Seditive alert! Borning content ahead!
There's a problem... ok, maybe not a problem, maybe just an inconsistency... that's been bothering me for a couple of years now and I'm finally both annoyed enough and and time-rich enough to pursue working it all out. This issue isn't going to interest anyone but me- even the dorkiest people I know just kind of "oh, yes, ah, ok" me when we talk about it so I'm pretty sure anyone reading this is going to be at risk of active boredom-related injury while reading this. Use caution, people! Make sure you're securely seated in a safe, soft chair before attempting. Maybe get a cuppa or something to help keep you vertical. You've been warned.
My problem is Dietrich Bonhoeffer. If you know the name you get a gold star. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran theologian and pastor in the 30's and 40's in Germany. He studied under the liberal movement that was the hallmark of pre-Barthian German theology in the interwar years but he rejected it pretty right fast and charted his own theological path. He was richly Christocentric in a time and place when that was almost unheard of. For the time, theologically speaking he was whoa, nelly conservative but today he'd be middle of the road moderate in some circles. He'd still be pretty conservative to you guys. Bonhoeffer's claim to fame was not in his theological writings, though they are popular today especially his best known work, Cost of Discipleship. In this book (and in just about all of his others) he espouses a radical pacifism and an allegiance to Christ above all earthly relationships. He calls his readers to take their lives lightly and give every piece over to God. Fair enough, right?
These are all quotes from Cost of Discipleship.
“When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.”
"The first call which every Christian experiences is the call to abandon the attachments of this world."
"Our enemies are those who harbor hostility against us, not those against whom we cherish hostility… As a Christian I am called to treat my enemy as a brother and to meet hostility with love. My behavior is thus determined not by the way others treat me, but by the treatment I receive from Jesus."
"The followers of Christ have been called to peace. . . . And they must not only have peace but also make it. And to that end they renounce all violence and tumult. In the cause of Christ nothing is to be gained by such methods. . . . His disciples keep the peace by choosing to endure suffering themselves rather than inflict it on others. They maintain fellowship where others would break it off. They renounce hatred and wrong. In so doing they over-come evil with good, and establish the peace of God in the midst of a world of war and hate." emphasis mine there
It's spelled out in more detail in longer and more complicated passages. Brevity and clarity aren't exactly the watchwords of the German theologian, but those are just a sample of shorter passages that illustrate what his theology was- rigid, uncompromising pacifism in light of a Christian's allegiance to Christ. OK, I'm with him. Right on, Dietrich!
Next post I'll explain the problem. I'm a slow writer and I only have 20 minutes every morning!
My problem is Dietrich Bonhoeffer. If you know the name you get a gold star. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran theologian and pastor in the 30's and 40's in Germany. He studied under the liberal movement that was the hallmark of pre-Barthian German theology in the interwar years but he rejected it pretty right fast and charted his own theological path. He was richly Christocentric in a time and place when that was almost unheard of. For the time, theologically speaking he was whoa, nelly conservative but today he'd be middle of the road moderate in some circles. He'd still be pretty conservative to you guys. Bonhoeffer's claim to fame was not in his theological writings, though they are popular today especially his best known work, Cost of Discipleship. In this book (and in just about all of his others) he espouses a radical pacifism and an allegiance to Christ above all earthly relationships. He calls his readers to take their lives lightly and give every piece over to God. Fair enough, right?
These are all quotes from Cost of Discipleship.
“When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.”
"The first call which every Christian experiences is the call to abandon the attachments of this world."
"Our enemies are those who harbor hostility against us, not those against whom we cherish hostility… As a Christian I am called to treat my enemy as a brother and to meet hostility with love. My behavior is thus determined not by the way others treat me, but by the treatment I receive from Jesus."
"The followers of Christ have been called to peace. . . . And they must not only have peace but also make it. And to that end they renounce all violence and tumult. In the cause of Christ nothing is to be gained by such methods. . . . His disciples keep the peace by choosing to endure suffering themselves rather than inflict it on others. They maintain fellowship where others would break it off. They renounce hatred and wrong. In so doing they over-come evil with good, and establish the peace of God in the midst of a world of war and hate." emphasis mine there
It's spelled out in more detail in longer and more complicated passages. Brevity and clarity aren't exactly the watchwords of the German theologian, but those are just a sample of shorter passages that illustrate what his theology was- rigid, uncompromising pacifism in light of a Christian's allegiance to Christ. OK, I'm with him. Right on, Dietrich!
Next post I'll explain the problem. I'm a slow writer and I only have 20 minutes every morning!