For Further Reading: Bruce, New Testament History;
Barclay, ed., The Bible and History; Tenney, New Testa-
ment Times. ARNOLD E. AlRHART
PHILANTHROPY. See liberality
PHILIA. See brotherly love.
PHILOSOPHY. Philosophy, as the meaning of its Greek original may be interpreted, is the quest for or love of wisdom. The philosopher does not know so much as he seeks to know.
Thus philosophy is basically an attitude or spirit, a method of attaining knowledge, and the knowledge thus attained. As such, philosophy is a spirit of questioning which leaves no "sacred cows" untouched. Authority, convention, and common sense are the constant victims of its interrogations. As individual sciences become absolute, philosophy helps in breaking the myth.
The areas of philosophy's concerns are epistemology, ontology or metaphysics, and axiology. Epistemology is an attempt to resolve the question of how we know (q.v. Knowledge). It is a study of the sources of knowledge: sensory experience and perception, intuition, tradition, logic and rational processes (q.v. Reason). It is a search for the test or criterion of truth: Can truth be found in sense perception, intuition, tradition, reason, scientific method, pragmatic method, or elsewhere? It is the function of philosophy to set up the method to determine which evidence is acceptable in progressing to understanding and truth.
Ontology is the attempt to use the methods determined in epistemology in order to know the nature of reality, being, or the ultimate. But since neither epistemology nor ontology can be independent of the other, it is a genuine problem as to which is prior to the other. Metaphysical systems are idealism (the ultimately real is of the nature of ideas, persons, or values), materialism (the ultimately real is of the nature of material particles, objects, or energy), and realism (the real is a many comprising mind, matter, values, etc.; or the real is that which is independent of mind).
Axiology is the study of the worthwhile or the valuable. It is concerned with what men do desire as well as what they ought to desire. This area is subdivided into Ethics, Aesthetics, and Philosophy of Religion. Ethics attempts to deal with such problems as the origin, nature, and truthfulness of conscience; the possibility of freedom and responsibility; as well as specific moral problems: capital punishment, sexual morality, racial relations, war and peace, genetic engineering, experiment on human beings. Aesthetics is primarily concerned with beauty in nature and human productions, principally called the fine arts. It examines the possibility of aesthetic standards, aesthetic truth, and aesthetic greatness. Aesthetics, ethics, and the philosophy of religion look together at the relationship between aesthetic experience, spiritual development, and maturity; and together they examine the problem of censorship. The philosophy of religion deals with proofs or evidence of God's existence, the nature of God, the manner of divine self-disclosure, the problem of evil, and the possibility of an afterlife.
Some ask whether there can truly be a Christian philosophy. Some say that a revelational system excludes all questioning; and if the philosophy-theology relation be regarded as a question-answer relation, then philosophy has
400
PIETISM
no real role. Others hold that while Christianity is much more than a theoretical system, it is at least this much. Therefore, since philosophy provides the methodology and impetus toward system building, there can certainly be a Christian philosophy: a Christian world view is a Christian philosophy.
The only use of the term "philosophy" in the NT is in Col. 2:8. This passage could refer to philosophy in general or to some particular type of philosophy, or it could refer to the setting aside of faith for some heretical philosophic stance. It is too brief and too unclear to be used as the basis for a wholesale rejection of philosophy. Nevertheless, both philosophy and theology may fear the other due to the possible threat that one may be limited by the other. Philosophy does not wish its questions to be merely secondary to theology's answers and thus return to its subservient status as ancilla theologiae (handmaid of theology). Nor is theology willing to accept the severe unsettling of questions which may lead to a rejection of its dogmas (or settled opinions from which it must not deviate). These concerns are common both to Roman Catholics and to Protestants. To these concerns it has been well said that both philosophy and theology are "modes of service of a truth which is always greater than what can be said of it in philosophical or theological propositions" (Sacramentum Mundi).
