To some extent, of course you're right. He took an unselfish act which he'd previously labeled as sin that ultimately cost him his life so obviously in his mental calculations there was a degree of ends justifying the means, but I think there's more to it than just that. Instead of the regular couple in Indecent Proposal, make it Mother Teresa and have her non-hypocritially continue to write and speak in the same vein (although not specifically on chastity- Bonhoeffer stopped on the pacifism thread in his writing per se when the violent plotting started) while maintain a 2 year relationship with the rich guy and aborted several babies along the way. Wouldn't you be curious about the thought process? What went into the continued behavior? How it was justified? Did she think of it as something that needed justification?
Bonhoeffer was so christocentric that I can't see him just making an exception here and I see clues in his writings to an evolution to a more complex theology in light of the situation in Germany which he thought of as something like the end of the world. I can't fault him too much for that- it must have looked bleak. The thing is, Christians are supposed to be attuned to the end-of-world aspects of life- we're waiting for a for-ordained conclusion to this mess. Christ and his atoning death was central to every aspect of Bonhoeffer's thinking and I think this also; I can't see it being excluded here in the most significant act of his life. I want to sit and piece it together.
Bonhoeffer was so christocentric that I can't see him just making an exception here and I see clues in his writings to an evolution to a more complex theology in light of the situation in Germany which he thought of as something like the end of the world. I can't fault him too much for that- it must have looked bleak. The thing is, Christians are supposed to be attuned to the end-of-world aspects of life- we're waiting for a for-ordained conclusion to this mess. Christ and his atoning death was central to every aspect of Bonhoeffer's thinking and I think this also; I can't see it being excluded here in the most significant act of his life. I want to sit and piece it together.
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