The Grey Book: A collection of protests against anti-semitism and the persecution of Jews issued by non-Roman Catholic churches and church leaders during Hitlers ruleSnoek, Johan M.
Religion
The Grey Book: A collection of protests against anti-semitism and the persecution of Jews issued by non-Roman Catholic churches and church leaders during Hitlers rule
Snoek, Johan M.
Antisemitism; Christianity and other religions -- Judaism; Judaism -- Relations -- Christianity; Protestant churches -- Europe
On November 29, 1942, Manfred Bjorkquist was consecrated first Bishop of
Stockholm. Along with the Bishops of the Swedish Church, there were also
present representatives of the Church of Denmark and the Church of Finland.
The Quisling Minister for Church Affairs in Norway sent an indignant letter
to Archbishop Eidem, because he had not been invited to send a representative
to the consecration. Dagens Nyheter, commenting on this report, wrote: <226>
"What happened in Norway recently is sufficient explanation, if it is
confirmed that Sweden's Archbishop did not reply to the letter. Archbishop
Eidem's warning at Lutzen on November 6th against national self-sufficiency
and arrogance provides an adequate answer.
When now for the first time we see these things happening near at hand we
are aghast at this self-sufficiency and arrogance; this complete contempt
for human values." [502]
The last sentence refers to the deportation of the Jews of Norway.
On the first Sunday in Advent, 1942, the following Proclamation was issued
by the Swedish Bishops:
"Hatred blinds and hardens. Hatred leads to destruction. Hatred is the most
frightful and monstrous of the dark powers which now are dominating an
unhappy earth.
Jesus Christ condemns hatred in all its forms without exception. His words
and deeds, His life and death, all mean an absolute judgment upon hatred.
Whatever stands in contradiction with the royal command of love, which is
the sum of the will of God, is sin, sin against the living God.
Men may trample upon the commandments of the All-Highest. But God Almighty
lives. And whoever turns away from Him has deserted the springs of life and
is walking in the way of death.
If we really want to be Christians, we must in all seriousness take up the
fight against hatred, against all hatred.
We must be strictest towards ourselves, so that we may not leave the
smallest room in our heart for the evil spirit of hatred. So far as our
voice reaches, we must, each in his own circle, stand up for love in word
and deed, and fight hatred and the deeds of hatred.
With horror and dismay we have learned in the last two days how an un-Christian
racial hatred, which has spread over many lands in the world like a mortal
pestilence, has now expressed itself in shocking acts of violence in our
immediate neighbourhood, on our Scandinavian peninsula.
Human beings are being subjected to the greatest sufferings, not because they
have been legally convicted of misdeeds - they have not even been accused of
such things by regular legal procedure - but solely because they belong by
descent to a certain race. <227>
We have been deeply moved to hear the courageous Christian admonitions
which our oppressed Norwegian sister-Church has directed to those in power
in their country, not to rebel against the clear Word of God by doing deeds
of violence in blind racial hatred.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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