Tolerating diversity, taking a strong line on rightwing extremism

A few days have passed since the launching of the year marking the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. Now the Synod of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) has convened in Magdeburg to define its theological and policy guidelines for the coming year.

In his report to synod, Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, chair of the EKD Council, underlined: “The Christ who identified with the weak and lowly represents the one and all.” The Bible’s sensitivity towards vulnerable human beings and tolerance of differences and diversity clearly did not chime with current fantasies about renationalisation, which focus on homogeneity, he stated.

Bedford-Strohm sharply criticised a ‘culture without grace’, that corresponded to a ‘culture of self-justification’. “We no longer dare to talk of ‘sin’ because the word carries so much ballast,” he claimed. “In reality, sin is a disorder in relationships - with God, with our fellow human beings and with ourselves.” We can be freed from this by experiencing Christ’s justification by faith alone: “And the key thing is that this experience of liberation does not live from self-justification, or from our talking ourselves into believing we are good people.” Bedford-Strohm: “This is hugely liberating, in fact, and the most stable and lasting basis that a life can have - today just as in Reformation times.”

The EKD Council chair expressed concern at the upsurge of rightwing populist movements in Europe and worldwide. The political climate was being poisoned - feelings of self-importance were being directed against others and all too often against the most vulnerable. Bedford-Strohm: “The election campaign in the United States, with its depths of misogyny and discrimination against whole population groups, has also been a nightmare for the political culture of a country whose democratic tradition I actually admire.“

Referring to Germany, Bedford-Strohm urged: “We must take a strong line against any attempts to make nationalist thinking and extreme rightwing rhetoric acceptable in our country again.”

The whole report by EKD Council chair Heinrich Bedford-Strohm can be accessed at https://www.ekd.de/synode2016/berichte/ratsbericht.html.

Magdeburg, 6 November 2016

EKD Press Office
Carsten Splitt

About the EKD Synod:  The EKD Synod, with the Council and Church Conference, is one of the three governing bodies of the EKD. It is convening from 6 to 9 November in Magdeburg. In accordance with the EKD’s constitution, the 12th Synod has 120 members. The assignments of Synod include drafting declarations and decisions on contemporary questions and accompanying the work of the EKD Council by issuing guidelines. Synod also discuses and adopts the budget and church laws. Synod is chaired by a body of moderators (presidium), under its president Irmgard Schwaetzer. She is also a member of the 15-person EKD Council to be elected in Bremen. Chair of the EKD Council is the Lutheran Bishop of Bavaria, Heinrich Bedford-Strohm. The EKD is a community of 20 Lutheran, Reformed and United regional churches in Germany. 22.3 million Protestants belong to one of the 14,412 congregations.