How a Group of Theologians Risked Everything to Defend Their Faith

Today, May 31, marks the 90th anniversary of a great act of simple courage. On this day in 1934, a group of theologians published the results of a conference known to history as The Barmen Declaration. The ideas articulated and claimed in the document were not theologically innovative or remarkable. However, the time and place in which it was crafted made the Barmen Declaration historic and significant.  

The gathering of ministers and theologians from Lutheran, Reformed, and other Protestant traditions, was called in response to the growing danger of Adolf Hitler. Most German Protestant Groups had simply submitted to the Nazi oversight after their rise to power in 1933. These so-called “German Christians,” having compromised with the racist, eugenicist, and totalitarian regime, were left alone to practice their faith. The group that gathered in Barmen, however—which included theologians Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin Niemöller, and Karl Barth—had founded the dissident Confessing Church, as well as underground seminaries. 

Their statement was centered on the identity of Christ and the implications for the Christian:  

• Jesus Christ, as testified in Scripture, is the Word of God. He is God’s revelation and the [C]hurch’s authority.  
• Jesus Christ forgives our sins and claims our entire lives.  
• Jesus Christ acts in the Church through the Holy Spirit by means of the Word and the Sacraments.  
• Offices in the Church are not a matter of power and rule over others; rather, they carry out the ministry of the whole congregation.  
• God has established the state to provide justice and peace, and the Church to bring people into His eternal kingdom.  
• The Church’s mission is to deliver the message of the free grace of God to all people.    

Saying this much took courage. These pastors faced a system that demanded obedience by every individual and subordination by every church. These men refused, and many paid for this defiance with their freedom, their safety, and their lives.  

The Barmen Declaration was a promise to God, to the people of their churches, and to the great cloud of witnesses that nothing should ever overcome loyalty to Christ. Though they loved their culture and their nation, they could not swear fealty to anything before their faith.  

Chuck Colson was a great admirer of the Barmen Declaration and its authors. He saw this intentional rejection of evil as “an essential part of what it means to be the Church,” adding that, “Caesar, in all his guises, will urge us to compromise and tailor our message to meet his agenda.”  

Or, as he put it elsewhere,  

This message is as relevant today as it was in Bonhoeffer’s time. . .. Like Bonhoeffer and his colleagues, we must constantly remember where our ultimate allegiance lies. Many of the signers of the Barmen Declaration were sent to prison. Bonhoeffer himself was executed for acting on his beliefs. We, too, may face suffering for standing up—and speaking out—for truth. . . But the lesson of Bonhoeffer’s life and death is that God’s grace is never cheap. It demands from us everything—even our lives. Like Bonhoeffer, we may at times be called traitors by an earthly regime, but our true citizenship is in heaven.  

In a human sense, these men failed. The Barmen Declaration did not turn the tide against the evil ideology overwhelming their nation, nor did it succeed in calling back their fellow Christians to the true faith. However, in a deeper sense, the statement has become an incitement to courage to those who came after them, including to us.  

Our situation is not as dire as it was for these men, at least not yet. And, standing where we now do (which can be understood as contra mundum pro mundo, or “against the world for the sake of the world) it is not clear whether this is more of a Wilberforce moment or a Bonhoeffer moment. Either way our calling remains: to act in faith and in courage in this moment to which and for which God has called us, leaving the results up to him. 

This Breakpoint was co-authored by Dr. Timothy D. Padgett. For more resources to live like a Christian in this cultural moment, go to breakpoint.org. 

Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/shuang paul wang
Publish Date: May 31, 2024

John Stonestreet is President of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, and radio host of BreakPoint, a daily national radio program providing thought-provoking commentaries on current events and life issues from a biblical worldview. John holds degrees from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (IL) and Bryan College (TN), and is the co-author of Making Sense of Your World: A Biblical Worldview.

The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of CrosswalkHeadlines.

BreakPoint is a program of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. BreakPoint commentaries offer incisive content people can't find anywhere else; content that cuts through the fog of relativism and the news cycle with truth and compassion. Founded by Chuck Colson (1931 – 2012) in 1991 as a daily radio broadcast, BreakPoint provides a Christian perspective on today's news and trends. Today, you can get it in written and a variety of audio formats: on the web, the radio, or your favorite podcast app on the go.