LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL REVIEW - Brock University
LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL REVIEW - Brock University LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL REVIEW - Brock University
76 LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL REVIEW IX Speaking to the church in a time of crisis, World War II and the demise of confessional Lutheranism in Germany, Sasse restored a vocabulary that had been lost to the church. It was a vocabulary of Holy Absolution, Holy Office, Body and Blood, hiddenness of the church, and the language of Creed and Confession. As a “lonely Lutheran” who had to leave his homeland after World War II, Sasse rejoiced in the words of another “lonely Lutheran”, Wilhelm Löhe: “Behold the church! It is the opposite of loneliness … . No longer lonely, but filled, satisfied, yes blessed is he who is one of these millions who completely and fully have Christ and with him have heaven and earth.” If “lonely” was a word that could describe Hermann Sasse, Lowell C. Green in the second essay (37-64) attempts to explicate this facet of the Sasse character. Dr Green’s contribution discusses Sasse’s relations with his Erlangen colleagues. Green traces the developments in Germany from 1933 to 1949, certainly a time of political uncertainty. However, even before that time the church had faced the uncertainty of a new organisation. In 1923 the Federation of Evangelical Churches was transformed into the German Evangelical Church. Prominent Lutherans such as Paul Althaus and Werner Elert had supported this transformation since 85% of German Evangelical Christians were Lutherans. It was their hope that the new German Evangelical Church would be based on the Lutheran Confessions. Sasse understood that this was not to be and so opposed the new structure, to the consternation and criticism of his colleagues. In the same manner Sasse opposed the new Nazi regime seeing that the new German Evangelical Church was a Trojan horse that would be used by the Nazi government to take over the church. Again he stood almost alone on the Erlangen theological faculty in his opposition. Was Sasse difficult to get along with Was that the reason that he was in conflict with his faculty colleagues Perhaps. But Green gives us a deeper insight into Sasse, the “lonely Lutheran”. The political affairs of the church, the political meddling by the Nazi regime, and the reality of World War II and its aftermath deeply affected Sasse. As a man of integrity and strong Lutheran confessional piety, Sasse could not remain quiet. He simply did not “go along to get along”. As a result, even though he was one of the faculty members whose reputation drew students to the university, he spent most of his career at Erlangen as an “assistant (extraordinarius) professor” rather than as a full (ordinarius) professor. Theodore Baudler characterised Sasse at Erlangen as a “very lonely man”. Sasse saw through the false claims of National Socialism at a very early period, isolating himself thereby from other faculty members. After World War II, as a leader in the de-Nazification of Erlangen University, he drew the further wrath of his colleagues. Finally he was completely disillusioned with the state of the Lutheran Church in Germany which led to his emigration to Australia. Lowell Green’s chapter is perhaps
PITTELKO: HERMANN SASSE REVIEW 77 the finest summary available of what happened in the Lutheran Church and to the Lutheran Church during the period of National Socialism. If you have been mystified by the role of the Lutheran Church during the Nazi period, this is the chapter to read. If you want to understand what has happened since World War II in “Lutheran Germany”, this is the chapter that is indispensable in coming to an understanding. The chapter can stand alone as an excellent historical primer on the Nazi era and the Lutheran Church. “Hermann Sasse and Third Reich Threats to the Church” by Dr John R. Wilch (65-105) picks up the theme announced and developed in the chapter by Green. Professor Wilch’s article is an examination of Sasse’s theological challenges as an ecumenical critic of world events. Sasse saw six threats posed by National Socialism to the Lutheran Church. The Nazi regime: (1) wanted to replace Christianity with the ancient German religion of paganism; (2) assigned to the Volk a religious value; (3) propounded a Führer ideology; (4) wished to banish the Old Testament; (5) ignored the Confessions of the Lutheran Church and forced a complete merger with the Reformed; and (6) exploited the Church as National Socialism capitalised on the Enlightenment. Sasse was one of the few who had the insight to realise that the Nazi persecution of the church really indicated a battle in the spiritual realm. As Sasse said, “Why has our Reformation church in Germany become so weak Is it not that we all in our own life no longer take seriously the deepest need of our soul” If the word “confession” comes to the lips as the name