were also Christian socialists. The son of Johann Christoph Blumhardt, Christoph Blumhardt was born at Möttlingen on 1 June 1842, at the very time his father was becoming involved in the struggle with Gottliebin's demons. As his father had done before him, he took university training pointing toward a Reformed pastorate. However, he became disillusioned with the church and theology and so decided simply to return home to

Bad Boll Bad Boll () is a municipality in the district of Göppingen in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. History In 1321, the County of Württemberg purchased title over Bad Boll and came to possess it ''de jure'', but it was '' de facto'' still controlled b ...

and act as a helper there. Upon his father's death, then, he took over as housefather and continued the work until his own death in 1919. In time, the younger Blumhardt became quite renowned as a mass evangelist and faith healer. But after a very successful "crusade" in

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in 1888, he drastically cut back both activities, saying, Blumhardt's interest gradually took what could be called "a turn to the world", namely, a focus upon the great socioeconomic issues of the day. Under the impetus of this concern Blumhardt chose, in a public and conspicuous way, to cast his lot with

democratic socialism Democratic socialism is a left-wing economic ideology, economic and political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and wor ...

, the much-maligned workers' movement that then was fighting tooth and nail for the right of the working class. Although it brought upon his head the wrath of both the civil and ecclesiastical establishments, he addressed protest rallies, ran for office on the party slate, and was elected to a six-year term in the Württemberg legislature. He was asked to resign his ministerial status in the church. Blumhardt began as a very active and energetic legislator, but as time passed he greatly curtailed this activity and bluntly declined to stand for a second term of office. Clearly, the pattern was of a piece with his earlier retreat from mass evangelism and

faith healing Faith healing is the practice of prayer and gestures (such as laying on of hands) that are believed by some to elicit divine intervention in spiritual and physical healing, especially the Christian practice. Believers assert that the healin ...

. Blumhardt's disillusionment with democratic socialism – i.e., with the party politics, not with the movement's purposes and ideals – and the even greater disillusionment which came toward the close of his life with the dark years of the First World War. These brought him to a final position expressed in the dialectical motto: Wait and Hasten. Staunchly anti-war, his understanding was that the call of the Christian is still for him to give himself completely to the cause of the kingdom. To do everything in his power to help the world toward that goal. Yet, at the same time, a Christian must remain calm and patient, unperturbed even if his efforts show no signs of success, willing to wait for the Lord to bring the kingdom at his own pace and in his own way. And, according to Blumhardt, far from being inactivity, this sort of waiting is itself a very strong and creative action in the very hastening of the kingdom. Blumhardt suffered a stroke in 1917 and died a peaceful death on 2 August 1919 in Jebenhausen.

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

Plough Publishing page of 9 free e-books and articles on the Blumhardts
(free ebook by R. Lejeune)

(free ebook edited by

Vernard Eller Vernard Marion Eller (July 11, 1927 – June 18, 2007) was an American author, Christian pacifism, Christian pacifist and minister in the Church of the Brethren. Born in Everett, Washington, Everett, Washington (U.S. state), Washington, and ...

) {{DEFAULTSORT:Blumhardt, Christoph 1842 births 1919 deaths People from Calw (district) People from the Kingdom of Württemberg 20th-century German Lutheran clergy Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians Members of the Württembergian Chamber of Deputies German Lutheran theologians German Christian socialists German Christian pacifists German evangelicals Lutheran socialists Lutheran pacifists Christian socialist theologians Christian radicals Christian humanists 19th-century German Protestant theologians 19th-century German male writers 20th-century German politicians 20th-century German Protestant theologians 20th-century German male writers German male non-fiction writers People educated at Eberhard-Ludwigs-Gymnasium 19th-century German Lutheran clergy Faith healers