When the Time Was Fulfilled

Eberhard Arnold (1883-1935) studied theology, philosophy, and education and was widely sought as a speaker at student conferences and other gatherings. In 1920, leaving a promising career as a writer and the privileges of upper-middle- class life in Berlin, he moved with his wife and children to Sannerz, a small village in central Germany, where they founded a Christian community on the basis of the Sermon on the Mount. Pastor, politician, and author, Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt (1842-1919) with his unconventional ideas about the kingdom of God, profoundly influenced a whole generation of European seekers. Among the luminaries he influenced were Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Emil Brunner, Oscar Cullman, and Karl Barth. Yet his vision and witness are still waiting to be discovered by most Americans, few of whom have had access to his works. He carried forward the work of his father, Johann Christoph Blumhardt (1805-1880), who is regarded by many as the key figure of German pietism.