Breaking The Veil Of Silence book
MD-Publishing cooperating with CPM-Finland was granted the permission of the publisher to release and distribute Jobst Bittnerʼs book “Breaking the Veil of Silence” in Latvian and in Russian in Latvia. Our experienced translator Betja Jurksta is translating this relevant book in Latvian and the process of editing is now in order. We are planning to release the book in spring 2022 before Easter in Latvian. The Russian translation is printed and it is available for distributors in Riga and Daugavpils.
Foreword by Dr. Michael L. Brown
This is a book that could only have been written by a German pastor and activist with a solid theological background, a deep devotion to the Holy Spirit, and a lifelong commitment to Israel.
Jobst Bittner is such a man. He studied under the late, heralded professor Martin Hengel, famous for his work on Judaism and Hellenism, and so Jobst has a thorough understanding of the Jewish roots of the Christian faith, a subject of foundational importance to this book. And as a pastor who believes in taking the gospel to the streets, he both speaks and acts, putting legs to his faith and bringing a living and public demonstration. He knows that only the power of the Holy Spirit can truly deliver the captives and make the brokenhearted whole.
Finally, as a man devoted to Israel and the salvation of the Jewish people, he can assess the painful legacy of the German church, but always with a hopeful eye that looks forward.
Other German Christian leaders have addressed the veil of silence that hung over the church during the fateful years of the Holocaust, among whom was Basilea (formerly Dr. Klara) Schlink, founder of the Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary.
With anguish of heart she wrote in 1958:
“We Germans were Satan’s henchmen. In the midst of our people this hell was created… We are personally to blame. We all have to admit that if we, the entire Christian community, had stood up as one man and if, after the burning of the synagogues [on Kristallnacht], we had gone out on the streets and voiced our disapproval, rung the church bells, and somehow boycotted the actions of the S.S., the devil’s vassals would probably not have been at such liberty to pursue their evil schemes. But we lacked the ardor of love – love that is never passive, love that cannot bear it when its fellow men are in misery, particularly when they are subjected to such appalling treatment and tortured to death. Indeed, if we had loved God, we would not have endured seeing those houses of God set ablaze; and holy, divine wrath would have filled our souls.”
(Israel, My Chosen People: A German Confession Before God and the Jews (Eng. trans., Old Tappan, NJ: Chosen, 1987), 39, 42-43)
But this is 2011, not 1958, and Pastor Jobst contends that the veil of silence – a multifaceted veil of silence – remains over the older and younger generations, and this veil must be torn down by identificational repentance and a positive, public witness.
In response, a sincere critic might ask, “Are we to endlessly repent of the sins of past generations? And is it even our place to do so?” Those are certainly worthy questions, and in my opinion, this kind of repentance is called for when: 1) The wounds of the past sins remain, which is certainly the case with regard to the subject matter of this book; and 2) The seeds of the past sins remain, and this too cannot be denied today.
And yet this is certainly not just another book about German Christians and the Holocaust. Certainly not. It is a call to dig deeper, to uproot every destructive and hurtful remnant that remains, and to move forward into wholeness, freedom, and life. And it brings a very specific call to a very literal March of Life, exalting Jesus and displaying what it really means to be one of His disciples.
As a Jewish follower of Jesus, myself indebted to Gentile Christians who introduced me to Israel’s Messiah and Lord forty years ago, I commend this book to you.
Dr. Michael L. Brown