Erik Pontoppidan was part of Danish-Norwegian state pietism, but eventually became a transitional figure to the Enlightenment. He was a very prolific writer and published a number of theological and ecclesiastical writings and significant works on language, history, topography and economics. His catechism explanation, which was introduced as a textbook in the confirmation teaching and other ecclesiastical teaching, was of great importance, especially in Norway.
Erik lost both parents before he was 10 years old. As an adult, he looked back at his childhood home, he gratefully recalled his mother’s scriptures, prayers, living rules, and exhortations. After his parents’ death, he was cared for by various relatives and had a changeable upbringing. Eventually he lived with his half-brother and buddy Henrik Ludvigsen Pontoppidan in Fredericia. There in 1716 he was discharged from the Latin school to study at the University of Copenhagen.
The study period fell short, primarily because of the economy. He was a work man and took a philosophical exam in 1717, theological certificate in 1718 and the baccalaureus test shortly afterwards. For Pontoppidan, theology study had more to do with his head than with the heart. So far, he had had no religious experience of his own, and he later said about this time that he lacked a personal relationship with Christianity.
After graduating, Pontoppidan spent some time with friends and family in Jutland, and he traveled to Germany. In 1719 he came to Norway as a home teacher with Lieutenant General Barthold Heinrich von Lützow in Christiania. After a year there, he became a travel companion for Claus Huitfeldt (son of Iver Huitfeldt) to Holland, where he received strong impressions from Reformed theology and church life. The journey continued to Great Britain, where he gained some knowledge of English church and spiritual life. When he had high hopes for a priestly position on Funen, he interrupted his journey in 1721. He did not get the position, instead he became a house teacher with Frederik Carl von Carlstein (the later Duke of Plön) on Als 1721-23.
At this time, Pontoppidan came into contact with German Pietism, which he experienced as a reform movement. He was gripped by the concern for the individual’s personal relationship with God. In 1723 he became a deacon and court preacher with Frederik Carl in Nordborg on Als and was then clearly influenced by Pietism. Although he cannot be said to have had any experience of repentance, his preaching was geared toward revival and repentance. This led the parish priest Hans Casper Brandt to accuse the young chaplain of heresy. The dispute between the parish priest and the chaplain reflected the clashes between orthodoxy and pietism. The Pietists downplayed the confessional differences and turned their attention to the individual’s relationship with Christ, while Brandt was more concerned with the doctrines of orthodoxy and pure doctrine. At the turn of the year 1726/27, Pontoppidan applied for the parish priesthood in Hagenbjerg and got it. Brandt, however, became provost, and the tension between them continued.
Shortly after Pontoppidan took office in Hagenbjerg, he published the book Heller Glaubens-Spiegel in welchem die Kennzeichen der Kinder Gottes vorgestellt werden, an edifying book with an emphasis on personal and living faith. Here the influence of mysticism, penance and German pietism is expressed. The book became widespread in Denmark / Norway after it was translated into Danish in 1740 and published under the title Troens Speyl. It is still coming out in new editions, in Norwegian as late as 2002. At this time Pontoppidan also began to publish topographical and church historical collections; Among the better known, Theatrum Daniæ veteris et modernæ.
Christian 6 favored pietism. Towards the end of 1734, Pontoppidan was appointed castle priest in Frederiksborg and parish priest in Hillerød-Herløv and took office at the beginning of 1735. Before the year was over, he was transferred to Copenhagen as court priest. When confirmation was introduced in 1736, Pontoppidan was commissioned to publish a catechism explanation. The book was published anonymously towards the end of 1737, publicly approved by Professor Christian Langemach Leth. The title was: Sandhed Til Gudfrygtighed (Truth Unto Godliness). It was introduced in both primary and lower secondary school and in catechism exercises in the church. It was clearly marked by Philip Jacob Spener’s Einfältige Erklärung from 1677 and, with its 759 questions and answers, constituted a compendium of the Lutheran doctrine in pietistic form. In 1771 it came in an abbreviated version, called Saxtorph’s “Udtog” (Excerpt).
