Revisiting the Manhattan Declaration n The Minister’s Toolbox Spring 2011 Dietrich Bonhoeffer Confessing Christ in Nazi Germany Table of Contents FROM THE DEAN EDITORIAL TEAM A Tale of Two Declarations Dean Timothy George 2 HISTORY Director of External Relations Tal Prince (M.Div. ’01) A Spoke in the Wheel Confessing Christ in Nazi Germany Editor 4 Betsy Childs CULTURE Costly Grace and Christian Designer Witness Jesse Palmer 12 TheVeryIdea.com Revisiting the Manhattan Declaration Photography Sheri Herum Chase Kuhn MINISTRY Rebecca Long Caroline Summers The Minister’s Toolbox 16 Why Ministers Buy Books For details on the cover image, please see page 4. COMMUNITY Beeson was created using Adobe InDesign CS4, Adobe PhotoShop CS4, CorelDraw X4, Beeson Portrait Microsoft Word 2007, and Bitstream typefaces Paula Davis Modern 20 and AlineaSans.AlineaSerif. 20 ...at this critical moment in our life together, we Community News Revisiting the Manhattan Declaration find it important to stand together in a common struggle, to practice what I Beeson Alumni once called “an ecumenism of the trenches.” Beeson Divinity School Carolyn McKinstry Tells Her Story Samford University 800 Lakeshore Drive Dean Timothy George Birmingham, AL 35229 MINISTRY (205) 726-2991 www.beesondivinity.com Every Person a Pastor ©2011-2012 Beeson Divinity School 28 eeson is affiliated with the National Association of Evangelicals and is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States Band Canada. Samford University is an Equal Opportunity Institution that complies with applicable law prohibiting discrimination in its educational and employment ROW 1; A Tale of Two Declarations 2; A Spoke in the Wheel 4; policies and does not unlawfully discriminate on the Costly Grace and Christian Witness 12; ROW 2;The Minister’s Toolbox 16; basis of race, color, sex, age, disability, or national or ethnic origin. Beeson Portrait 20; Community News 22; Alumni News 24. of Jesus in John 14:6, an of religious opinion. Both are 5 From the Dean assertion that demands a movements of the Spirit and decision: “I am the Way, calls to commitment. Stefanie the Truth and the Life. No von Mackensen, the only woman one comes to the Father delegate at Barmen, later said except through me.” that she had felt the presence of A Tale of Two Declarations Second, neither the Holy Spirit sweep the room Barmen nor Manhattan when the Barmen Declaration are “political” statements was unanimously adopted and in the sense of being tied the congregation rose and sang to a particular political spontaneously, “Now Thank We By Timothy George party or ideology. The All Our God.” Both Barmen and Courtesy of Manhattan Declaration Manhattan of Courtesy MD has been signed by Manhattan recognize “the cost of Democrats, Republicans, discipleship.” Both call for the kind onhoeffer faced a church everyone who had eyes to see. Manhattan Declaration (MD), Chuck Colson speaks at the and Independents alike. Some say of conscientious courage that dares that had bowed its knee to The Barmen Declaration set a recent statement of Christian Manhattan Declaration press today that the church should take to count the cost of following Jesus the reigning culture, but we forth in six clearly written articles conscience affirming the sanctity conference on Nov. 20, 2009. a sabbatical from speaking to the Christ along the way that leads are facing that today as well. the meaning of Christian faith and of human life from conception Barmen was deleted in the final culture at large. Hitler himself finally to the cross. The situation that compelled life based on the Holy Scriptures to natural death, the dignity of form of the MD for several good was happy (at least for a while) Pastor Steven Grund, the main BBonhoeffer and the other Confessing and the great confessions of the marriage as a lifelong covenantal reasons. First, the plight of the to leave the Christians alone so figure in John Maarten’s storyThe Church leaders to draft the Barmen sixteenth-century Reformation. It union between one man and one church in North America today, long as they stayed within the four Village on the Hill, wrote from his Declaration in the 1930’s is not so rejected the totalitarian claims of woman, and religious freedom for serious as it is, is not analogous to walls of their church buildings prison cell: “If the church sleeps terribly different from the current the state and called the German all persons. The MD was drafted the repression Jews, Christians and and refrained from “meddling” in and her witness is silent, then she situation that has compelled Christian church back to the central by Chuck Colson, Robert George, many others experienced in Hitler’s matters related to public policy will not be attacked and may live leaders to draft the Manhattan truths of the Gospel. It did so by and me and released in