Dietrich Bonhoeffer

[Era Might]

Anyone here familiar with Dietrich Bonhoeffer's life? I'm reading a biography right now. Nazi Germany has long been my topic of interest but I had never seen the struggle within German protestantism much discussed as a central drama. Basically, it was a struggle over the German model of Christianity. In America, the model is a separation of church and state, whereas in Germany it was a cooperation. As the official protestant state church was integrated into the Nazi government, Bonhoeffer and others were fighting to maintain theological and spiritual independence. Very interesting story, just curious if anyone has any thoughts. I don't approach the issue from quite the same angle as Lutheran Bonhoeffer, but his central internal struggle was working out the question "what is the church?" (and his attempt to answer that question is relevant to the development of ecumenism within Catholicism). I haven't finished the biography but in the 1930s he put much more emphasis on the Sermon on the Mount as the central spiritual model of christianity, perhaps the "light" in which any other model must be seen / judged.

Edited March 25, 2013 by Era Might

[dominicansoul]

do you have netflix?  I watched a very good documentary on his life...

[Basilisa Marie]

BONHOEFFER IS MY HERO.  

 

He would have made a good Catholic.  

[Guest Allie]

There are some excellant English translation of his writings.  The Cost of Discipleship  is a touchstone for me.

[T-fish]

I stopped reading the book Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas.

At first i really liked it. But I put it down after I realized the Lutherans were the ones who fell for Hitler's lies.

Everyone blames the Pope for what Hitler and the Germs did.

My ancestor is Eugenio Pacelli (Pope Pius XII).

 

The protestants want Bonhoeffer to be a hero to distract the attention from the protestants being the ones who were the NAZIs. The Catholic Church wanted nothing to do with it.

The book really opened my eyes to the lies of the protestants. It still goes on to this day. Everyone blames the Catholic Church, but never takes blame for their own mistakes.

Confessing church my coolie. They gots lots of confessing to do.

[Basilisa Marie]

I stopped reading the book Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas.

At first i really liked it. But I put it down after I realized the Lutherans were the ones who fell for Hitler's lies.

Everyone blames the Pope for what Hitler and the Germs did.

My ancestor is Eugenio Pacelli (Pope Pius XII).

 

The protestants want Bonhoeffer to be a hero to distract the attention from the protestants being the ones who were the NAZIs. The Catholic Church wanted nothing to do with it.

The book really opened my eyes to the lies of the protestants. It still goes on to this day. Everyone blames the Catholic Church, but never takes blame for their own mistakes.

Confessing church my coolie. They gots lots of confessing to do.

 

Dude, you realize that Bonhoeffer taught in an illegal seminary, training pastors to preach anti-Nazi Christian messages? That he was one of the first to speak out against Hitler during his rise to power? And was connected to a plot to kill Hitler and thus executed by the Nazis? 

 

Check yo self before you wreck yo self, bro.