No to a mission to the Jews

The Synod of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) convened in Magdeburg for four days - on topics including solidarity in Europe, mission to the Jews and also Donald Trump. By the time it ended on 9 November it had taken numerous decisions. One of the most important was the decision to reject any mission to the Jews.

Synod rejected the concept of mission to the Jews and thereby took a clear position in an internal church debate that has lasted for decades. According to the declaration "... who keeps faith forever", Christians are "not called to show Israel the way to God and his salvation". At the same time, human beings cannot resolve the contradiction between the different confessions of Christians and Jews: we "leave that to God", it says.

The EKD synod took a deliberately theological line in its declaration. The delegates appeal to "the lasting election of Israel": the belief that God first concluded a covenant with the people of Israel and then with Christians - and keeps faith in both agreements. The historical argument - that a mission to the Jews is out of the question anyway, after the Holocaust - is summed up in one sentence, namely that the confession of "shared Christian responsibility" for national socialist genocide and the related rethinking also have consequences for Christian witness to Jews.

The exact wording of the statement can be viewed here:

"… he keeps faith forever."


And more about other decisions of the synod, here:

Decisions of the EKD Synod in 2016