See THEOLOGY, METAPHYSICS, TRUTH, REVELATION (SPECIAL), EPISTEMOLOGY, VALUES, POSITIVISM, AESTHETICS, ETHICS, KNOWLEDGE, AXIOLOGY REALISM IN THEOLOGY.
For Further Reading: Sacramentum Mundi, 5:1-20; Concise Encyclopedia of Western Philosophy and Philosophers; Merleau-Ponty, In Praise of Philosophy; Wheelwright, The Way of Philosophy.
R. Duane Thompson
PIETISM. In the narrow sense, Pietism signifies a movement of spiritual renewal within the Lutheran and Reformed churches in continental Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries, though some beginnings were already discernible in the late 16th century. It is associated with such names as Johann Arndt, Philip Spener, August Hermann Francke, Willem Teelinck, Gerhard Ter-steegen, Count Nicolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf, and Johann Albrecht Bengel. In the broader sense it includes these kindred movements of spiritual purification: Puritanism, Methodism, and later evangelical revivalism (which should probably be called neo-Pietism). It also has an affinity to Jansenism and Quietism in the Roman Catholic church, both of which emphasized the religion of the heart.
Pietism is noted for its stress on heart religion (Herzensreligion). The heart in this context signifies the center of the personality. True religion must be inward, existential, total, and experiential. Yet the Pietists insisted that our experience is not the source of faith (only the Word of God is that) but the medium of our faith. In this perspective, faith that results in salvation is not just outward or intellectual: it must affect the very center of human being, the "inner man."
Another salient theme in Pietism was the new birth (Wiedergeburt). While Luther and orthodox Lutheranism placed the accent on forensic, extrinsic justification, the Pietists, perhaps under a Calvinist influence, underlined the need for regeneration as well. It was not any particular experience of the new birth but the fact of the new birth that was deemed of crucial importance. Neither Spener nor Zinzendorf claimed a special, datable experience of conversion, though in the later Pietism of August Francke increasing significance was attached to a specific or patterned experience of conversion.
The concern for the imitation of Christ (Nach-folge Christi) was still another earmark of Pietism. While the Reformation was preoccupied with right doctrine, the Pietists focused upon right life. Attention was given not only to the saving work of Christ but also to His teachings. In their emphasis on a reformation in life they saw themselves as fulfilling the Reformation. At the same time, they regarded Christian practice or discipleship under the Cross not as the basis of our justification but as its cardinal fruit and evidence.
Reacting against the Reformation stress on the total helplessness of man, they insisted that the Christian could make real progress toward perfection in holiness through the grace of God. According to Spener, we cannot fulfill the law, but as Christians we can keep the law.
Whereas both Lutheran and Reformed orthodoxy were fascinated with the Cartesian model of clear and distinct ideas, the Pietists remained closer to the original Reformation in their candid recognition of the limitations of reason. God cannot be comprehended by the mind but can only be felt in experience (Zinzendorf). They did not deny the natural knowledge of God but generally regarded it as sufficient to condemn, not save us. Spener attacked the dependence of theology on the "heathen philosophy" of Aristotle.
The idea of the preparation of the heart was also present in Pietism as in Puritanism. Although Spener held that faith is usually given instantaneously through the hearing of the Word, he did believe that sometimes the Spirit of God
PIETISM (cont.)
401
by a prior work of grace prepares people for a more ready acceptance of the Word. Francke was convinced that the law sets the stage for the gospel and that before there can be real faith, there must be a struggle toward repentance (Bmss-kampf).
The moral dualism of the Pietists reveals their affinity with the Reformers and their distance from the tradition of mysticism (which was inclined toward monism). Even though the Pietists encouraged the reading of the mystics for personal devotions, they saw the principal cleavage as being not between time and eternity (as with the radical mystics) but between faith and unbelief, salvation and sin, the kingdom of God and the demonic kingdom of darkness.