Sasse is mentioned, Professor Wilch demonstrates in his chapter why that is the case. Sasse played a major part in the development of the Bethel Confession contra National Socialism. While an initial participant in the development of the Barmen Declaration of 1934, Sasse ultimately withdrew when he saw that the Declaration assumed a teaching office over Lutheran and Reformed congregations. This he could not abide since he rightly understood that only Lutherans could decide for Lutherans what was false or true teaching as would also be said by the Reformed. While Sasse’s contributions to Bethel and Barmen faded, it was Hans Asmussen who reminded the Barmen Synod about Sasse. “We know him as one of the very few university professors who has supported us by word and deed in the Church Struggle and at the risk of our lives.” Sasse also played a significant role in the Schwabach Conventicle, a colloquium of pastors committed to confessional and theological study. Sasse led the Schwabach Conventicle to work out and present detailed plans for the reorganisation of the Reformation churches after World War II. However, the errors made in 1933 under Nazi duress were repeated in 1945 and 1947 without Nazi pressure, much to the dismay of Sasse. Professor Wilch’s assessment of Hermann Sasse is that he teaches us the lesson that it is better to give up everything else in faithfulness to our Lord without retreating an inch. Sasse was right in his stand regarding the Nazi threat and is greatly to
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PITTELKO: HERMANN SASSE <strong>REVIEW</strong> 77<br />
the finest summary available of what happened in the Lutheran Church and<br />
to the Lutheran Church during the period of National Socialism. If you have<br />
been mystified by the role of the Lutheran Church during the Nazi period,<br />
this is the chapter to read. If you want to understand what has happened<br />
since World War II in “Lutheran Germany”, this is the chapter that is<br />
indispensable in coming to an understanding. The chapter can stand alone as<br />
an excellent historical primer on the Nazi era and the Lutheran Church.<br />
“Hermann Sasse and Third Reich Threats to the Church” by Dr John R.<br />
Wilch (65-105) picks up the theme announced and developed in the chapter<br />
by Green. Professor Wilch’s article is an examination of Sasse’s theological<br />
challenges as an ecumenical critic of world events. Sasse saw six threats<br />
posed by National Socialism to the Lutheran Church. The Nazi regime:<br />
(1) wanted to replace Christianity with the ancient German religion of<br />
paganism; (2) assigned to the Volk a religious value; (3) propounded a<br />
Führer ideology; (4) wished to banish the Old Testament; (5) ignored the<br />
Confessions of the Lutheran Church and forced a complete merger with the<br />
Reformed; and (6) exploited the Church as National Socialism capitalised<br />
on the Enlightenment. Sasse was one of the few who had the insight to<br />
realise that the Nazi persecution of the church really indicated a battle in the<br />
spiritual realm. As Sasse said, “Why has our Reformation church in<br />
Germany become so weak Is it not that we all in our own life no longer<br />
take seriously the deepest need of our soul” If the word “confession”<br />
comes to the lips as the name Sasse is mentioned, Professor Wilch<br />
demonstrates in his chapter why that is the case. Sasse played a major part in<br />
the development of the Bethel Confession contra National Socialism. While<br />
an initial participant in the development of the Barmen Declaration of 1934,<br />
Sasse ultimately withdrew when he saw that the Declaration assumed a<br />
teaching office over Lutheran and Reformed congregations. This he could<br />
not abide since he rightly understood that only Lutherans could decide for<br />
Lutherans what was false or true teaching as would also be said by the<br />
Reformed. While Sasse’s contributions to Bethel and Barmen faded, it was<br />
Hans Asmussen who reminded the Barmen Synod about Sasse. “We know<br />
him as one of the very few university professors who has supported us by<br />
word and deed in the Church Struggle and at the risk of our lives.” Sasse<br />
also played a significant role in the Schwabach Conventicle, a colloquium of<br />
pastors committed to confessional and theological study. Sasse led the<br />
Schwabach Conventicle to work out and present detailed plans for the<br />
reorganisation of the Reformation churches after World War II. However,<br />
the errors made in 1933 under Nazi duress were repeated in 1945 and 1947<br />
without Nazi pressure, much to the dismay of Sasse. Professor Wilch’s<br />
assessment of Hermann Sasse is that he teaches us the lesson that it is better<br />
to give up everything else in faithfulness to our Lord without retreating an<br />
inch. Sasse was right in his stand regarding the Nazi threat and is greatly to
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