The Barmen Theological Confession (1934)

Understanding the Confessions The Theological Declaration of Barmen The Theological Declaration of Barmen Barmen’s Uniqueness 䡧 It is a declaration about a specific issue that stands to unite the church against a moral heresy. 䡧 It purposefully avoided being a confession in order to unite disparate confessional traditions. 䡧 Barmen adds no new doctrine to the Reformed tradition 䡧 It declares a perspective of supreme importance on the relationship of the church to: ▪ the Word of God, ▪ the state in a time of crisis. Historical Context –Germany, 1933-34 䡧 A growing nationalism based in ideology of Volk, and blood and soil, led to a zealous religious movement to unite and revitalize German churches 䡧 “German Christians” succumbed to the temptation to use Jesus Christ to justify the world as the world. 䡧 “German Christians,” called for the purity of their race as part of God’s established natural orders. 䡧 Hitler became chancellor of Germany and used his power to unify the German churches under the power of “German Christians” 䡧 The Nazi party produced the Aryan Paragraph, forcing all Jews from