Johann Christoph Blumhardt (1805-1880) was a pastoral counselor and theologian of hope. His theology and pastoral approach, shaped as they were by the awakening in his congregation and numerous incidents of faith healing, provoked earnest and lively debate, and the controversy continues today. Ising's work mines the original sources, the product of an interaction with Blumhardt's life and work that goes back many years. He has drawn a portrait that explores the shadows as well as its bright side. Readers are invited to enter fully into the nineteenth century, Blumhardt's century, yet are constantly reminded that the problems of that day have lost none of their currency within the altered mental horizons of today.

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.

IN THIS INNOVATIVE WORK, Christian T. Collins Winn examines the role played by the Pietist pastors Johann Christoph Blumhardt (1805-1880) and Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt (1842-1919) in the development of Karl Barth's theology. The disparate theological themes and dynamics of the two Blumhardts were crystallized in their eschatology, and Collins Winn argues that as early as 1916 Barth had appropriated this "Blumhardtian eschatological deposit" in ways fundamental to his own theological development. Against the grain of current Barth scholarship, this book establishes how the theology of the Blumhardts, though critically reconstructed, was not merely an episodic influence on Barth's work. Instead, the Blumhardts had a complex and enduring impact on Barth, such that their imprint can be detected even in the mature theology of his Church Dogmatics. In treading new ground into Barth's theological formation, Jesus Is Victor! represents an important contribution to the field of Barth studies.

Though relatively unknown in America, Johann Christoph Blumhardt (1805-1880) is widely recognized in his native Germany, in part because of Friedrich Zündel's landmark biography. 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. Zündel'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.

Some two hundred selections give evidence of a lifetime of intensive and fruitful struggle with the great issues of faith: redemption, the kingdom of God, revelation, pacifism, and the suffering of humanity.

Originally published under title: Thy will be done: sickness, faith, and the God who heals: Rifton, NY: Plough Pub. House, c2011.

When a young Lutheran pastor named Johann Christoph Blumhardt (1805-1880) interceded for a tormented woman in his village, he got more than he reckoned for. "We've seen enough of what the Devil can do", he told her. "Now let us see what God can do". But would one man's simple faith hold out against the onslaught of occult forces that began to reveal themselves? Two years later the enemy, defeated, howled, "Jesus is the victor!" and fled. Nothing would ever be the same in Mottlingen, Blumhardt's rural parish in the Black Forest. The palpable nearness of God -- and the reality of the great cosmic battle between good and evil -- was in many ways reminiscent of apostolic times. Sick and disabled people were healed, mental illness vanished, and stolen goods were returned. Murders were even solved, and broken marriages restored. Marked by the transformation of lives and relationships, yet devoid of exaggerated emotionalism and religiosity, the revival spread like a quiet tide, beyond the Black Forest, throughout Germany, and even farther, despite the efforts of a cynical press and Blumhardt's nervous ecclesiastical superiors. To those who despair over the spiritual poverty of contemporary Christianity, this book offers quiet but bold assurance that God can work as powerfully in our time as he did in his.

Before she was baptized or knew anything about Christ, young Nenilava was called by Jesus to preach and exorcise in his name. At the age of twenty, newly married to a Lutheran catechist, she heard Jesus prompting her to intervene in a case of demon possession, and from there her ministry spread like wildfire. She spent the next sixty years of her life traveling around her native Madagascar, proclaiming Jesus’ victory over sin, guilt, and evil, and bringing countless people to faith. In this book, her firsthand account of her early ministry, as told to a Malagasy pastor, appears for the first time in English. Complementing the immediacy of her narrative, former missionary in Madagascar, James B. Vigen, recounts the last thirty years of Nenilava’s life and describes the extraordinary impact of this illiterate peasant woman on African Christianity. Sarah Hinlicky Wilson concludes the book with a far-reaching exploration of demon possession, healing from illness and sin, emergent offices of ministry, and the relevance of Nenilava for Western Christianity.

No doubt, it is common to hear Christians today declaring their allegiance to God's kingdom. But what does this actually entail, and what difference does it make? In his characteristically provocative and daring way, Christoph Blumhardt articulates a vision of God's kingdom that turns much of our understanding of modern Christianity upside-down. In the present volume, available in English for the first time, Blumhardt leads readers to look at the gospel anew, challenging us to follow Jesus in a way that makes God's reign a reality, here and now. Bypassing vague notions of spirituality, as well as transcending simplistic approaches to faith, Blumhardt inspires us to actually live under the rule and reign of God.

Cries from the Heart offers an honest look into the lives of real men and women whose adversities were overcome through turning and listening to God, even if their problems worked out in the way they least expected. Ranging from the unusual to the ordinary, these stories may challenge you, but they'll comfort you as well, by reminding you that you're never truly alone, and that even the worst anguish can be overcome by the healing power of inner peace.