November, Germany. Second, the Barmen and the common life of the in comfort, but she betrays her Declaration. announcing in its first article that 2009. Within one year of its Declaration was written and signed German people. But both Barmen Lord. But when the church awakes —Eric Metaxas “Jesus Christ, as he has attested release, the MD had garnered the for us in the Holy Scripture, is the signatures of some half-million by only Protestant (Lutheran and Manhattan refuse to say that and speaks, then come storms and and Reformed) Christians, there are areas of life which do not sorrow and the cross, but the Lord It was a bright, sunny day on one Word of God which we have Christian believers. You can find whereas the MD includes Roman belong to Jesus Christ. Both affirm May 31, 1934, not a cloud in the to hear and which we have to trust out more about the Manhattan is near.” 5 Catholic, evangelical Protestant the sovereignty of God and the sky, when 139 delegates from and obey in life and in death.” Declaration on its website: and Eastern Orthodox voices. lordship of Jesus Christ. The presentations on Barmen will Protestant churches throughout During the spring semester of www.manhattandeclaration.org. None of us is interested in an Finally, both Barmen and be posted at www.beesondivinity.com. Germany came together in the 2011, the community of Beeson It needs to be said that these easygoing ecumenism that blurs Manhattan are more than mere There you can also subscribe to the town of Barmen and issued the Divinity School is studying the three issues are not the only the theological convictions we hold statements of academic discourse. Beeson Podcast with weekly postings Theological Declaration of the First Barmen Declaration and asking matters of pressing moral concern dear. But at this critical moment They are not mere declarations of sermons, lectures, and interviews. Confessional Synod of the German what it can mean for us today. “To in our culture today. Many issues in our life together, we find it Evangelical Church. Though the the Winds Thy Fears,” from a hymn call for Christian engagement. important to stand together in a weather was beautiful that day, the text by Paul Gerhardt (translated Care of creation, racial injustice, common struggle, to practice what storm clouds of a gathering crisis by John Wesley), is the theme of the proliferation of violence, the I once called “an ecumenism of the were evident to believing Christians our community worship services spread of HIV-AIDS, the blight of trenches.” in the Third Reich. The Barmen this spring. Each week in Hodges poverty and hunger around the Still, Metaxas is right to discern Declaration nowhere mentioned Chapel, we will listen to sermons world, and many others are all an underlying similarity between Hitler or the Nazis by name, but on the significance of the Barmen areas of concern. But life, marriage the statements of 1934 and 2009. the issues which gave rise to this Declaration today. We shall also and freedom are threshold issues First, both Barmen and the confession of faith were known to sing some of the great hymns of on which so much else depends. If Luther and Gerhardt and listen Christians cannot stand together MD appeal to the authority of Holy to the music of the on the sanctity of life, the dignity Scripture. Each offers quotations Reformation that so of marriage, and religious freedom from the Bible as the theological inspired Bonhoeffer and for all, then how can we act with basis of its statements. Each other believers in the any moral earnestness on a host of recognizes that the Christian Confessing Church. other concerns that press upon us? faith can be, and often has been, One of the speakers The Manhattan Declaration distorted by accommodation to in our series will be Eric was written on the seventy- the “prevailing ideological and Metaxas, a biographer fifth anniversary of the Barmen political convictions” of the day. of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Declaration. The early drafts of the Thus, it is not surprising that He, among others, has MD did cite the Barmen statement both Barmen and Manhattan compared the Barmen as a precedent that inspired our have been controversial. Each Declaration to the concern. But the reference to document subscribes the claim ►Timothy George is founding Dean Gemarker Kirche, site of the Synod of Barmen of Beeson Divinity School BEESON | SPRING 2011 m Page 3 Nazi racial laws and the Führer about human identity and He addressed the issue of 5 History Principle. They thought that by community. Across Europe and the church’s attitude toward wedding the church to the state, the world, there had often been the state and created common they would restore the church strong taboos against mixing races ground with his skeptical readers and Germany to her former glory, and ethnicities.