Bonhoeffer

Bonhoeffer

1. Life

   • academic theologian who lived a life attempting to embody Christian Moral Principles morally and spiritually
   • he had a profound effect on what it means to put moral christian principles into action
   • Opposed to the Nazi regime, Bonhoeffer was ultimately arrested and executed at a concentration camp, during the last month of the war. He remains an important symbol of opposition to Hitler, and his views on Christianity are increasingly influential.

2. Duty to God and to the state

   • In his work Ethics Bonhoeffer set out to explain how Christian ethics are very different to and from human ethics.
   • Bonhoeffer warned against all forms of ethics which claim to be based on an ideology, which are dangerous as they are extensions of human ideas to justify the use of power over others
   • Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard influenced Bonhoeffer's argument that in extreme situations we can do nothing but act out of despair, but in faith and hope
     • When Bonhoeffer became involved with the assassination of Hitler, he knew it was wrong and could undermine the stability of the country but it was the only option for the Church
   • Bonhoeffer agreed that a Christian should obey the government as it is its aim to impose law and order on a sinful man and correct disorder.
     • He also believed that the state can never represent God's will or have ultimate power. The role of the Church is not to be part of the state but to keep it in check

3. Obedience to God's Will

   • Christians have a "responsibility to Gods will"
   • 2 passages from New Testament reinforce the view that Christians have a duty to obey the state
     • As Luther taught, 2 kingdoms ordained by God: spiritual kingdom of christ governed by Church and political kingdom governed by state
       • Bonhoeffer questioned not whether it was 'good' or 'bad' to obey the state, but whether it was the will of God
   • Jesus said, "Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's" Mark 12:17
   • Bonhoeffer says we will know whether something is the will of God as "it will only be clear in the moment of action"
   • Bonhoeffer argues that the will of God is truly liberztiong and is the essence of Jesus' teaching on the inner law achieved through prayer, conscience and reflecting on the example of Christ and life within Christian community

4. Leadership

   • more about character as an individual person not within a community
   • focuses on matters beyond self, and this is not what Germany did, "it gave up its freedoms and identity for a tyrant"
   • leadership can be rationally justified but "it is virtually impossible to give a rational basis for the nature of the leader"
   • Bonhoeffer argues that the role of a 'leader' is one that replaces the imperfect father and teacher with strong and perfect father and teacher

5. Discipleship

   • Karl Barth greatly influenced Bonhoeffer's view that if Christianity is to mean anything it cannot simply be an abstract system of human thought.
     • Barth's notion of God is that it's not we who know God but He chooses to reveal himself to us.
   • Bonhoeffer argued that Christians that they must not be passive followers, likening them to the Pharisees who were very good at hearing God's commands but did nothing to act on God's behalf.
     • In his book Ethics, he argues that hearing the law must entail being a doer of the law. He uses the story of Mary and Martha with Jesus' criticism of Martha, she acts but she doesn't hear or listens to Jesus' teaching
       • ethics is an action and action is liberating
       • action is prompted by conscience
       • ethical decisions involve conflict and action-distinguishing good and evil
       • love overcoming disunity agape God's love revealed and expressed through Jesus Christ

6. Costly grace

   • Bonhoeffer argued the authentic Christianity has to be based on 3 fundamentals
     • "only Christ, only scripture and only faith"
   • anything else is human invention. therefore religion as an institution is just a human invention.
     • Bonhoeffer argued from this that the church and state must be separate and free from each other. the cost was that in taking on the world, the disciple is put in danger
   • "Costly because its costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives the man the only true life…above all it is costly because it cost god the life of his son."
     • God’s grace cannot be bought as a commodity by going through the christian rituals

7. Role of the Church

   • No Christian can act morally in isolation - Bonhoeffer agreed with Kant saying that when a person acts out of duty and does so as he is acting in solidarity with all humankind
   • For a Christian, the role of the Church must be a moral and spiritual community to equip each person with the tools and attitude for moral life
   • For this to happen, Bonhoeffer argued that a Christian community or Church cannot be the middle-class institution it has become over the centuries, but should be stripped of false pretence at being religious
     • The Church must grow up and embrace a religionless world and fully engage with it