Re: Kirchentag? -- ExUBF's Parlor_Free wheel as far as u can from UBF

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Date Posted: 05:22:02 05/29/05 Sun
Author: Chris
Subject: Re: Kirchentag?
In reply to: Joe 's message, "Kirchentag?" on 12:57:05 05/27/05 Fri

>Can someone explain what this Kirchentag thing is and
>how it originated?

There is a Katholischer Kirchentag and an Evangelischer Kirchentag in Germany. The first Evangelic Kirchentag was in 1949. It's a kinf of independent movement, somewhat independet from the Evangelic Church. A kind of laymen movement, but meanwhile pretty professionally managed with it's own board of directors etc.

It's one of the biggest mass events in Germany taking pülace every two years. It has an interesting history. There were two predecessor movements in the time of 1848-1872 and 1919-1930. The Kirchentag of today started in 1949.

One of its roots was the DCSV movement. Haejung Hong, an ex UBF missionary, wrote a book about the DCSV ("Deutsche Christliche Studenten-Vereinigung", German Christian Student Union). That was a very healthy Evangelical student movement, with a much better concept, practice and doctrine than UBF. It existed between 1897 and 1938 when it was destroyed by the Nazis. The founder of the movement, Graf Pueckler, was a humble man. When his leadership style was criticized, he apologized and stepped back. Anyway, it wasn't really authoritarian. It was a supplementary movement to the church. Every member of the DCSV was also member of a church (usually the German Evangelic Church) where he or she visited the Sunday services. They also had national Summer conferences. Students from all over Germany attended, arriving by bike. The fact that they were centrally organized with their headquarters in Berlin made it very easy for the Nazis to control and end the movement (cf. McDonald's objection against having headquarters).

As far as I understood, though the DCSV dissolved, it had two fruits, the Kirchentag and the SMD (Student mission Deutschland, somewhat a successor of the DCSV). Christian student movements are very important and influential, if they are healthy.

Today, however, they Kirchentag is spoiled and tainted with many unchristian events and lecturers. It's more a "market place of possibilities" (Markt der Möglichkeiten). If you want, you will find many good and Biblical impulses, but there are also many unchristian speakers and offers. For instance, the German "pastor" Fliege who is very popular here, because he has his own TV show. There are also offers with Buddistic or other influences. I think even the Dalai Lama has visited the last Kirchentag. All in all, I think it has become a very superficial popular mass event, with the chance of reaching out to unbelievers and uniting and encouraging believers, but also with the danger of confusing believers and unbelievers.

The homepage is here: www.kirchentag.de.

By the way, I learned recently that an uncle of mine, who was a pastor and an artist, made the official logo for the first Kirchentag in 1949 (it was called "Evangelische Woche" at that time and only later declared to have been the Kirchentag). He gave me a copy of his draft. The logo quoted a Bible verse: "Come, let us return to the LORD." I think it expressed the wish of many Germans at that time. It was a time of spiritual revival. However, the Evangelic Church in Germany became very liberal and more and more following the historical-critical school in the course of time after the war. Thus, today it is not very attractive any more. More than once I heard sermons speaking about a wonder in the Bible (like Jesus feeding the 5000), and then disputing that it was a wonder, but trying to find a rational explanation. Or the Bible is not even mentioned in the whole sermon. Sin and repentance or the importance of a personal relationship with God is hardly talked about etc. If you attend the church you wonder what the whole fuzz is all about if they don't believe the Bible anyway. That was why I turned away from it after confirmation (age 14) and UBF seemed to be attractived. They seemed to have an alternative model of Christianity, having a foundation and giving a meaning and goal to life. I think all cults benefit from the desolate state of the great churches.

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