Full Text for Reflections on a European Trip (Text)

PETER BRUNNER ~,IVIU P. SC.AER .\ Place For Humility RICHARD J. SCHULTZ HENRY J. EC:COLD Theological Refractions Reflections On A European Trip A I-I. Ill-:l'Ol:'IS OX trij's suffer from the sanic inherent ma lad^ that slitle sho\\ings (lo. 'The!- can be too long, escessivcl!~ boring: ;inti \\.li:lt is cxci ling for the reporter can just be some esccs.;ive regurgitation of \\-hat the listencr 11cartl tlic last tinie that someone llladcb ;i trip to I.:~rrolx~ ant1 sho\\-cd his sli(lcs. The ~nentalitv of EL1rolw;~~l t~*;~\clers is the s;inlc ils first-ti~ilc-aroulitl fathers who 'look up011 thcir offspring as \.irtu;lll\. uniclue in thc course of human histor!,. This rcl,ortcr co~~f(lsscs to all thcsc sins bcfore hand and to ;i ml~ltit~~clc' of i~nkno\\n ~IIC'S. AIore than anything else, hc rc;lli~es th;lt 111a!.bc* liis report bctrii!~ his o\vn attitudc rather than 1 lc ictl i1r1 I I. For this I-C~SO~, hi' calls it "Reflec- .. ,-. tions on ;I l:~irol~c';~~~ Trill I his, ho\vevCr, is thc curse of our human csistc'ii~~ \\.hicll casts ;I ],all on us all, including the render. To piit it cji~itc I~luntl~~, the l'rotcst;ll1t cl~~r~cl~es of Europe. eslwt,i;lllj, tllcl I .~~thcriln oriented churches, ha\,e reached a nadir \vhich hiis not I)ccn eclu;lllcd si~lcc the empty church pe\v days of eighteenth ant1 ninctc'cmth century E~ilightmcnt. The only encouriIg- ing \\.ortl that famoirs 1,utIicr scholar, I'rofcssor Pctcr Srunncr of lic.itlclbcrg, coul(l gi\,c is that things arc still not as bad no\\. as the!. \\.ere tllcn. 1311 t onl!. shccr faith and un\vi~rran ted optimism could c\.cr in~aginc ;I situation \\here things coultl gc.t an!, \\.orsc by an!. st;~n(lar(l ot' measurciiicnt. If thc purpose of the church is to be n I~right liglit in a tlarkcning \vorld, it scems ob\.io~~s that whatever light exists tllc'rc is no\\. \\.ell hidden under ii bushel. The Protestant churches of Ili~ropc, including the Lutheran oricnted tcrritoriill churclic~s,' arc fin;lnciall!. prospering in thc sense that thcrc is no tlciirth of funtls to kccp church buildings open, ministers paitl, and ccclcsiastical administl-ations rul-lning. Ho\vever, the impact on indi- 1-itlual li\ cs seems to bc nil. This \\.ill be explained in sonie\vhat more tlctail helo\\-. For the first time in rcccnt nicmor!. there is a wholesale attack I)! thc scci~lrlr prc.ss on the institution of Kirche~zsteuer, church tax. C dike tl~. ilmcrican church system, the European churches are not sulq'ortc(i 111. \\.boll\ \.oluntary offerings. Under the oltler feudal s)\tcnl \\hi;h lasted do\cn into the first part of this century, the cllurch \\.as il state church, StantsKir(*I~e, and received its inconic (lircct 1, f'rorii go\.crnlncn t tilscs. The I,~r~l~Ieskirche, the successor to 111~ st;ltc cllurch, docs not receiw go\*crnment funds directly. Under tllc ncacr s!pstc~n the go\.crnmcnt acts as the collccting agency for tllc rhurchcs. ;In acltlitional 10 % of the amount of income tax paid b! c;lcli pc~-soli is collccttd from \;irtuallv e,cryone. According to rcccn t ilnlcrican promotional materials for stclvards1:ip this is far short of the I3ihlic;rl tithc. Kc\'crtheless, 10% of all income tax collcctctl in one arca for cllurcll purposes a~llounts to fantastic sums of inoney. In Germany a payroll deduction is niirtlc I)\ ille) gc.)