Week 4: The Confessing Church and the Battle for the Soul of German Christianity

1.The Confessing Church emerged in part from the Bethel Confession and eventually produced the Barmen Declaration (1934), drafted largely by Karl Barth. What were the core theological claims of the Barmen Declaration, and why does Metaxas regard it as such a significant document? What did it confess, and what did it reject?

2.Metaxas describes the controversy over the Reich Bishop election, in which the Nazis manipulated church processes to install Ludwig Müller over the candidate the church actually preferred, Friedrich von Bodelschwingh. This moment revealed that the state intended to control the church from within. What does the church's vulnerability to this kind of manipulation reveal about the dangers of institutional entanglement with state power?

3.Bonhoeffer made the controversial claim — drawing on an ancient dictum — that 'he who knowingly separates himself from the Confessing Church separates himself from salvation.' This statement shocked even his allies. What did he mean by it, and do you think he was right? Is there a way to hold a high view of the visible church without becoming sectarian?