Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site phs.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!mcnc!duke!phs!lisa From: lisa@phs.UUCP (Jeff Gillette) Newsgroups: net.religion Subject: Re: Higher Criticism and its Consequences Message-ID: <972@phs.UUCP> Date: Thu, 15-Nov-84 22:50:12 EST Article-I.D.: phs.972 Posted: Thu Nov 15 22:50:12 1984 Date-Received: Sat, 17-Nov-84 03:21:58 EST Organization: Duke Physiology Lines: 32 <> > The devastation to the Faith in the Protestant sector of Germany was > severe. Militarism and Anti- Semitism have long standing records in > Germany and the consequent devaluation of the Faith by the New Liberalism > took away one possible source of opposition to these twin evils. ... > Later on the infamous Hitler could spout his foolishness and > perpetrate his evil while very few Protestant leaders opposed him. I'm no expert on the history of World War II, but if memory serves me right, many of the theological leaders of the German Church signed the Barmen Declaration in May 1934. This statement, drafted by Karl Barth, rejected Nazism and called the church back to its Gospel of God's grace and love. Those who signed the Declaration (called the "Confessing Church") included Barth, Rudolf Bultmann, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer (I assume Bob would include the first two among the "higher critics" of this century). Most of the Confessing Church spoke out against Hitler as his diabolical plan unfolded, and at least Bonhoeffer (among others) wasted away in political prisons for their activity in the anti-Hitler resistance. I do not know if these "higher critics" would have signed their names to Bob's favorite statement of "fundamentals" or "biblical inspiration", but it seems to me that by confessing the true gospel of Christianity against Hitler and against his persecution of Jews and others, these men and women proved themselves Christians in the truest sense of the word. Jeff Gillette ...!duke!phs!lisa The Divinity School Duke University