\.clrnrllcnt :]nd after deducting a processing fee, it is passid oh to cll~r rcll ;~c\nli~~i~- trators. In Austria the money is mailctl in 11, tlic ili(li\.i(l~~;~l. TJlis system is hardly more voluntary, since failure to c;111 rcs~~li jn an immediate court order of expulsion from the, chi~rch. 'fllc so~nctinlc~ controversial Der Stliegel ran a series of articles c\ilr.l\ in 1909 c'~tt;lek- ing the system of church tax. Undcr c~l>~~ii~ll\- 11ci1\\ attacl, is the construction of new church edificcs in G~~rrni~n! \\.lie11 iilr~i~~]\ existing churches are ob\riously and patheticall\. (,llll>t\. '-I-l~is ;ltt:lcL is on financial and not theological grountls. Ililembership in the Protestant chul-chcs ill Gihr~niln! is onl\ voluntary in the sense that people haw thc frcc~clo~rl to rcsipn froli the church. This is only done infrccluc~ntl\. 13;1ptislil i111(l co~iIir~n:~- tion, which are still almost uni\.crsalll; obscr\ctl in I'rotcstarlt nntl Catholic churches, obligate the populi~tion to tlic churcli tiis. Failure' to pay the church tax can exclude the person fro111 thc \ arious scr\ icu of the church, the most important of \\.hie11 sc:c~iis t.o I)c ;I f~lnc.ral. Resignation from a congregation is not maclc to the> ~l;isto~. or c,Ii~~rch council but to the civil authorities and is a quasi-legal ;rfTilir. The officials of the 1.oltdcskil-c.he great11 pri/c the ch~~rcll t il\ revenues. Just reccntly Axel Springer, fanlous Gcrnlan nc\\-sl,i\l>cr publisher of the tabloid Dos IJild and other pcriotlicills rcsignccl t'rolll the Lnvrdeskirche in Berlin to join the Jlaricnknpl>cllc of Olcl 1.~1thcr- an Church in Berlin. His pastor, Dr. lobst Sc-lliil~c:." along \\.it11 officials of the free 1,utheran churches. had schcdulc~tl a nicctinp \\-it11 officials of the Ln~zdcskirche \\-110 \vc.rcl not rc:ird\. to pilrt \\.it11 the generous tax they \\?ere rccei\.ing from n \.cr\ \\.cnlt}i! In;lll. So~iicllo\\ thc impression is left that there \\-as more concc.rn in the. I.cr/rrIe.il:ir-c,ltc for the man's income than for his spirit~lill life. Though the church tax con tro\.crsy migll t be ;III isoliitid inc-i- dent, the entire issue is symptomatic of the grc;~t th~~Ioi~i~ill ~lroblclll of ~vhat exactly is a church or a church botl! . The rcl~crcussions ot' this question, if ansjvercd scrjousl\. and honc~stl\. c.oul(l rc';~cli as fill- as the lttgitinlacjr of the entire cculr;cnical mo\emcllt. 1.c.t mix cxpliiill this further. In the periodical Zeit thcrcl appc;lrc*tl ;rn i~rticlc \\~licri~ thc lvriter referred to himself ns belonging to tllosc \\.lie \\.crcl not Christians Out \\rho jvcre fricndl!. to thc church ;IS tii~-l~;l\.ins (_'Iiris- tians." This group holds to a form of religion that \\.;IS \\.idel\ ~prcil~l in Germany during the eightcent11 cc~itur\ Enliplitnicnt. but \\-olll(l find the theology of thc Apostlcs ant1 3ic.cnc Crectls tot;~lI! un;lc.