Preaching to Nazi Germany: The Pulpit and the Confessing Church [Hardcover]

Preaching to Nazi Germanyexplores the history of Confessing Church preachers' engagement with the Nazi regime through an analysis of their sermons. William Skiles argues that clergy expressed various messages that aimed to limit Nazi interference in church affairs and at times even to undermine the Nazi state and its leaders and policies. Skiles demonstrates that pastors had limited freedom to publicly criticize the Nazi regime, its leaders, and its ideology, and that pastors often used Christian symbols to code their criticisms to remain inconspicuous to the Gestapo or Nazi informants. This book demonstrates how pastors used a sacred text and applied it to the problems of the churches in Nazi Germany.William Skilesis associate professor of history and chair of General Education at Regent University in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

By sifting through and analyzing all the sermons of Confessing Church pastors during the Nazi regime that he could findabout 900 in allWilliam Skiles has provided us an interesting and nuanced understanding of the Confessing Church. He brilliantly explains the position the Confessing Church took vis-?-vis both the Nazi regime and the Jews. Anyone wanting to understand the response of the churches to Nazism needs to read this book. Richard Weikart, California State University, Stanislaus

How did church pastors preach the Gospel in Nazi Germany? William Skiles leads his readers through a careful examination of Third Reich sermons. Some pastors used the Bible to justify Hitler, while other pastorsjust a fewsought to arouse the conscience of their congregations. A fascinating study of religious and political corruption with lessons for the present as well as insights into the past. Susannah Heschel, Dartmouth College

Drawing on the historical and theological analysis of over 900 sermons, William Skiles argues that Confessing Church preachers used sermons to express dissent from and opposition to the Nazi plƒ9