Pietists have often been accused of subjectivism, and it is true that they emphasized the spirit over the letter of the Bible. They occasionally differentiated between the form and content, the kernel and husk, of Scripture. Yet their concern was not to find a Word beyond the Bible but to discover the treasure of the gospel within the Bible. Above all, the Bible was to be read in a spirit of devotion rather than with academic curiosity. Though acknowledging the possibility of special revelations, they held that these private illuminations must be conformable to Holy Scripture and not conflict with the light that has already been given in Jesus Christ.
Pietism is also noted for the fact that it gave tangible expression to the Reformation doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Spener advocated the formation of conventicles, private gatherings which usually met on Sunday evenings for Bible readings, prayer, and discussion of the sermon. These meetings came to include hymn singing, meditations, and even sermons, which were given as a supplement to the morning homily. These fellowships became known as the collegia pieiatis, from which the Pietist movement derives its name.
A final distinguishing feature of Pietism is its emphasis on the urgency of mission. Zinzendorf declared: "My joy until I die: to win souls for the Lamb!" Indeed, Protestant missions can be said to have begun with Pietism. The great missionary societies within Protestantism in the 18th and 19th centuries as well as the Inner Mission of the 19th and 20th centuries have their roots in Pietism. The Reformation generally saw the two practical marks of the true Church as the preaching of the Word and the right administration of the sacraments; to these the Pietists in effect added the fellowship of love (koinonia) and a zeal for missions.
The Pietists remind us that Christianity has to do with life as well as doctrine, ethical action and spiritual devotion as well as theology. We need to heed their warning that justification cannot stand by itself but must be fulfilled in sanctification. Even though the righteousness of Christ entitles us to heaven, we are not qualified to enter heaven apart from personal holiness.
We can learn from Pietism that Christian practice is the field in which our sanctification is carried forward. The Pietists sought to hold the practical and mystical dimensions of the faith in balance, though Pietism was more aggressive than contemplative, more practical than theological (John F. Hurst)."
Out of the awakenings associated with Pietism came a concern for the oppressed and destitute in society. Besides founding orphanages, homes for unwed mothers, homes for epileptics, and deaconess hospitals, the Pietists and later evangelicals pioneered in the area of social justice. Their efforts played a major role in the abolition of slavery, prison reform, and legislation against child labor abuse, animal cruelty, and prostitution.
A constant danger in Pietism is that its inclination to elevate life and experience over doctrine often promotes doctrinal indifferentism and lati-tudinarianism. It is an open fact that the University of Halle, founded by the early Pietists, became within two generations a bastion of rationalism.
Subjectivism is another temptation within Pietism. Even though the early Pietists had a high view of the sacraments and preaching,their stress on the immediacy of the Word tended to obscure the mediate role of the Church and the sacraments. The radical Pietists became sectarian and individualistic.
Pietism was also inclined to neglect the doctrine of creation by focusing so intently on personal salvation. We need to remember that redemption does not annul creation but only the sin that distorts creation.
At its best, Pietism sought to penetrate and transform society with the leaven of the gospel. At its worst, Pietism became defensive, cultivating a fortress mentality that regarded the world as totally under the sway of the powers of darkness; the strategy then became that of building citadels of light in a dark world.
See PIETY, EVANGELICAL, PURITAN (PURITANISM), METHODISM, SYNERGISM, PREVENIENT GRACE, WESLEYANISM, HOLINESS MOVEMENT, DEVOTE (DEVOTION), SOCIAL ETHICS, PIETISM (ENGLISH EVANGELICAL).
For Further Reading: Brown, Understanding Pietism; Stoeffler, German Pietism During the Eighteenth Century;
402
PIETISM, ENGLISH EVANGELICAL—PILGRIM
The Rise of Evangelical Pietism; Continental Pietism and Early American Christianity; Bloesch, "The Legacy of Pietism," The Evangelical Renaissance, 101-55.