- cep~ablc, with perhaps the exception of the ~lrticlcs on C;od the, Filth~l. and crt:ation. The question is this: Do thc institi~tio~~ali/c~(~ ;lll(l state related or supported churclles of E~~ropc, c.sllcci;lll\ in tllo'.~' countries wit11 a I.>uthcran culture, rcscn~l)lc in an!. \\.;I!. the \cB\\ Testament concept of church) The European churcll s\,strm \irtllilll) eliminates the elenlent of personal tlccision as ;I j~rcrccluisitc far church membership or association. It is common kno\\.lcdgc among Gcrman pastors that they are 1 in a system inhcritctl fro111 Constantine. But neither thtl pastors nor somc of tllc ~llost \ocn1 tic: trc~rr) err A tlcropcon Trip 17 __ -- - 1 0p1'~~cl~l~ 01' ~1lc cI>~ll.cI, ,\stclll a,-c \villing to extricate themselves fro111 tl1~' +\ 41C'I)l. I-\\ ice- 111 ,I t'c\\ tl;i\s t]lis \\.rjtly ]lead the opinion expressed by I\\() jwl~~on~. 11ot C.I~~\;~ICI~. 1/1;11 tilC Chl~~-~h is a rnonulllcnt of the ~ori ILII~UI~~I life of I:lll-ol)c iind that pc:lcc bctrvcen the united States ,rn(i tIlc So\ ict L ]>ion \\.OLII(I eIinliniltc 111c necessity for the church-" is coc is I r~coani/c~l ;IS (just) artifact from the golden .~pc 1ligI1tc~c11t11 ick~llr\ lliitionillislll. Thcrc arc very fe~v ~utherans in our colln t r\ \\ ho \\ oLlil~ to sllcll crass ircvit? of this slogan. the big l)rol)lc~n i4 11ot 111 otl'crillg ;I colliJllo11 \\.itncc;s to Jesus Christ. \\?ho OLI I i~t ti 'I-Ilcb real ~>rclb]t\ln is determining what is a c.llur-cl1: \\ Il(:i1 it i4 said tI1;it thc.rc ;)re so and so many churches in tllc \\ orlcl ('otrrlc.11 of' C flur-ch~~s or the J,utheran LVorld Federation 01- \\h;~tc~\c:l. ~hc. sl.ot~p, the fault lies in the fact that unequals are I)c,ing tot;lllc,cl it]). -1'0 spc.;lk ahout 40 or 60 milliol~ Lutherans in tllc. \\orltl ir 41, rrl~\Ic.;rrlin~ as to bc cjo\\nright false. In America the ~tl.ong ~'IC'III(:III is 'lt Icilst SC)III~I dcgl-~c of con\.iction, while in Europe IIN, \tl-or~~ c-lcr~lc~~t is c~~lt~~rc. 111 rllc. L ~lirccl States ;I congrcg;ition or a church body is a free c~rsoc.~;~tiori of C'hristians ;~sscrnhlccl to accomplish certain purposes. lo\\ thc:l.c csccptions to this to be sure 11,hct-c an ir~dividual con- c;rk bout SO :lnd so nlany church bodies in the world I,cr,~~lsc' \\.list coristitutcs a chtlrch in each sense is so diffcretit that tllcrc. i+ lit t lc rcscbnl blancc bet\\-ccn groups bearing bimilar nilmes. In logic. this i.4 cirllotl the crror of c(ll~i\~ociition wherc one wort1 has t~vo III~I~IS. :\I1 this lc;~oF;i~- as the concept plays a significant role in all of' tlic crc~ctl.;. it does not seen1 that this point can bc easil!. l~:~ssctl o\ csr.. Perhaps a few words can be said ;]bout t,hi~rch at tc~l(l:t nc-t:. I lest an American re\~ie\ver can become a littlc Pharis;~ical ,111(1 tl~;tril; (;od that we are not like other men. One ~~stol- \\.c \,i>itcbcl in tllc (it\ of' Hamburg with a ckongregation of 10,000 :~\,cr;~gccl 20 ill ;II tcr1clii1lc.c. for Sunda?) u~orshi~." \\\'hen I bc~~~oiil~cd thc* Protcs>t:~nt ljligllr to ;II~ assistant to the progressi!