For three evenings following Eberhard’s lecture, thirty to forty people met with him for a two-hour discussion. They were able to speak on a deeper level about unity and the Lord’s Supper, and also about the role of government.
Certainly the government is from God and should be recognized with respect, in so far as it fights evil and protects the good. But the government is not only from God; it is also from men. It is conducted in a purely human manner and from this point of view must be treated with extreme caution. Thirdly, government is also from the devil, for it is the beast of prey out of the abyss that we read of in the Revelation of John. Unless we see these three facts together, as they are clearly shown in the New Testament, then we cannot do justice to the government.15
v
Meanwhile, significant political events followed in quick succession. On the night of February 27, 1933, fire destroyed the Reichstag, the German parliament building. Hitler denounced this as a communist plot and used the opportunity to persuade President von Hindenburg to sign a decree “for the protection of the people and the state.” This Enabling Act suspended freedom of the press, the right of assembly and association, security from house-search and interference with postal and telephone communication. Now the Nazi terror was backed by the government; truckloads of storm troopers roared over the country rounding up communists and other dissidents, torturing them in SA barracks.
At the Rhön Bruderhof, it was of crucial importance that men and women become decisive as to what attitude they would take. Eberhard spoke with some visitors, explaining the brotherhood’s calling. One married couple decided to leave.
Our calling is to represent the kingdom of God and the church of Jesus Christ, with all the consequences. This means that we feel our own love to Jesus, born of the personal experience of God’s love in our hearts, very deeply and gratefully, but that is not the main thing. For us the main thing is that God and his kingdom, in his coming world rulership, in his coming world peace, shall prevail among us in such a way that we represent this one cause over against all other circumstances, conditions, and relationships. As a result we come to a powerful and decisive opposition to the world around us. This also means opposition to the state, which has to be maintained by violence and the military. It has to defend private property with violence and enforce the law to uphold its power.
We do not withhold our respect from God-ordained government (Romans 13:1). Our calling, however, is a completely different one; it brings with it an order of society utterly different from anything that is possible in the state and the present social order. That is why we refuse to swear oaths before any court of law; we refuse to serve in any state as soldiers or policemen; we refuse to serve in any important government post—for all these are connected with law courts, the police, or the military.
We oppose outright the present order of society. We represent a different order, that of the church as it was in Jerusalem after the Holy Spirit was poured out. The multitude of believers became one heart and one soul. On the social level, their oneness was visible in their perfect brotherliness. On the economic level it meant that they gave up all private property and lived in complete community of goods, free from any compulsion. And so we are called to represent the same in the world today, which quite naturally will bring us into conflicts. This was also the case with the early Christians and the Anabaptists. We cannot put this burden on anybody unless he or she prizes the greatness of God’s kingdom above everything else and feels inwardly certain that there is no other way to go.16
* Alfred Hugenberg was the head of the Nationalist Party, a rightwing party that initially supported the Nazi party but was ultimately taken over by it. Franz von Papen had been appointed Reichskanzler by Hindenburg in 1932 and believed Hitler could be controlled.
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March to April 1933
The Werkhof
As the political situation in Germany intensified, Eberhard tried to gain the support of likeminded people within the country and abroad. Early in 1933 he sent a message to a community in Switzerland, imploring them to work for unity as a “witness to the power of Jesus in the present world situation.”
The Werkhof had started in November 1930. Its members came from the Swiss peace movement, inspired by Leonhard Ragaz who was, in turn, influenced by Hermann Kutter, whose book They Must had had such a profound effect on Eberhard in 1910. Ragaz and Eberhard Arnold had been corresponding and exchanging articles since 1920. Eberhard wrote about him in an article in the Wegwarte in 1928:
It was given to Leonhard Ragaz to point the way to the kingdom of God. He did this by means of his books, lectures, conferences, and his periodical, Neue Wege, with their untiring challenge; but most of all by laying down his professorship in an attempt to immerse himself in the problems of the proletariat.
We should remember that Leonhard Ragaz, at a time when those who largely accepted his views later were still tied to bourgeois conventionality, pointed out the radical difference between official Christianity, even that of genuine leading Christians, and what the kingdom of God truly is. Leonhard Ragaz is able to point us to that cause which consists purely in God’s actual rulership. This means that God alone, and no human being, is supreme. And this very fact makes it possible for true social justice to break in, taking the form of brotherhood, where God’s spirit of unity is all that counts because it is stronger than all other spirits.
Our deep concern as a Bruderhof is to continue on the way that is pointed out and clearly marked for us, while remaining in strong and living contact with Leonhard Ragaz and his work. We owe him thanks for an important help in understanding God’s will as it has appeared in Christ and as it seeks to take shape in his church, which already now lives and proclaims the kingdom of God, changing nothing of its character.1
A friendship developed between the Werkhof and the Bruderhof. But by fall 1932 the Werkhof was disintegrating, torn apart by strong opinions. As one of its members said later: “There were as many ideas as there were idealists. The diversity of opinions about leadership, the form of meetings, the education of the children, the attitude to politics resulted in frictions and tensions within the group.”2 Some of the members visited the Rhön Bruderhof to see what they could learn. Sensing a profound unity and an atmosphere of love, they decided to withdraw from the Werkhof and join the Bruderhof. Believing that God was leading the two groups together, they were eager to go back and tell those who remained that they had found a place where the love and unity the Werkhof wished for were reality. While still at the Bruderhof, Peter and Anni Mathis and Leo and Trautel Dreher discussed this idea at a meeting:
Peter Mathis: We have to go to Leonhard Ragaz and simply testify to what has happened.
Leo Dreher: We should challenge them to complete unity. They should allow themselves to be led by the Spirit of the church.
Trautel Dreher: It is quite simple. Peter and Anni should go back and bring those who want to come.
Eberhard: We want to appeal to the Werkhof to unite insofar as they know themselves to be one in faith and in the uniting Spirit. It can be granted to them because it is a matter of grace; we simply have to ask God for it. It is not ultimately to the Werkhof that we must turn but to God’s Spirit and the complete gospel of Christ and of God’s kingdom. The reason we should do this is that these dear people have put the greatest effort into struggling for community for years and years, although their motives were often mixed. We have to respect that. Perhaps the hour of their call has come; may God grant it. It is wonderful.