ABSTRACT
Representatives of the Reformed and Lutheran traditions in Germany met at Barmen, May 29-30, 1934, and proclaimed a common confession of faith. The occasion for the proclamation was the rise of the Third Reich and German Christianity. The Barmen Declaration, as is the case with most great creedal statements, was born in very tense times and in the midst of great struggle. The Declaration is a witness, a battle cry. In the background of the Declaration is the theology of Karl Barth, with its emphasis upon the sovereign Word of God and the discontinuity of Christian faith with all other faiths. The Barmen Declaration is not a comprehensive statement of faith, but it said with clarity the one thing that needed to be said. "The Christian must listen to Jesus Christ and to Him alone". The Declaration has continued to exert a significant influence in German theology since the Second World War.
