Welcome to the 21st century, this is the century were - due to political correctness - history is constantly being revised in order to make events palatable to those too lazy to read primary sources for themselves. Yes, so we now have another biography on Dietrich Bonhoeffer for me to grouse about.
I will probably end my life as the modern German apologist for Bonhoeffer but by the time you have read this you will wonder if I am an apologist. Unlike so many, I
KNOW he was not a martyr, I
KNOW he did not resist the Nazi's, I
KNOW he later regretted exactly not resisting them when he had the chance. Please note that unlike the author of the recent work, I have researched far enough into Bonhoeffer's own writings to
KNOW whom and what Bonhoeffer was and did. Not legend, reality.
Whom was Dietrich Bonhoeffer? Someone from whose life you need to learn many
Christian Lessons from. What did he do? Exactly the opposite of what you, as a mature Christian, must do - in taking your stand for God in a godless culture and society!
Bonhoeffer, rather than face the plight of the German people during the depression, founded what was for all intents and purposes a Christian Community, dedicated to teaching self subsistence - physically and spiritually. He made the choice between having a small impact on a large group of people (Germany) and having a large impact on a small group of people. Both are admirable. But, we can look back and see that the larger group was what needed attention. Many have commented that statement is hindsight and 20/20 - completely forgetting that God does not deal in hindsight. God was to raise Bonhoeffer up to the National Church level at a crucial time (more on this later). Hey, He even removed Karl Barth in the process of doing so! (Don't even ask what I thought of Barth!)
Bonhoeffer's inner pull away from the German church was a lack of attention which allowed a despot to seize control of Germany, uncontested. When the general population could have been trained on a national level, in spite of Barth, Bonhoeffer had moved out of the country. Yes, he was to return, but he had a choice and he knew he was taking the easy way out (per his letters). His reason for return the final time - to have a witness amongst his people once the war was over - "....to share in their sufferings.....". He was correct on that score, if you want to have a mission and witness within a culture, even your own, you can not be an outside observer. A lesson many a missionary needs to learn!
The Nazi's had it in for the Jews from the beginning. Bonhoeffer's sister was in love with a Jewish man. When it came time for the marriage - Bonhoeffer bowed to the political correctness of the Nazi movement and did not perform that ceremony. There was no law he would have been violating, it was not even direct pressure put on him, and he willingly bowed to that perceived pressure. Just as the Christian Church does today! He was later to rethink this in prison and lamented his poor choices in this matter (per his letters).
When Bonhoeffer was head of the National Church of Germany, he was approached on the subject of executing Adolf Hitler. He, like a great many German believers, personally felt Hitler was the physical presence of Satan and therefore a perfect target for killing. Unfortunately, being a Christian whose views had become one of a Social Gospel, he failed to consider that murder is still murder, no matter how evil the target is.
God does not appreciate murder and will hold you accountable. We know this part the best; the bomb failed to kill Hitler. Hitler's men through diligent research were able to round up almost the entire group involved - including Bonhoeffer - whom had given his blessing on the attempt. Along with Bonhoeffer, his father brother-in-law and family friends, were all convicted for their part and executed as well. Hitler already had problems with stubborn Christians and many do not understand that he turned his wrath upon the Lutheran Church - executing close to 7,000,000 believers before the closing of the war.
Although claimed by the recent book, Bonhoeffer was not sent to a concentration camp, he was sent to a prison. Yes, it was a grouping of political prisoners but do not think in terms of Auschwitz here. He was allow visitors, books, papers, allowed to conduct services for the other prisoners, etc (per his letters).
Lastly, Bonhoeffer's tome,
The Cost of Discipleship, I have read probably a dozen times - each reading taking about a year to accomplish and digest. Personally, I believe this book to be one of the highlights of the 20th century Church writings. Bonhoeffer, in his letters from prison, analyzes this work and laments that what he found was in his attempt to get German believers to understand that "
Cheap Grace" is wrong and there is a cost for belief in Jesus, the Church came to embrace
empty piety - and so still were not with any real understanding of their belief.
Bonhoeffer was a Christian minister offered a central place in German and what was to become world history. And he avoided that task at all cost - even to the point of forgetting his calling. Had he of stood his ground early in the 1930's, perhaps nothing would have changed other than we would now have the writings of a martyr to consider - rather than someone condemn for the attempted assassination of a national leader. Until recent history, even the United States executed those wishing to assassinate their leaders. I can not condemn the German Courts or executioner for doing their jobs; murders are deserving of State sponsored death - no matter how politically correct that assassination attempt was to be in history.
But, he was a man, just like anyone of us. We may not be in the same place in history, facing a nation gone mad with evil, but we are still called to serve, to witness, to disciple, to baptize - where God has placed us.
When we allow a nation, a group or even a single man to hinder our call and duties as Christians - we will have made the same mistake as Bonhoeffer and compromised our witness. When we step out into the ways of the world, to behave as the world behaves, to solve our solutions not with prayers but with weapons - we can expect God to withdraw His protection and support in order for our actions to run their full course and man's right to justice will prevail over us......
(Now your really did not expect any other kind of review from a German Hutterite, did you?)