Donald G. Bloesch
PIETISM, ENGLISH EVANGELICAL. Few religious movements have been so misunderstood and unjustly maligned as Pietism. Until recently the role of English Pietism has gone unchronicled. Springing from the Geneva-Rhineland tradition of Martin Bucer and antedating continental Pietism (Spener), the movement was to profoundly influence Anglicanism, producing the Puritan sector of the British and American church, and creating the ethical and spiritual concerns that were to mark Methodism and the later American holiness movement. Many Wesleyan scholars now recognize the roots of Wesley as being more entwined in English Pietism than in Continental sources.
Following the Bucerian emphasis on "living doctrine," Pietism's interest lay in practical, everyday living rather than doctrine. The Bible, rather than the creeds, became the authority. Christianity is to be lived as well as confessed. In following the rules of biblical interpretation as set down by Thomas Greenham, the movement adopted the principle that not only is sin forbidden but its occasion as well. Thus, the contemporary evangelical's antagonism to the theatre, the dance, and the saloon is rooted in English Pietism. The terms characteristic of this tradition, such as experiential, inward, or personal, reflect a concept of the essence of Christianity as being a personally meaningful new-birth relationship to God. Henry Smith's statement that "an almost Christian is no Christian" discovers the pietistic drive to a Christian perfection which prepared England for Wesley's position. The pietistic insistence on an experiential "I-Thou" relationship, resulting in an inner personal knowledge of divine approbation, was closely related to Wesley's doctrine of assurance. England's 17th-century pietistic conventicle anticipated the Methodist society, the holiness prayer meeting, and the contemporary home Bible study group.
See pietism, puritan (puritanism), wesleyanism.
For Further Reading: Stouffler, The Rise of Evangelical
Pietism. forest T. benner
PIETY. Piety refers to the attitudes and practices which God demands, requests, and expects of those who place faith in His person and His work. Today, in some circles, the term has bad connotations, being associated with pretensions and spiritual pride (see Paul's "form of godliness" [2 Tim. 3:5]).
The noun used in the NT is eusebeia, mentioned 14 times in the Pastoral and General Epistles, and is usually translated "godliness." Godliness is associated with holy living, as well as performing acts of spiritual worship (1 Tim. 2:2; 5:4; 6:3; 2 Pet. 1:3, 6). Piety is synonymous with "holy and godly lives"—the fruit of faith and hope in the second coming of Christ (Jas. 1:26; 2 Pet. 3:11-12).
Piety is synonymous with the OT "fear of the Lord." Among OT saints a holy and godly life was grounded in reverence, submission, and obedience to God.
Piety is a response to God's revelation of himself and His will. It is equated with holiness (1 Pet. 1:15; 2 Cor. 7:1; 1 Thess. 4:3) and includes separation from the world, overcoming temptations, mortification of sin, and the cultivation of faith, hope, and love.
See pietism, godliness.
For Further Reading: Kepler, ed., The Fellowship of Saints; Law, A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life; Sangster, The Pure in Heart, 95-182.
Bert H. Hall
PIGEON. See dove.
PILGRIM. A pilgrim is one visiting a sacred place for worship, as the Jews coming to Jerusalem on feast days. Also, a pilgrim is a traveler, dwelling temporarily as a stranger and an alien, but moving toward a specific destination. The term will be considered in the latter sense.
The people of the old covenant were considered strangers and pilgrims. They were on a pilgrimage toward the Promised Land and beyond (Gen. 15:13; Exod. 22:21; Lev. 25:23; 1 Chron. 29:15). This journey was both physical and spiritual, a pilgrimage of revelation plus destination.
Peter describes the people of the new covenant as strangers away from home, and admonishes them to abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul. As aliens, strangers, and pilgrims on earth, their real citizenship is in heaven (1 Pet. 1:1, 17; 2:10-11; Phil. 3:20; 1 Pet. 1:4).
