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25867210 Lewis JW.Pdf The Confessing Church's Response to the Holocaust from a Theological Christian-Ethical Perspective JW Lewis orcid.org/0000-0003-1111-3109 Thesis accepted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Church and Dogma History at the North-West University Promoter: Dr Vitali Petrenko Co-Promoter: Prof JM Vorster Graduation: May 2020 Student number: 25867210 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I am indebted to my two promoters, Dr Vitale Petrenko and Professor JM Vorster for their support and guidance throughout the process of researching and writing this thesis. I am especially grateful for the direction they provided early on in structuring the research proposal – the guidance that they provided during this critical stage of the project was invaluable. Secondly, I want to express my appreciation to North-West University and The Greenwich School of Theology for their interest in the subject matter, and for making this venture possible. I am especially grateful to Peg Evans and Tienie Buys for helping me to stay on track with the procedural details, and to Dr Ester Petrenko for her assistance in formatting the document. In addition, I am grateful to my Doctor of Ministry Supervisor Dr Kevin King for his encouragement to continue my studies in theology, ethics, and Christian history and to analyse their relationship with Christian apologetics. I also wish to acknowledge the resources that were made available through the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. The selection of related works that was available to me and the valuable insights of Dr Victoria J. Barnett were greatly appreciated. As well, I am indebted to Dr Mark Thompson, for his advice, wise counsel, and, especially his patience during our numerous telephone conversations and meetings. I’m also appreciative of Dr Jerry Sutton’s and Dr Charley Davidson’s encouragement to pursue the research to be undertaken. I am especially indebted to Dr Irving Hexham for his advice and counsel, and for his opportune introduction to the North-West University and The Greenwich School of Theology. Certainly, I am grateful to my family (Angie, Hannah and Caleigh Lewis) for their patience and support of this project, and for their ongoing encouragement to bring it to completion. i Note to the Text: I have used the Harvard Exeter Style for citations in the body of the thesis as well in other citation. The sources cited are listed as a bibliography, rather than as a list of references. Although the vast majority of sources have been cited either in the body of the thesis or in the, some twelve or thirteen per cent of the sources listed have not been cited. They are listed, however, because they were either read in some form or therefore contributed substantially to the understanding of the subject matter. The bibliography, as formatted, conforms to North- West University’s prescribed method. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................................... ii CHAPTER ONE OVERVIEW ................................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Title ............................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Abstract ...................................................................................................... 1 1.3 Key words................................................................................................... 1 1.4 Introduction ................................................................................................. 1 1.5 Problem statement ..................................................................................... 3 1.6 Aims and objectives .................................................................................... 7 1.7 Central theological argument ...................................................................... 7 1.8 Methodology ............................................................................................... 8 CHAPTER TWO ETHICS OVERVIEW .................................................................................................................. 9 2.1 Overview of ethics…….……………………….…………………………………9 2.2 Major ethical categories……………………………………….……………….12 2.3 Ethical systems………….………………………………………………………13 2.4 Virtue-based ethics.............................................................................…….19 2.5 Christian ethics………………….………………………………….……...…….21 2.6 Ethics summary…………………………………………………….……………23 CHAPTER THREE A CHURCH DIVIDED ............................................................................................................... 13 3.1 A German Church divided.…………………………………………………….27 3.2 Overview .................................................................................................. 27 3.3 Nazi influence .......................................................................................... 31 3.4 German church's reaction ......................................................................... 36 3.5 Protestant churches…………………………………………………………….34 3.6 The Confessing Church split… ………………………………….…………….46 3.7 Summary. ………………… …………………………………………………….46 iii CHAPTER FOUR THE NUREMBERG LAWS ...................................................................................................... 48 4.1 Laws restricting the Jews .......................................................................... 48 4.2 The Enabling Act ...................................................................................... 48 4.3 The Aryan Paragraph ............................................................................... 49 4.4 The Nuremberg Laws ............................................................................... 53 4.5 Kristallnacht .............................................................................................. 56 4.6 Summary of Anti-Jewish Legislation ......................................................... 57 CHAPTER FIVE THE BARMEN DECLARATION ............................................................................................... 58 5.1 The Theological Declaration of Barmen .................................................... 58 5.2 The Confessing Church at Barmen ........................................................... 60 5.3 The Declaration of Barmen ....................................................................... 64 5.4 Implications of the Barmen Declaration. ………….………………………….66 5.5 Implications for the Confessing Church……………………………...……….70 CHAPTER SIX THE STUTTGART CONFESSION OF GUILT .......................................................................... 72 6.1 The Stuttgart Confession .......................................................................... 72 6.2 Confessions of Guilt ................................................................................. 72 6.3 The Declaration of Guilt ............................................................................ 76 6.4 The Confession's Influence ....................................................................... 79 6.5 Pressure to respond ................................................................................. 82 6.6 The Response .......................................................................................... 83 CHAPTER SEVEN A THEOLOGICAL ACCOUNT OF THE CONFESSING CHURCH'S RESPONSE ................... 85 7.1 Theological influences of the Confessing Church ..................................... 85 7.2 The Two Kingdoms ................................................................................... 85 7.3 Imago Dei ................................................................................................. 97 7.4 Dialectical Theology ................................................................................. 98 7.5 The Knowability of God............................................................................. 99 iv 7.6 The Conscience ....................................................................................... 101 7.7 Anti-Semitism and racism in Germany.………………………………………105 7.8 Public Theology……………………………………………………………..….108 7.9 Drawing conclusions……………………………………………………..…….113 CHAPTER EIGHT IMPLICATIONS FROM THE CONFESSING CHURCH'S RESPONSE...………………………114 8.1 Implications from the Confessing Church's response .............................. 114 8.2 Never underestimate the importance of one ........................................... 114 8.3 The Church needs to focus on its Mission .............................................. 117 8.4 Integrate belief and action ...................................................................... 118 8.5 Respect the Jews' position in Salvation .................................................. 119 8.6 Place a high value on human.................................................................. 120 8.7 Reassert Christian values and morals in Politics………..…………………124 8.8 Open discussions on the public square……..………………………………128 8.9 A Synopsis of the Confessing Church.….…..………………………………129 Appendix……………………………………………………………………………………………….131 REFERENCE LIST: ............................................................................................................... 138 v CHAPTER 1 OVERVIEW 1.1 Title The Confessing Church's Response to the Holocaust from a Theological Christian-Ethical Perspective 1.2 Abstract When is a Christian justified in assertive resistance against
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