Barmen and Belhar in conversation – a German perspective

This article is a discussion of the relationship between the Barmen Theological Declaration and the Confession of Belhar. It is done from the vantage point of the 2001 statement by the Theological Commission of the Union of Evangelical Churches in Germany on the Confession of Belhar from the perspective of the Barmen Theological Declaration. In the first part of the article comments are made on points highlighted in the statement that pertain to the similarities and differences between the two documents, regarding their formal structures, their use of Scripture, and their rejections of objectionable theologies and ideologies. In the second half of the article the comparison is continued, but from the vantage point of each of the five theses of the Confession of Belhar. In this way issues are identified which in future need to be clarified in dialogue on the meaning and importance these documents for the church today.