Description: Though relatively unknown in America, Johann Christoph Blumhardt (1805-1880) is widely recognized in his native Germany, in part because of Friedrich Zundel's landmark biography, now available in English for the first time. The terrifying battle between the spiritual forces of good and evil described here, and the awakening that followed, catapulted Blumhardt's parish into the public eye and still draws seekers to it. Zundel's account is fascinating on a historical level, but it is also infused with enduring pastoral insights and spiritual wisdom. Here is an almost unbelievable account of one person's faith in the inbreaking of God's kingdom and its victory over powers that bind and divide humanity. Endorsements: ""Still relevant for our time, Christoph Blumhardt was and is my spiritual father. I am extremely pleased that this series is coming to fruition. I congratulate the editors."" --Jurgen Moltmann ."" . . An impressive effort of considerable value."" --Bernard McGinn ""Today's church is dying for examples for what it means to be faithful. It is, therefore, a great and good thing that the collected works of the Blumhardts will now be made available. The Blumhardts not only saw what a faithful church might look like, they exemplified it in their wide-ranging writings and work. This series is a boon to the church."" --Stanly Hauerwas ""This project is an important venture . . . It is hard to imagine a more influential team upon Barth than the Blumhardts. They gave Barth a great vision of a lively, intruding God. . . Jesus is Victor "" --William Willimon ""In plain and profound language, and rooted in their pastoral experience, the Blumhardts wrote with startling, deep conviction about the kingdom's social as well as its personal reality. Their words are all the more pertinent for us today. The Blumhardt Series is a major event for the witness and work of the church in the twenty-first century."" --Rodney Clapp ""Karl Barth once noted that German systematic theology missed out on the Blumhardts in a sleepy daze. One can only wonder how much was lost, including the vibrant spirituality, the progressive politics, and the strong sense of the reality of the work of God for which these men were known. Once again we need to be awakened from our slumbers, and the Blumhardts could be catalysts in this process, reminding us that theology and the church must be squarely located in the pressures and struggles of this world."" --Joerg Rieger About the Contributor(s): Christian T. Collins Winn (PhD, Drew University) is Assistant Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at Bethel University, St. Paul, Minnesota, and a licensed minister in the American Baptist Church (USA). He is author of Jesus is Victor The Significance of the Blumhardts for the Theology of Karl Barth (Pickwick Publications, 2008). Charles E. Moore is a member of Church Communities International, an intentional community movement based on Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. He is an editor and author for Plough Publishing. His works include Provocations: Spiritual Writings of Kierkegaard, Action in Waiting: Sermons by Christoph Blumhardt, and Leo Tolstoy: Spiritual Writings."
