Reformátusok Lapja, 1969 (69. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1969-01-01 / 1. szám
10 REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA Karl Barth and the Reformed Church of Hungary Karl Barth, the world’s leading theologian, died in his sleep on December 9th, 1968. His departure extinguishes the greatest religious mind since the life of John Calvin. The Hungarian Reformed Church and many Hungarian Reformed pastors have lost in him one of their most beloved masters and cherished friends. Barth’s relationship to Hungary became world famous when he expressed himself in the struggles of the Hungarian Reformed Church with the Communist State during a visit in 1948. He thought that the only agreement between the Church and the State must be on a Christian rather than on a political basis; that the Church must operate with her cards on the table; that it must be understood, that her yes meant yes and her no, no; that the Reformed Church must not be concerned with the opinions of other people, hut concentrate on her own task of promoting the worship of God. Barth believed this way to be a hard and dangerous one between Moscow and Rome, but the only course which the church could follow. If martyrdom has to be shown, it must happen for the Word of God. It was for this reason that he told the Hungarian Reformed Church that their first responsibility was to look after their positive task — that of evangelism in the midst of Communism. Barth said that what the church required was “the patience and faith of the saints, joyful perseverance and fearless profession. If the Church achieves that, it stands on a rock; it can laugh at the whole godless movement, and whether they hear it or not — one day they will hear it — it has something positive to say to the godless. In fact, if it has the gospel to confess, it has not merely the philosophy and morality of the West, not a religious disguise in the place of real life, not a mere injunction to escape into the inner life of the spirit or into heaven, no imaginary, but the living God and His Kingdom, the crucified and risen Jesus Christ as the Lord and Saviour of the whole man”. (Against the Stream, p. 141) A Christian, he maintained, should never honor the communists as the unbelieving and strong men they pretend to be. Rather they should meet their unbelief with a joyous unbelief in their atheism, and must confidently claim that the atheists belong just as much to God as they themselves. The church can only follow Jesus. She can never fix her eyes on any other than the God of grace and the man to whom He is gracious. At one time she will have to openly confess her faith, at another time she will maintain an eloquent silence and stand aside, but she will always be serving God and man. Barth felt that the Western Christians' solidarity with the Eastern brethren behind the Iron Curtain should consist not of building up false hopes and promises which we are not ready to fulfill, but of preaching the Word of God clearly and honestly. Karl Barth’s views concerning the Reformed Church of Hungary are still valid. It is only unfortunate that the church leaders of Hungary, who often tried to justify their actions with him, could not live up to his standards and became the puppets of Moscow. It is only a human tragedy that some Pauls turned into Sauls by becoming collaborators, and certainly a disgrace to the Reformed Church in Hungary. However, there are hundreds of Barth’s students and friends who stand on the narrow path between Moscow and Rome, and are more than willing to suffer torture and death for the sake of the Word of God. Thus, Karl Barth, the theologian of the Word of God, has inscribed his name into the history of the Hungarian Reformed Church by emphasizing the Word as our only guide and principle. Dr. Alexander Havadtoy
