In Reclaiming
Pietism: Retrieving and Evangelical Tradition, Roger Olson and Christian
Collin Winn provide a succinct overview of the theological and spiritual
odyssey of Donald Bloesch http://www.amazon.com/Reclaiming-Pietism-Retrieving-Evangelical-Tradition/dp/0802869092. Specifically, they depicting something of the
relationship between his theology and his persisting quest for an intense
spirituality grounded in the pietistic legacy of his early years—a legacy that
remained a central touchstone throughout long and fruitful life (pp. 161-166). As Olson puts it in one of his blog postings:
“Bloesch’s approach to theology was basically pietistic with some neo-orthodox
flavoring put in” (“Recommendation of Donald G. Bloesch’s Theology,” http://www.patheos.com/blogs/rogereolson/2010/12/recommendation-of-donald-g-bloeschs-theology/). Given the substantial influence of Karl Barth
on Bloesch’s theology, the neo-orthodox influence on him may be more pronounced
than that. In any event, Olson and Winn aptly describe Bloesch as a “mediating”
theologian, in which he sought a centrist “via media, particularly between”
“fundamentalism and liberalism” (p. 161).
Working through such tensions in the quest for a comprehensive Christian
orthodox theology, drove Bloesch’s irenic vision, particularly in his most
expansive work, his seven volume Christian Foundations series https://www.ivpress.com/cgi-ivpress/author.pl/author_id=277.
The
tensions are reflected in the relationship in Bloesch’s theological formation between—as
someone nurtured in the pietistic tradition—the liberal Chicago Theological Seminary
he attended as a graduate student (where he encountered the neo-orthodoxy of
Barth, Tillich and Reinhoold Niebuhr, as well as professors who embraced the
early roots of what became known as “process theology”) and the more
theologically conservative “Presbyterian-related University of Dubuque Seminary
in Iowa” (p. 162) where he taught during most of his career. This tension was
also reflected in his membership in the United Church of Christ (UCC) (a leading
candidate for the most liberal Christian
denomination in the U.S.) and his founding role in the Biblical Witness
Fellowship, a conservative confessing movement within the UCC sharply opposed
to the denomination’s leadership liberal leanings.
As
someone rooted in the pietism of “Spener, Francke, Zinzendorf, and Christoph
Blumhardt” (cited in Olson’s blog), it would be instructive learn what drew
Bloesch to Chicago and to the UCC, notwithstanding his rejection of their more
liberalizing tendencies in biblical interpretation, theology, and ethics. Such
knowledge may remain elusive until a full scale biography of Bloesch is
written. Perhaps there was some intellectual gap in his pietistic upbringing
propelled by an intrinsic curiosity that drew him to a broader range of
theological insights and issues that could only open up by moving outside the
horizons of the pietistic heritage.
What
one can reasonably conclude is that Bloesch’s extensive engagement with
neo-orthodoxy and theological liberalism played a formative role in his understanding
of some of the most fundamental issues that have shaped the contours of
twentieth century European and U.S. theology.
When combined with the pulsating power of the pietistic impulse that reverberated
through his being through the entirety of his life, once can reasonably surmise
that such engagement provided a source of motivation and a set of resources to
take on the hard work of developing what ultimately became his mediating
theology in the critical areas of Scripture, Christ, God, the Church, the Holy
Spirit and eschatology, as depicted in the various volumes of his Christian
Foundations series.
A
thorough discussion of the relationship between Bloesch’s theology and his
pietism would take a good deal of work well beyond what can be explored here. One can gain a sense of it in two of his
central volumes: A Theology of Word and
Spirit: Authority and Method in Theology and God the Almighty: Power, Wisdom Holiness, Love. Consider a defining passage in the first
volume:
We believe the
gospel because the Spirit seals the truth of the gospel in our hearts, and the
truth is self-authenticating. The church helps us understand this truth in the
context of the fellowship of love, but it is not the source or origin of this
truth (p. 188).
In
the second text, Bloesch identifies “God’s love and holiness as constitute[ing]
the inner nature of God.” Bloesch
continues this meditation on the quintessential nature of God in the following
manner:
These two
perfections coalesce in such a way that we may speak of the holy love of
God…and of his merciful holiness. In the
depth of God’s love is revealed the beauty of his holiness. In the glory of his holiness is revealed the
depth of his love. The apex of God’s
holiness is his love. The apex of God’s love is the beauty of his
holiness. God’s love transcends his
holiness even while he infuses and upholds it.
His holiness is adorned and crowned by the magnitude of his love” (God the Almighty, p. 141).
I had some knowledge of the spiritual depth
underlying Bloesch’s theology, as reflected in these passages, even, as in my
research, I have concentrated on the latter aspect of his work. Olson and Winn have presented a persuasive
overview of the formative pietistic
influences on the totality of Bloesch’s Christian formation. Given Bloesch’s quest to give shape to a
vital centrist theology that is both irenic and mediating, a deeper
appreciation of the pietistic impulse underlying his project could provide an
important resource to better understand the range and depth of his formal
theological studies. An in-depth probing into some of the specific ways in which Bloesch’s spiritual quest and theological
reflections intersect could contribute much toward a deepening Christian world
view that is theologically comprehensive and spiritually quite rich. Clearly, that work remains to be done.
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