worked for individual souls and neglected the institutions of society. With all their fervor and faith they never could become a leaven in the life of mankind. A study of Pietism would furnish much instruction for churches of a similar type in this country.
The "mediating theology" helped to supply the bond between the better elements of the Illumination and Pietism, between culture and piety, humanity and faith.
Dissenters from other countries only gradually gained a foothold, but parties and sects within the established church were numerous enough to prevent stagnation. Freethinkers of the rationalistic type were frequently in possession of ecclesiastical funds and buildings, and were not always liberal and tolerant in the exercise of their power. Mennonites, Moravians and other humble sects exercised local influence on limited groups. The Methodist movement extended its influence to Germany by means of books, tracts and men. The seaport cities and inland trading cities were in communication with England, and members of the "Evangelical" church were stirred by the new spirit of British revivalists and reformers. In later years the Germans assimilated the new elements but developed the ideas in their own way.
Specific labors of evangelization.—The social work of the church grew out of the spirit of evangelization. Johann August Urlsperger represents the transition from the old Pietism to the new movement in which culture, humanity and piety were united. He founded the "Christian Society" in 1780. Its purpose was to foster "pure doctrine and true godliness," and it began by assailing rationalism in the church. The founder was influenced by the English "Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge," and by the Swedish society "For Faith and Christianity." Among the specific tasks of the "Christian Society" fell the distribution of religious publications, assistance to scattered Protestants living in Roman Catholic districts, and the care of orphans and other dependent children. Branches were formed in Switzerland, England and America.
