True Christianity

Johann Arndt (or Arnd; December 27, 1555 - May 11, 1621) was a German Lutheran theologian who wrote several notable devotional Christian writings. Although he reflects the period of Lutheran Orthodoxy, he is regarded as a predecessor of Pietism, a Lutheran movement that gained momentum in the late 17th century. He grew up in Edderitz, near Ballenstedt, Anhalt-Köthen, and attended many universities. In 1576, he was in Helmstedt, and in 1577, he was at Wittenberg. The Crypto-Calvinist conflict was at its peak at the time, and he sided with Melanchthon and the Crypto-Calvinists. He pursued his studies in Strasbourg under the Hebrew professor, Johannes Pappus (1549-1610), a devout Lutheran whose life's work was the brutal suppression of Calvinistic preaching and worship at the time, and who wielded considerable power over him. He studied theology again in Basel, this time under Simon Sulzer (1508-1585), a broad-minded divine with Lutheran sympathies whose goal was to unite the churches of the Helvetic and Wittenberg confessions. He returned to Ballenstedt in 1581, but was quickly recalled to active life by his appointment to the pastorate at Badeborn in 1583.