~~ Arcl~bishop and C:arelini~l f'ro~il I:clyiu~ii. he assured me that thc situation in tllc Jic prol)lc~n is \\ lic*rl tlic European church leatlcrs speak, csactl!: for \\ honi ;~rc tllc\ s11c;ll,irlg'r In Inore cases than not the, arc speaking onl) for tllc1i'i5t~l\.c~s itrlcl maybe the. clcrgy, but this is not c\,cn tlcilr uni\.ct~s;~ll\ tr110. 'l-l~c~rt~ is no attenlpt at confessional or thcologicill har~i~ori\ \\it11111 t11~ churches. 7'ilne mngazinc c;lrries enough storicns i100irt t11c~ pliglit ot' the Anglica~, ChurcI1 in Grc~;it 13rit;iin \\.itliout rcl~lougliirig II~,II tortured field. All attempts at thc~ologic;~l nloclcrr~i/;ttio~~ sc,cb~i~\ lo sl~wcl thc proccss of pctritication or fossili/i~tion. What is the confessional situation in Gcrnlan\? l'llc st~1tIc111~ with whom this re1,ortc.r spoke scbc no sigl~ificar~t tlift'c.rc*~~c,c I,ct\\c~c.ri the three recognized churches in their co~rntr!.. I_utl~crari, I:cFor~~ic.tl and Union. 'Students brought up in ollc churcl~, for cs;~~iil>lc~ I ,urIicr- an, see no difficulty in serving in a churcl~ \\.it11 il tlifl'c*rc~~l~ lt-s. I%rligio~~s education, formerly given in school, has silllply bcrn rCplaccd h!; indoctrination in hlarxisnl. In definitely unfa\;orable situation the: churcli contin~rcs to hano on with solne ? vigor. One of the ~najor incongruities is that in spite of the Corn- lllu~list cloli~ination of 17ast Gcrinany for almost a quarter of a century, the* churcli tax is collrcted by the state from members in a ver!. similar to \\'est (;crmany and the theological faculties are directly supported 11:. state tilxcs. Even in East Germany there is no church ~neii~l~ershil~ \\.itho~tt church tax. This persecution of religion and its offrcinl suppol-t can best be explained in recognizing that organized religion is a lnol-c important elcment in German culture than it is in ours ant1 its totill and immediate eradication could bring calamity allcJ rc\'olt. 111 this sitlliition subtle pressures and gradual substit~ition are considc~rccl thc best methods in introducing a completely hlarxist- oricntecl itlcolog\. Though the war has been over almost twenty-fij'c \.cars, tht. 1:irge I~,uthcran cdifices in Fitst Berlin remain in shambles. hot11 a sac1 ;~ncl filntastic. sight are the trces growing fro111 the secolld ;inti third storics of the partially ruined churches no longer used for \\.orship centers. A similar sight can .be seen in England where churches ha1.c been subrnergcd by the foliage siniply because of a lack of use. lllost telling in East Berlin is the statue of the Christ with its arlns outstrctchecl, beckoning the weary and heavv laden to come to Him. The statue, I\-hich stands above the portico of the ruins of ,l.farierlkirc.he, built in the stvle of St. Peter's in Rome, has its hands missing. In the same is a life size picture of Karl illarx, Gcrman).'s ncn. s;i\.ior. Strange to sail Marxism is now one of the leading thcological schools of thought among theological students, cspcc.iall\~ in \\'c.st Berlin. There has been talk of suspending thcologiLal etlucation there. The other country with a slightlv different church situation is Sornay. Here thc Lutheran church is offiriallv recognized and ~ul)]mrtcd in it way comnlon to all European churches. \Vhile in the other Eurolran countries tlleolopical education is state supported and autonomous, here most of the theological education works inde- pclldcntl! of the state and is rcsponsihle to a free church motlemmt. 