Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy

by Eric Metaxas

Before they sent it to the church government, they sent it to Bodelschwingh, who sent a modified version of it to Reichsbischof Müller. Niemöller sent it to pastors across Germany. The statement contained four main points. First, it declared that its signers would rededicate themselves to the Scriptures and to the previous doctrinal confessions of the church. Second, they would work to protect the church’s fidelity to Scripture and to the confessions. Third, they would lend financial aid to those being persecuted by the new laws or by any kind of violence. And fourth, they would firmly reject the Aryan Paragraph. Much to the surprise of Niemöller, Bonhoeffer, and all involved, the response to the statement was extremely positive. On October 20 the pastors across Germany who had signed this statement became an official organization, the Pastors’ Emergency League, and by the end of the year, six thousand pastors had become members. This was a major first step toward what would soon come to be known as the Confessing Church.