a mostly german debate on conversion and salvation it only took a few decades before the only truly effective cure was implemented: such criminals, mostly murderers, were not executed and eventually most were judged insane. Both these crimes and the legislative reactions also demonstrate how the church, pastoral care, and liturgy could be considered as a problem. Even though rituals were needed, in a demanding situation they could become a nuisance if their message was perceived to threaten the all-important messages of vengeance or deterrence of the execution. Another issue was the character of the conversion, should the conversion basically be joyful, or should its dominating feeling be remorse, or even shame? The major controversy, however, turned on the very essence of the conversion. Traditionally, St Dismas, the repentant criminal at Golgotha was depicted as the prime example that it is never too late. One can always turn to Jesus and be saved. A neological theology did not see it that way. That specific criminal must have had contacts with Jesus or his disciples for a much longer time, and anyway, Jesus and nobody else did miracles. For the theology of the Enlightenment, conversion was primarily about a real and fundamental moral change in the individual, which takes time. The extremists could not see it happen that a condemned could be saved, there was not enough time. At the site of the execution time was already up for any real change, emotional change was seen as neither sufficient nor realistic and any form of sacramental or theologically objective perspective was totally off the map. Therefore, no priest was needed there. While there were many differences between a theology somewhere on the orthodox-pietistic track and a theology, even a philosophy, influenced by the Enlightenment there was nevertheless significant consensus on a vital point, one where Pietism and Neology reached almost the same conclusion. Confidence and trust in God and in his providence for the salvation of the individual is often strangely weakly put. The soteriological question, the most important question for many, ’how am I to be saved’, tends to be answered in a substantial part by looking in a mirror, at yourself. The theologies diverge here, are we to check for the quality of the individual’s faith and the closeness to God in spiritual life or are 218
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