To Task Commission on Theology and Church Relations to Write Report and Accompanying Study addressing Positive Christianity (aka German Christianity) and Its Deviation from Orthodoxy and Ortho pra xy

WHEREAS, Positive Christianity is in reaction to Positive Religion (aka German Religion) which was a movement to return to thepre-Christian pagan religions practiced in Germany before the preaching of the Gospel and was being promoted by some Nazi officials in an effort to remove “all Jewish ness” from the German people through the 1920s–1940s; and

WHEREAS, Point 24 of the 25-point National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP) Program presented by Adolf Hitler on February 24, 1920, reads as follows: We demand freedom for all religious denominations in the State, provided they do not threaten its existence nor offend the moral feelings of the German race. The Party, as such, stands for Positive Christianity, but does not commit itself to any denomination. It combats the Jewish- materialist spirit within and without us, and is convinced that our nation can achieve permanent health only from within on the basis of the principle: The common interest before self-interest. and

WHEREAS, Positive Christianity was never officially systematized as Adolf Hitler and his cohort of Nazi leaders planned to do away with any and all Christianity once the war was won in their favor and only used Christianity and religion as a tool to come into and maintain power; and

WHEREAS, While Positive Christianity was never officially systematized, all efforts to do so put forward theologies with the following contours:

• A theology that is antisemitic and that tried to remove any “Jewish ness” in Christianity. This included but was not limited to: rejection of the entire Old Testament; rejection of the Masoretic texts and adherence only to the Septuagint; and declaring that Jesus was Aryan by blood, fathered by a Roman centurion, and not the same God of the Old Testament, among other Marcionite heresies.

• Atheology that is racial. Asclearly shown in the above quote of Point 24, the paramount concern of Positive Christianity is that it “[does] not threaten [the State or the] existence…of the German race.”The multicultural and multiracial makeup the Church (Rev. 7:9, etc.) was and is anathema to Positive Christianity.

• A theology that is syncretic with a National Socialist government/state. The state would be the final overseer and arbiter of orthodoxy, not the Scriptures. As such, the state could force confessions onto churches and Christians that were in direct opposition to God’s Word (much like the Prussian Union did in the 1800s).

• A theology that redefines neighbor from anyone (or anyone in need, Luke 10) to include only the able-bodied and able- minded Volk of Germany. Points 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, and 23 of the NSDAP Program clearly delineate who is, and who is not, to be considered a neighbor. This definition al change changes God’s Word of “love your neighbor as yourself” to exclude wide swaths of humanity in a sinful fashion.

• A theology that conflates the “Leader” (der Führer) with Christ. Positive Christianity turns people to a worldly leader as savior, often conflating aworldly savior with Jesus Christ. Scripture commands us to not put our trust in worldly princes and teaches that it is Satan himself that sets up worldly saviorsasantichriststo draw people away from the One True God; and

WHEREAS, Those who seek to sow strife and discord are agitating and advocating for Positive Christianity today, only in the modern context (without reference to Hitler or the NSDAP) to deceive faithful Christians and tempt them into heresy and heretical belief; and

WHEREAS, Those who seek to sow strife and discord are deceiving faithful Christians into falling into sin as resources addressing Positive Christianity are not common nor easily understood by laity who are unfamiliar with Positive Christianity; and

WHEREAS, Positive Christianity conflicts with Scripture, the Lutheran Confessions, the Brief Statement of the Doctrinal Position of the Missouri Synod [adopted1932],and AStatementof Scriptural and Confessional Principles [1973]; therefore be it

Resolved, That the Synod instruct the Commission on Theology and Church Relations (CTCR) to thoroughly study Positive Christianity, detailing how it deviates from the orthodoxy and ortho pra xy of the Christian faith; and be it further

Resolved, That the Synod request the CTCR write a report of their study; and be it finally

Resolved, That the Synod request the CTCR create a study of their report that is easily accessible and understandable, not only by clergy and church workers but by Synod laity and the church body as a whole.