111 the rest of Europe, as a rule, theological faculties are tax supported. but in Nora;rr the largest faculty is supported by free will contribu- tions in indel>cndent collections from participating congre- gations within the established church. At the present time there are about 400 students at the free faculty and 100 at the state supported onivcrsitv faculty. The free faculty takes a more con- serlrati\c and traditional approach, while the university faculty reflects inore the continental approach in theology. Students fro111 both faculties servc in thc. cst;ll,lishcd ct~lrt-c.11, jjir]!clll\ ;!~ltl othct- church officers are still appointct-1 by the go\~cr~ll~lc~it The free faci:lty has outgro\\.n its I>!-cwnt fi~c.ili~ics ,lr~cl 13 t)io\,ing to a new location near the c.arnpus of tllcb C'ni\ c.1->it\ 01' 0410. rllc state might be asked to pro\,idc somc of tllc- bllij(li~l~ cost\. .l.Iic established church of Norwa!. allo\\.s for latit~~(lcs ;I\ is t\ 13ic,itl of thc European state related churches, but tllc free f;lc.~tlt\ iitl tllosc support it are committed to the I2uthcra~~ C'oiifcssions in ;I \\ i\\ \\llich is more Anlerican in style than I;:LII-O~C;~I~. 'rlic CIC'I 11 of' I Ilc: .t';tc~~lt!,, Dr. Leif Aalen, mentionc-ct to n1c tll:lt o~ll\ l.~~tl~cl-:~~~ utu~icnts arc' allo\\~ed to particil~ate in tht: opening co111 111 LI II io11 st'r\ ice‘. A fccv obser\;ations on theolog! c;lnllot l>e c\c,ll~tl(~l. It is hard to pinpoint any one leading thc~ologiccll scllool of' 1110l1yllt \\ liicli enjoys massive support. In kc\\ Tcstame~it st~1c1ic.s t (lei,,\ tllologi/- ing method of Rudolf I3ultmnn1~ still prc*do~lli~~;lt~,s. .\t I 11;- L'ni\ cr- sity of Hcildelberg the Christologic;rl Icctu I-us of I )I-. l-l;~rt\f.ig 'rh\.c'n scclnc.cI to be better receiid th;ln the t~-:iilitio~~al I ~~th~:r;t~i ;II>I~SO~\CII of Professor Edmund Schlink, ;I namc \\ell I;no\\.~l ill .\nlc,ric;ln Lutheran circIcs. klan!. stutlcnts h;r\c ncit l~cr aflil-tnitl i\ cs ~ior Ilcgit- tive con\:ictions on a matter so ccmtral as tlic~ t-csllt-rcc.liotl of' 1cslls. This obser\:cr \v;is lcft \\.ith thc clclinitc imprcssiol~ tllilr st~~~l~~llts still are s\\rayed more by Bultmann's 31>1>ro;icIi t11;lli the tratl i tio11,l l I .~~tlicr- an one in such matters. It is slightl!, tlcl,rcssins \\ Ilc-11 st~~tlcnts lii~\.~ no firm convictions on thc rcsurrc.ction. Far bcttc~. \\o~lld l)c r? downright no to the resurrection of jclsus thr-111 ;ill ;ittitll(l(% \\liich is alcvays sifting the evidence. I':sistcn tialisli~ \\.llicl~ \f ns I he cli\.inc. nature of Bultmann's dcn~vthologizin~ mc~t1ic)tl scclns to I,c (loomed. At least this is the opinion of Professor Ernst I\intlcl- of \ 111c.llstr:r. The theological Xlarxisni which is pro~nincnt all o\ctl- it1 C;~~III;II\ theological faculties has substitutetl n collect i\ cL ill>l>roach to soc,ic'tv and theology \vllich docs not allo\\i for thc. cstrcbnlc