I - Biography
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born into a family of statue in Germany in 1906. Bonhoeffer was educated and ordained as a Lutheran pastor, and began teaching and preaching. As the German nation began developing Nazi influences, Bonhoeffer became involved heavily in the resistance of the Nazi-collaboration of the German churches. At one point in the early 1930’s, Bonhoeffer was living in America, but chose to go back to Germany to be with the people there during the escalating hardships. He supported the church division in Germany which created the Confessing Church, which sought to resist the Nazi viewpoints which were being introduced in German Protestantism. Bonhoeffer began to teach and train young clergy members as a part of an illegal seminary for the Confessing Church. He also remained very vocal about his anti-Nazi views, and secretly assisted the Nazi resistance by communicating resistance plans with their allies outside of Germany. Bonhoeffer along with other members of the resistance were arrested in April of 1943 for the aid they provided to Jews fleeing Germany. In 1944, a failed attempt from the resistance to assassinate Hitler lead to the discovery of documents linking Bonhoeffer to the conspiracy against Hitler. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was executed in 1945.
II - Bonhoeffer’s Letters From Prison
Bonhoeffer really does remind me of a modern-day version of the Apostle Paul. Both held incredibly firm faith, both were gifted with an ability to write powerfully and in a convicting manner, and both proclaimed God’s goodness from prison. I have put a section of one of his letters below for you to read, and we can discuss what you think and what sticks out to you for our discussion group. These letters were written after his imprisonment in 1943, and he wrote fairly consistently through 1945. Try to put yourself in his shoes and notice how he is engaging with his circumstances.
“People outside naturally find it difficult to imagine what
prison life must be like. In itself, that is, each single moment,
life here is not very different from anywhere else, so far. I
spend my time reading, meditating, writing, pacing up and
down my cell — without rubbing myself sore on the walls like
a polar bear! The important thing is to make the best use of
one’s possessions and capabilities — there are still plenty left —
and to accept the limits of the situation, by which. I mean not
giving way to feelings of resentment and discontent. I have
never realized so clearly what the Bible and Luther mean by
spiritual trial. Quite suddenly, for no apparent reason, whether
physical or psychological, the peace and placidity which have
been a mainstay hitherto begin to waver, and the heart, in
Jeremiah’s expressive phrase, becomes that defiant and despondent
thing one cannot fathom. It is like an invasion from
outside, as though evil powers were trying to deprive one of
life’s dearest treasures. But it is a wholesome and necessary
experience which helps one to a better understanding of
human life.”
He wrote many different things when he was in prison, including sermons and some poetry. This particular one really struck me and I was moved by Bonhoeffer’s connection with Christ’s journey and his full trust in the Lord.
“In me there is darkness,
But with You there is light;
I am lonely, but You do not leave me;
I am feeble in heart, but with You there is help;
I am restless, but with You there is peace.
In me there is bitterness, but with You there is patience;
I do not understand Your ways,
But You know the way for me.”
“Lord Jesus Christ,
You were poor
And in distress, a captive and forsaken as I am.
You know all man’s troubles;
You abide with me
When all men fail me;
You remember and seek me;
It is Your will that I should know You
And turn to You.
Lord, I hear Your call and follow;
Help me.”
III - Bonhoeffer’s Life Together
During a time when the loudest voices in Germany were calling for exclusion and violence against the Jews, Bonhoeffer constantly supported the idea of a welcoming, unified community of the Body of Christ. His book, Life Together, was published in 1939 and espoused many of the values he lived out through the Confessing Church. His energy devotion against the Nazi regime also informed this book, and he has a really interesting perspective on what it looks like to be on our mission for the kingdom. In Part 4 of this series, we took a look at Martin Luther. Bonhoeffer draws from Luther and gives us some insight in Life Together about what was going on in his heart and mind which gave him such firm direction through the hardships. He wrote: “Jesus Christ lived in the midst of his enemies. At the end all his disciples deserted him. On the Cross he was utterly alone, surrounded by evildoers and mockers. For this cause he had come, to bring peace to the enemies of God. So the Christian, too, belongs not in the seclusion of a cloistered life but in the thick of foes. There is his commission, his work. 'The kingdom is to be in the midst of your enemies. And he who will not suffer this does not want to be of the Kingdom of Christ; he wants to be among friends, to sit among roses and lilies, not with the bad people but the devout people. O you blasphemers and betrayers of Christ! If Christ had done what you are doing who would ever have been spared' (Luther).”
In Life Together, Bonhoeffer develops a framework for the necessity of community, and what structuring our community might look like. In all his direction, Bonhoeffer roots his ideas for Christian community directly in his image of who Jesus Christ is. It is because of Christ that we can be community and it is upon the example of Jesus Christ which we build our community foundations. His father’s work as an esteemed psychiatrist may have born influence upon Dietrich Bonhoeffer as he warns his readers to develop community upon spiritual foundations rather than creating emotional communities or communities of the mind.
Despite his firm belief in the necessity of community, Bonhoeffer also develops the need for solitude. For Bonhoeffer, morality and ethics are of central importance in living the Christian life. Like Gregory the Great from Part 2 of this series, Bonhoeffer saw the need for a sacred solitude which forms the individual in firm foundations of faith and self-reflection.
IV - Bonhoeffer’s Ethics
Bonhoeffer’s historical context combined with his gift for writing and wisdom produced very unique perspectives which he captured in his work titled Ethics. This work addresses some hard questions about morality and ethics of Christianity, especially during the hard time where things do not seem very cut and dry. Bonhoeffer was an extremely moral man, and was inspired to a firm stance on equality and pacifism by the African-American plight against racism he saw in America. However, he also felt compelled to be very politically active and take pivotal roles in anti-Nazi operations, including a plot to assassinate Hitler. One of the key distinctions Bonhoeffer wrestles with is that between a single action of failed righteousness versus someone who is characterized by a continued falling away from righteousness. In other words, there is a difference between making a mistake or one action which is evil and being a person who gravitates naturally towards being evil. In the case of Hitler, this provides some really tough situations for a Christian who could perhaps see how not doing anything to prohibit a person who does such great evil as a failure to do just action.
V - Works by Bonhoeffer
Sanctorum Communio (The Communion of Saints)
Act and Being
The Cost of Discipleship
Life Together
Ethics
Letters and Papers from Prison
Gesammelte Schriften, 4 vols.
VI - Resources I used and for your further study
The book Christian Spirituality: The Classics, edited by Arthur Holder.
This book is very well done and can be a slow read, but it is very informative and well organized. It has information on many of the important Christian authors throughout the ages.
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