The classic passage which describes the concept of the pilgrimage of the people of God throughout history is Heb. 11:8-16. The patriarchs and those who followed were considered strangers and pilgrims on earth. They were moving towards their permanent home with the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb (Rev. 21:22-26).
This call to the life of a pilgrim, not unlike that of Abraham, is the same for all believers. We are
PITY, PITIFUL—PLEASURE
403
called from what we are to what we can become in Christ Jesus. We look forward to the eschatological kingdom of God coming in all its glory (1 John 3:1-3).
The Christian is a pilgrim of eternity; a traveller on the way, never wearily giving up the journey, but living in hope and dying in expectation. For this reason alone God is not ashamed to be called his God. He lives as one who is looking beyond the visible and tangible, and through the eye of faith, sees the coming kingdom of God.
Living in the world as a stranger and pilgrim does not mean that the Christian despises the world. Being a member of any community implies responsibility. However, the Christian keeps himself unspotted from the world by nonconformity to its standards. A pilgrim lives by the law of the kingdom of God (Rom. 12:1-2; John 17:12). The world is his stage towards his permanent home, not his goal.
See LIFE-STYLE, WORLD (WORLDLINESS), HEAVEN, VALUES, HOPE.
For Further Reading: Barclay, New Testament Words,
142-50; BBC 10:142-46; Wiley, The Epistle to the He-
brews, 366-70. Isaac Baldeo
PITY, PITIFUL. See compassion.
PLATONISM. This refers to the kind of philosophy taught by the great Athenian thinker, Plato, who lived 427-347 b.c.
Unlike the Greek philosophers from Thales onwards, who had been materialists of various sorts, Plato was the first distinguished idealist. The earlier men had believed that such material elements as water, or earth, or air, or fire, or combinations of them, are what ultimate reality is composed of. In distinction from them, Plato taught that materialities of that sort have only shadowy and not-really-real existence. What is real, metaphysically real, for Plato, is ideas, or concepts—the most significant of these concepts being the true, the beautiful, and the good (with the "good" as the very highest).
It is this kind of metaphysics that was in vogue when Christianity was being birthed. Actually, it was in vogue for many centuries in the East and in the West, but much more especially in the East.
Some early Christians such as Justin Martyr, who flourished at around the middle of the second century of the Christian era, had been professional philosophers, of the Platonic sort, before becoming Christians-—and they carried that kind of understanding over into their theologizing as Christians. This was not altogether unfortunate, for metaphysical idealism is much more congenial to Christian faith than metaphysical materialism is—for materialism does not even admit the existence of God.
However, Platonism was so extreme that it tended to deprecate materiality in a wide-scoped way. Insofar as materiality has any existence at all, it was conceived of as evil per se, and not as the creation of God.
This extreme antiphysicalism tended, therefore, to depreciate the biblical doctrine that God created the world—some, Gnostic-inclined as well as Platonic, saying that an evil God, the Demiurge, had created matter. The human body was also deprecated because it partakes of materiality—as Origen (185-254) and others taught. If Platonism was not in agreement with the plain teaching of Scripture (as it is not, on the body, and on sexuality expressed in marriage), the Platonic Christians such as Origen viewed Scripture as having a hidden, allegorical meaning; and they taught that that meaning is in agreement with Platonism's idealism.
While it was customary for OT prophets (such as Isaiah, Hosea, and Ezekiel) to be married, and while NT figures such as the apostle Peter were, it was Platonism, with its deprecating of phys-icality, that occasioned the refraining from marriage in the hermits—and later among the monks, nuns, and priests of Catholicism.
Biblical teaching, with its doctrine of creation, of incarnation, of the sacraments (with their material elements), of marriage, and of the resurrection of the body (Platonism had taught that only the soul will survive death), locates somewhere between the materialism of the pre-Platonic philosophers, and Platonism.
See METAPHYSICS, THOMISM, REALISM AND NOMINALISM, REALISM, REALISM IN THEOLOGY NEOPLATONISM.
Share with your friends: |