The Freedom of a Christian: Enevold Ewald’s Ordo Salutis under the microscope and macroscope

This dissertation investigates the theology and intellectual context of the Danish Pietist priest, Enevold Ewald (1696–1754), primarily focusing on his understanding of the ordo salutis (order of salvation). By employing a microhistorical analysis of Ewald’s texts—including his 1734 heresy trial transcripts—and situating them within the broader early modern macrosocial context, this study offers both a historical and theological re-examination of Danish Pietism. The central aim is to challenge the claim that Pietist faith is fundamentally irrational. The analysis is achieved by juxtaposing Ewald’s articulation of the ordo salutis and his subtle adherence to apokatastasis (universal salvation) with the theological and philosophical frameworks of influential German Lutheran contemporaries: Johann Franz Buddeus (1667-1729), Johann Georg Walch (1693-1775), and the universalist Ludwig Gerhard (c. 1680–1738). The research demonstrates that Ewald's ordo salutis consistently depicts an active, cooperative divine-human response, which is further illuminated by early modern discussions of grace, human nature, and philosophical freedom. Specifically, the study reveals that Pietist-affiliated theologians like Buddeus conceptualized grace as a healing of human nature, upholding notions of divine concurrence that allow for genuine moral improvement and human agency. The dissertation concludes that Ewald’s universalism, when understood through the lens of Gerhard’s treatise, Kurtzer Begriff des ewigen Evangelii von deren Wiederbringung aller Dinge, harmonizes well with his ordo salutis. The proposed framework portrays divine action not as a break with, but as a working through, human nature to heal it. This intellectually consistent and compelling picture of God’s constant salvific action and the human response effectively neutralizes concerns about the irrationality of Pietist faith. This work thus contributes to the history of Danish Pietism and re-examines the profound theological implications of apokatastasis for the Pietist narrative.