Johann Blumhardt

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Johann Christoph Blumhardt (1805-1880) was a German Lutheran theologian and the father of Christoph Blumhardt. Today these individuals are often treated as one in thought.

He is best known for the exorcism of Gottliebin Dittus that took place in Mölttligen. Johann Blumhardt's life post-exorcism was characterized by revivals and healings of infirmities. In 1853 he purchased an asylum in Bad Boll to host the healing crusades performed by his family. In Bad Boll Johann would spend the rest of his life.

Johann Blumhardt is best known for his contribution in thought towards a kingdom-now/come theology and his view of the atonement as Christus Victor.

I found the following information very enlightening and encouraging from a website with sermons by Richard M. Riss from Middlesex Presbyterian Church, Middlesex, N.J.

The name of this sermon is called, “THE ACTS OF GOD IN HISTORY”, given Feb. 22, 1998.

source: http://www.grmi.org/Richard_Riss/sermons/0002.html

“One of the most remarkable modern-day stories of revival concerns Johann Christoph Blumhardt (1805-1880), who began pastoring a Lutheran church in Moetlingen, Germany in 1838. Within a few years, a young girl in his church named Gottlieben Dittus was diagnosed by physicians as ‘demon-possessed.’ She had what people said was a strange nervous disorder, and many psychic phenomena were taking place in her home. Everyone in her family and in the village seemed to knew about these things, and finally, one of the doctors came to Blumhardt and asked him, ‘Is there no pastor in this village who can pray? I can do nothing here.’

Blumhardt wanted to have absolutely nothing to do with this, but because of pressure from his congregation, he felt compelled to pray after this doctor confronted him. The resulting spiritual battle lasted two years, and during this time, Blumhardt was neglecting his pastoral work. He was becoming tense and exhausted, and people began to think that he was about ready to collapse, mentally and physically.

But then, something happened unexpectedly. Gottlieben's sister, who was in the room, gave a loud, long cry in a strange voice, ‘Jesus is Victor,’ and suddenly, this girl was delivered. On the very same day, many people in the village reported hearing the whirring of wings and cries of despair, ‘Into the abyss, into the abyss, woe oh woe, we must go into the abyss!’

These events transformed the whole village. There was a tremendous revival in which lives were transformed, broken marriages were restored, enemies were reconciled, and people began to experience physical healings.

Blumhardt was more surprised by this than anyone. Prior to this time, as a matter of course, he had been laying his hands upon various members of his Lutheran church for absolution. But suddenly, people were experiencing healings when he was doing this.

His preaching began to take on a new depth, and people started to come from all over Germany to hear him preach. He had to conduct five services every Sunday, and his little church was filled to capacity each time, with people standing outside up to a radius of up to an entire kilometer.

At one point, the German emperor himself came to find out what was going on in this little town.”