in(li\~icl~li~list~i of existentialism. The existential gospel that trlrtll is \\II;II is tl-~ltli for the individual seems to be hoj~elessly out of ~>lilcc ill ;I h1;11-\isl s\.stcrll of thought which endeal~ors to cal>turc thc thinking of' i111 c-ntil-c populace. Some studcn ts are no\\. p1;lnning to scr\.c> it> 1,;lsturs \\-itll- out the benefit of ordination. Hefus;il to bc ortl;rincd c-omcs ]lot front fault!, application of the Petrinc cioctrine of the uni\ crs;tl ~>ricsthood of all belicvcrs, but from the hlarsist concept of soc.icbt\ \\.hiell docs not allo\\: for the ascendancy of an! group, i~~clucling the cblc>l-g\. One could qaip that this is the hlarsist cloctrinc~ of tlic uni\css;tl priest- hood. Rather than pinpointing a prominent thcologicill sc~hool, it is easier to cliscover a different theologiciil attitutlc ;Inlong the stlldclit~. Theological students are displaving an acti\!islll \\.hich sccms to bc dreadfully out of place both with tradition;il Lutliera11 thcolog) wit11 its role for the pastor and Ger~nan culture as it is assouiatcbcl \\.it11 thc university. Students are standing up and interruptin: Iccturcs. It n111st be relnembered that at German universities discussions are RIIo\\'ccI on]y in the not in lectures. In sonic nlaiol- thcolopicnl S~I~OO~S stll~cllts ;IC~~I;III\ J~~~\~ ollc of thl-ce \;otrs in c1loosing new Illc S\~IL;II~ OF CICCtioll Of lie\\ professors allo\\s one Vote fl,,- tlIC I)~.~)t'c~5so~-s, i~liotIl~~ ) il~str~ctors of lower levels' and ;Inotllrr for 1 Iic. st ~~clc~r~ts. In some cases the students are asking for t\\o Out Of folll- \.otes. 111 thc L'nitcd States there is more student participa- i(,ll ill sc.l,lil~;~r\ ;incl uni\c.l.sit\ affairs, but in Gcrnlall~ the students area I-rc,ri\ in9 llot inrrcl) a rons"ltnti\,e role. but an actual control. ~tl~~~~ c~I1;111~es ;ire ;If~)ot nn-long students that would climinate I~I~;II t Ileolosic;ll cl\;lnii~iatiolis. U nc1c.r the Guniian system the student i, 1101 c.~;rlnille~cl ulltil IIC, 11;~s finished his theological education. In- ,tcs'itl tllc. stlitlclit \\oultl bc. ill(lgcd b\. other studcl~ts on the basis of r I I i~lld I i (I ill SCIII~ 11 ITS. There is also some talk ,lhout r(slllo\.illg tll~ ~C~(,llirC'lllC~llt of the "Habilitationsclirift" before a lllilll ~.;111 IIC'C.OIII~' il t'llll I>~-~~f~~~~r. ~rdinai-il\ after a student has pre- I>.irccl llis tloc~ol.;ll eli5sc.rt;ltic,n ;lncl dc.fenclcd it successfully, hc writes .Ill~)tllc~r tlj~~5i4 c.;IIIcYI t11~1 ~~l-~;l~~iIi[;~tio~isc'lirift" \vliic.h qilalifics llim for c,ligil)ili t\. to l)c c.;illecl as I>l.ofc.ssor. Thc students' complaint is that tllcir Ilrc;t'c.sso~.s I)cbcomc. 50 sI~cciaIi,,ett iri one field so that the); lose a gcl~cbr;ll Srilsl> of thc s~ll,ic'ct. ;\ similar cornpli~int is not infrequently llc~,~rtl iri o11r o\\,~i countt-) . \\'o~llc.ri ~xistors ;tniistor\? IILI~ their re1uc.tanc.c cannot hc explained by theological sc.t.~ll>lc.5, IILI~ r;ltl1is1. I)! ~Ic'~c'I.~;IIc~ to thc Roman Ci~tholic niajoritv in t11:tt .lrcb;l. :\n issue Inore pronlinerit in the church prcss is the question of 111c hal>t is111 of ilit'ants. \\'olnen ~astol-s in \I7cstfalia are lenders in a OII~I~ to lo lib~rt\. in this ~~iatter. Sorne pastors have actuall!. 