Blumhardt and the Exorcism of Gottliebin Dittus – 5
The Awakening
Blumhardt and his two year battle with hostile spiritual forces led to a spiritual awakening in his region…
The morning after the exorcism of the “angel of Satan” from Katharina, the valley of Mottlingen rang with the cries of “Into the Abyss! Into the Abyss!” This, coupled with many people in the area coming to Blumhardt for confession, left him slightly bewildered after this strange battle.
The Lutheran Church, a break away from the Roman Catholic Church, did not have confession within its theological sphere. Such was the insistence of the people wanting to confess to him, that Blumhardt broke with his tradition, hearing their confessions and granted them absolution [1]. He never pushed them to reveal their sins, but insisted upon the truth with what they chose to reveal. The parishioners, not familiar with confessing, asked him what they should say, to which he replied that they should say that which they’d rather not say.
To his utter amazement, confession and absolution had a profound spiritual effect, not just on the individuals, but on the general atmosphere and nature of the area from there on. As time went on, more and more people from neighbouring parishes were coming to him to confess their sins and receive absolution.
Such was the love shown amongst the people of the church, visitors were openly welcomed and pews shared – the congregations, made up of regular church people and others from inside and outside of the village were one in love for each other.
Suspicious Minds
Blumhardt and his battle of course aroused the suspicion of neighbouring ministers in his tradition, with claims that he’d become Roman Catholic. However, they couldn’t easily dismiss the spiritual transformation in the area, with people starting up Bible study groups of their own, under his guidance, and meeting daily for prayer. People were coming from all around to his church services, packing the place, even to the point where they were prepared to stand outside to try and listen to his preaching. It got to the stage that sometimes his entire congregation was made of strangers to the area.
The miraculous healings, which were a byproduct of his ministry, caused issues for the Church authorities, who forbade Blumhardt to have them as part of his pastoral office, and even having people from outside the village staying with anyone in the village (practically impossible and an overstepping of their powers) [2].
None of this was created through slick marketing programmes, the shipping in of celebrity speakers, or psychologically manipulative altar calls to repentance. Nor was Blumhardt one for pushing people to convert, especially if the person’s spiritual soil was shallow which produces short-lived enthusiastic Christians; in fact, he lamented heavily over such “conversions”, and commented that people should be more concerned about their following of Jesus, rather than others.
The stories and reports of the awakening, the many healings which took place which were testified to by physicians, as well as his battle with the Church authorities which brought about various restrictions upon him as a result are well worth reading in Zuendel (2015) and Krugel (1996).
Questions to Think Upon
Blumhardt and the battle in his parish involved not just freeing the living from torment, but also appeared to be ministering to spirits of the dead, themselves under torment from non-human agencies. In a rationalised, de-supernaturalised, Enlightenment-driven Western Christianity, can our modern theologies cope with this possibility? Or do we write his encounters off as, at best, purely the work of mental health issues, or at worst, engaging in spiritualistic practices (themselves anathema to sensible Christianity)? Can modern Christianity explore a theology of the dead, attempting to rediscover what the disciples and very early Church believed?
St Paul says:
‘For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.’
Ephesians 6:12 (NRSVA)
Are the fruit of Blumhardt and his battle love joy, peace, patience, kindness, joyfulness, faithfulness and self-control? Were they worth the risks he took?
Are we ignorant of, or do we prefer to ignore, the spiritual powers and principalities which may exhibit themselves in our countries, cities, towns and villages?
In an age where immanent revival is prophesied time and time again, for decade after decade, do we really understand that often, it is only followed by intense spiritual battles, both individually and within our communities? Are we prepared to put in the hard graft, put on the full armour of God in prayer, get out of the pew-trenches and step into the battlefield? And, having done that, to stand firm in the face of the onslaught which will ensue?
Have we flattened out our understanding of the spirit realm into merely one archangel and angels, whilst demonizing everything else that which we do not understand or doesn’t fit into our neat theological boxes?
Does our understanding of the Body of Christ only permit the living members to play a role, relegating the deceased to souls sleeping in the grave, awaiting the resurrection [3], instant time travel to the final judgement, or a mere memories in the hard drive of God’s mind – ready to be downloaded into new bodies at the resurrection (Fiddes)?
In an age where the paranormal is increasingly spoken about in our mainstream cultures, what could bringing in God’s kingdom of healing and wholeness to haunted places and persons look like? Is this too difficult to imagine, or is it forbidden territory for ‘any true follower of Jesus’?
Next Time – In the last part of this series, we look at some of the difficult questions which arise from Blumhardt’s encounters. As a trained pioneer, I understand that theology often plays catch-up to our practice in revealing the kingdom of God in people’s lives and the places we live. This often means brushing up against authorities which are risk averse, just like Blumhardt experienced.
Bibliography
Fiddes, P. (2014), Baptists and the Communion of Saints: A Theology of Covenanted Disciples, Tx: Baylor University Press.
Jacobs, H. E. (1915-1932), The Works of Martin Luther (6 Volumes), vol. 6, Philadelphia: Muhlenberg Press.
Kruger, G. (1996), ‘Johann Christopher Blumhardt (1805 – 1880) – A Man for the Kingdom’, Currents in Theological Missions, 23/6, pp. 427-441
Zuendel, F. (1999) The Awakening – One Man’s Battle with Darkness, Farmington, PA: The Plough Publishing House
Footnotes
[1] Kruger, 432-433.
[2] ibid, 434.
[3] “Christian Song Latin and German, for Use at Funerals,”, in Jacobs, 287-288.
“But we Christians … should train and accustom ourselves in faith to
despise death and regard it as a deep, strong, sweet sleep; to consider the
coffin as nothing other than our Lord Jesus’ bosom or Paradise, the grave
as nothing other than a soft couch of ease or rest. As verily, before God,
it truly is just this; for he testifies, John 11:21; Lazarus, our friend sleeps;
Matthew 9:24: The maiden is not dead, she sleeps. Thus, too, St. Paul in
1 Corinthians 15, removes from sight all hateful aspects of death as related
to our mortal body and brings forward nothing but charming and joyful
aspects of the promised life. He says there: It is sown in
corruption and will rise in incorruption; it is sown in dishonor (that is, a
hateful, shameful form) and will rise in glory; it is sown in weakness and
will rise in strength; it is sown in a natural body and will rise a spiritual
body.”
