Guide to “Thou Shalt not Kill”, 1943

The exegesis of the fifth commandment “Thou shalt not kill” expounded in the guide in 1943 was intended to be conveyed to congregations as well. A small committee comprised of Günther Harder, Otto Hammelsbeck and Herbert Posth, all members of the synod, therefore drafted a “Statement of the Confessional Synod of the Evangelical Church of the Old Prussian Union to its Congregations on the Day of Prayer and Repentance of 1943”. It reaffirmed the validity of the Ten Commandments for all Christians even when human laws and ordinances seemingly justified their violation.

These excerpts from the text provide insight into the development of the sections on the third, fourth and fifth commandment.

The synod intended for this “Statement of the Confessional Synod” to be read aloud from all pulpits on the Day of Prayer and Repentance.