1)cc.n I-emo\etl frorn of3c.c bec;li,se. the); woultl not baptize their own c.llil(1rc.n. -1'11~ m;ittcsr of tlic I~aptisni of infants in Germanv with its tc.l.ritori:ll clii~rcli~s ci~nritrt rc:~lly he judged from an ~meiican per- ~ll(~c.ti\e. Infant baptism for thc total population is necessary for the firllc.tio~lin~ of' tlii: territorial church. It assures lifelong mcmbcrship Ill tl~c~ c.tlil~-c.11 ii11~1 pro\iclcs tlie tas base for fillancia1 support of the chllrch. 'rllcb ;lholition of intint baptisn~ in an? great numbers could \c.l.! \\.ell tliminish the cffccti\.cncss of the territorial church as a re- lic:iol~s institution in Gcrrnan). I\ nlo1.e tl.;i(l it iollaj ~iio\~cmcnt in theology, international in scope, is t 111' I~~n~kIic~he SfIf~l nlls~rg I~TYI Hihel und Brkenntttir. Theologians I'rOlll Sc:ln(liln;l\ia ;111~l (;eraan!.. attached to tllis group, are inter- c'stccl i 11 I1 istoric. C:ll~-istianity according to a inore trac]itional under- ~~~ll~(lin~~ OF the' 1Jiblc and of thc Lutheran Confessions. I'rominent f 11;lIlles In the ~I'OLI~) inc.lude Bishop Ro Giertz of S\l.eden, Professor Iic~in I'rcntrsr of 1)enmarh. Professor Kar]-Heinrich Rengstorf of \'iinstcr. I'rofessor \\'althcr Kiinneth of ErlanWn and Professor "rrrc .\.llcn of Oslo. TO date their influence seems to be nljnima] on '.lit \\'llolc of I'i~rol>c;~n tlieology. Others like Professors Edmund 'clllink illl(I I'rtcr Brunner, both of Heidelberg, are sympathetic the aims of the movement but still ha\.~ not p;irticilxitc(l ;~cti\.cllv. -rjll, credentials of the participants in the mo\,enient arc. of SLI~.~ hi$ ber as to assure a voice for a more traditional theolog!. Discontent with the German theological situation c1oc.s not conic primarily from churchly groups, siicli as c.onfcssio~~al I \ oricntctl, Kirchliche Sammlung, but from unc.hurchl\ soul-ccs. hlucli of this content is embodied by Joachini Kahl in his book Dns I!lclzrl r1cz.s C:jrrij- terztums.!' The copv that this writer has \\>as ~mblish~d in 3larcll, 1969 when a total of 55,000 copies \Irere in print. Bct\\,cc~l \'o\cmher. 1968 and March, 1969 it had alrt>ad!, gone through four ~winti~lgs. It would be safe to say that by no\\: tl~c 100,000 mark might ha\.c been reached. Not yet thirty years of age, Kahl has rcc.ci\.ctl his tloc- tor's degree in theology from the Llni\:crsitv of 5I;irhur-g antl llas su 11- sequently left the church to bccoine one of 'its inost sr\,crc critics. T11c first 85 % of the book is a scatching criticlue of C:liristian histor!. f'ronl Jesus to the present time. Much of the niatcriill hero is not nc.