The Conscience of the State
Conservative radio host, public speaker, and author Eric Metaxas has written a new book titled, Letter to the American Church. This bestselling book calls upon the American church not be silent like the German Church was during the rise of the Nazis. He exhorts the American church to speak out against abortion, gay marriage, critical race theory, and the Marxist ideology that he believes is behind it all.
Kyle with his copy of Letter to the American Church and the study guide
In 1933, two days after Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor, Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer spoke to Germany via radio. In the broadcast he attacked Hitler but, before finishing, the broadcast abruptly cut off. It remains unclear why this happened, but the conclusion of Bonhoeffer’s message was never heard by the German people. A month later a fire of unknown origin blazed through the Reichstag. The Nazis used it as a premise to suspend civil liberties. Bonhoeffer continued to speak out in opposition to Nazi policies including persecution of the Jews. Eventually, the Nazis arrested him and weeks before the end of the war he was hung along with other opposition leaders.
Published by Salem Books, Letter to the American Church is a 139-page appeal to the church relies upon other works by the author for historical perspective including, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy, a New York Times bestselling biography, and Martin Luther: The Man Who Rediscovered God and Changed the World.
Letter to the American Church is a culmination of those earlier works mentioned above and more. This context brings the reader to a better understanding of how the German church became locked in passivity during the rise of the Nazis Party. Most German pastors felt a loyalty to the nation and the government and didn’t want to be the first to speak out. During the rise of the Third Reich these became stumbling blocks. According to Metaxas, the American church is guilty of the same mistakes as the German church during the rise of the Third Reich.
Metaxas has also written biographies on William Wilberforce and Martin Luther. These are woven into the overall narrative to show both the positive and negative influences upon the German church and by extension the American church.
According to Metaxas, the Lutheran church in Germany, following the teachings of Luther, became cautious to the point of passiveness. They used Romans 13:1-7 to avoid political involvement. However, William Wilberforce is an example of Christian courage and government involvement against the horrors of slavery and Martin Luther led the Reformation.
Metaxas believes that the church should be the conscience of the state. If that is a role of the church then Christians should have the faith and courage to speak up on the important issues facing the nation. However, both the German church of the past and the American church of today have failed in this mission.
Should the German church have been more involved during the rise of the Third Reich? Is America sinking into a moral and cultural crisis? Should the American church be more politically involved? If you ponder those questions I highly recommend Letter to the American Church. This was the first book by Eric Metaxas that I have read but, it will not be my last. It would make an excellent small group reading for a church. The book has been made into a one-hour documentary film. More information and the trailer are here. A 132-page study guide is available on Amazon.
Have you read this, or another book by Eric Metaxas? What did you think? Tell us in the comment section below.