While the catechism explanation in Denmark was somewhat controversial and was replaced by Balle’s textbook in the 1790s, it was in use in Norway for over 150 years, in some congregations and Lutheran-Pietist circles even longer. It is constantly coming in new editions (latest 1996). It was important to Hans Nielsen Hauge and Haugianism and left its mark on several of the revival movements in the 19th century. It also accompanied Norwegian emigrants to the United States and was translated into English. Next to the Bible, hardly any book in recent times has had a greater influence on Norwegian Christian life than Pontoppidan’s explanation.
In 1738, Pontoppidan was appointed extraordinary professor of theology at the University of Copenhagen. The following year he became a member of the commission for the revision of the Bible translation and in 1740 a member of the Missionary College and co-director of the Waisen House. At the king’s request, Pontoppidan anonymously published a supplement to Kingo’s hymn book under the name Den Nye Psalme-Bog (The New Psalm-Book). The Psalm-Book attracted little attention.
As a by-product of the work on Danish church history, Pontoppidan published a two-volume collection, Marmora Danica. It is a collection of inscriptions from tombstones, epitaphs and other monuments. At the same time, the three-volume work Gesta et vestigia Danorum extra Daniam, which deals with the merits of famous Danes abroad, came up throughout history. He also wrote a four-volume work on Danish church history, the Annales ecclesiæ Danicae diplomatici, and a travel novel, Menoza, which is about an Asian prince who traveled the world in search of Christians, “but found little of what he was looking for”. The book can be read as a defense of Lutheran-Pietist Christianity based on the Enlightenment philosophy.
Barely a year after Christian 6’s death in 1746, Pontoppidan was appointed bishop of Bergen, where he remained until 1754. According to Michael Neiiendam, it was “a forced relocation.” Pontoppidan immediately saw the need to expand the school and established a catechetical seminar intended for teachable peasant boys and a school at high school level, Seminarium Fridericianum. As a overseer, he visited the congregations, and annually he sent pastoral letters to his priests. The Pastoral Letters for 1749–52 were collected and published in 1753 under the title Opvækkelige Hyrde-Breve (Revival Pastor Letters). Here he gave the priests pastoral theological advice, characterized by a pietistic spirit.
On his many and long visitation trips, Pontoppidan collected information about Norwegian words and sayings. This resulted in the book Glossarium norvagicum. He was also interested in Norway’s natural history and topography, and in 1752–53 he published a two-volume work of a total of 800 pages under the title Det første Forsøg paa Norges Naturlige (The First Attempt at Norway’s Natural History). This was a groundbreaking work, illustrated with a number of pieces of landscapes and natural phenomena. Pontoppidan encouraged his priests to conduct topographical studies and write down what they saw and heard.
In 1754, Pontoppidan went to Copenhagen to defend himself against a number of untrue rumors, such as could be interpreted as meaning that he had had an extramarital affair with the daughter of Bergen’s mayor. He did not return to Bergen, but in 1755 was appointed vice-chancellor at the university, where he had time to continue his literary activities. Anonymously, he edited Danmarks og Norges oeconomiske Magazin (Denmark’s and Norway’s economic magazine), which was published in 8 volumes 1757–64. He also published a large topographical-statistical work on Denmark, Den Danske Atlas (The Danish Atlas), in three volumes. In the theological-ecclesiastical field he published several writings, i.a. a 740-page pastoral doctrine, Collegium pastorale practicum, which became widespread. Among his more edifying writings are the Sandheds Kraft (Power of Truth) and Tractat om Sielens Udødelighed (A Tract on the Immortality of the Soul).
Erik Pontoppidan was a transitional figure between pietism and the Enlightenment. Theologically, he remained a church pietist and a prominent representative of state pietism. In his theologically grounded view of man, especially in his apologetic writings, it gradually became apparent that he was influenced by the rational thinking of the Enlightenment. Through his significant works on language, history, topography and economics, he placed himself in the dawn of the Enlightenment. As a writer, Pontoppidan was first and foremost a collector.
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