\\.. Thc explosion comes in the final part of thc book \\.it11 its I~~~rnin~ con- tempt for contemporary New 1'estamt.n t studies. \\7altlicr I.notl takcs a niorc positive role in ecuniencial concerns, pcrhaps this report might in sonie \\,a? alert the reader to the situation in front of his cl~urc~li. I. The phrase "territorial church" is used to cover all that is inlplicd in t11( German words "Volkskirche," "Staatskirche" and "Landcskircl~c." Tht "Staatskirche" can be translated into English by "statc cl~urch." This church is politically controlled and financially supported 1)). tlic go\c.rn- ment. Such is the situation in Scandaniwia. The situation in Grcat Iiritriin is a little different sincc the church is undcr thc control of t11c cro\\n through the ruling political party in parliament, but it docs not rcccijc taxes. There the church is called "established" and docs not habv the' lollllll. , ~111)port thi~t is cnjo!~~d by those churches on the continent. In ~;eI.lllllI1~- t11~ (.hur~.li~ss i1l.c ofici;llly called "Landeskirche." The \\ford tr;~~i%l;~t:~il "~(x~-~-itorial church" and may be used of the Catholic ~tlil\ th(, Illc,st ~~fi)niir~c~rit l'rotcstant clcnomination in a given are;]. This can i,,. I.,lt~lcl-iln, ~t~rn# . . ." 4. I \\()rtI ~*C:aes;~rc~p;~~)isln" advqu;ltcly describes thc European sit~~;ltion. i11(.v jrt~l;tll\. ill1 1)c'long to thc church, it is possible for those who havc no colllrilitnlcnt to C:hristianity in any u.;iy to control the church \ilithout any fc;~r ~f <-vcntcr;ll rclnovrtl. This dangcr of governmcnt control \vith Christian ~oulnlitment is most acute in thc Scandanaviail statc churches \vhcrc I~i\Iiops i11.c~ ;~~>l~oiritcd 1)y the governmcnt. The conflict bctlvcen church and \I,I~c~ cirmc to it 11c:ltl ovcr the quc,stion of thc ordination of women. The Iiriric~il)lc. of t ht- ucl~lalit!. of the sexes now inhercnt in Western democracy \\;IS .~pl>lietl I)! the government to the church situation with thc not unes- ~)c.c.lc(l rc-suit that \\-omen \vcrc given the right to be ordained. The issue \\*as 11ot clcsc.itlccl on the I~asis of Scriptures, Confession or tradition but on thc t),tsi\ of n~otlcrn ticnlocratic principles. For the sake of tranquility the state (1o(.s not gc.l~c.rsll!. appoint Ijishops kno\\n to oppose ordaining \\omen as l>,t\tors. 5. "l)cnl,lnnh l clcr \'crgallgrn]lc.it" 6. 11 \\;IS the 1)ictrich 12onhoc,Rer Ev. I-uthcran Church in Hamburg. Accord- InL: to ~tiitistics, ;lmcrican church attendance runs st al~out 44%. -. I'rot'cssor \,\:illi ll;~rsscn, a disciple of Rudolf Bultmnnn, \~r.ho \vas grectcd \\it11 ;~lmost mc*ssi;rnic acclaim about eight years ago uhcn he came to thc Lni\crsit!. of R~lucnster, hiis lost his following. His views are now available in I'n~lish I)!. I'ortrcss Prcss which has published many of his shorter works. I~hc Gcrm;in fncultics arc arranged a little different from the American. I'\lII l'rnfessors hold "chairs" and are the chief lecturers. Beneath this level "lcr~ ;ire thostr who hold the title of professor or instructor. Some of these ILlst (10 rcsc.arch ant1 arc ~lndcr no obligation to Iccture. Others conduct sc.rllinilrs ;and 1c.cturc on subjects of a more lirnitcd nature. Together they ;Ire cilllc'tl the ";\.Iittrlbali." Generally they cannot be called as full pro- l'c'ssr,rs \\:l*rc the). scr\:c as instructor. ?'his group which is subsidiary to lh(' ~'~~)fcssors has joined in with the stut]ents in asking for more effective control of the f;,cu]tics. ' 1 Keh I, ljus EL..(l 1L.r Chrirtrntun~s (Heinkck lxi Hamburg: ]lo- \\nJt 3 ;ischc~>I>uc]~, 1969).