Bonhoeffer: Christian Moral Action

Question 1

What is on the Specification?

Answer 1

-Duty to God Duty to the State
-Church as community and source of spiritual discipline
-The cost of discipleship

Question 2

What are the two kingdoms ordained by God in Lutheranism?

Answer 2

Spiritual Kingdom (governed by church)
Political Kingdom (governed by the state)

Question 3

What are two quotes supporting the view that humans have a duty to the state?

Answer 3

‘Give back Caeser what belongs to Caeser and give back God what belongs to God’
‘Whoever rebels against authority has rebelled against what God has instituted

Question 4

Explain duty to God.

Answer 4

-A christian is called to submit themselves to the call of Jesus.
-we learn that action is just as important as teachings.

Question 5

What is different about Bonhoefffer’s belief of Lutheranism?

Answer 5

He believed that it gave too much power to the state and so took a radical interpretation of Luther where he believe that the church should be more active in challenging to achieve justice.

Question 6

What is bonhoeffer’s Justification of civil diobediance?

Answer 6

-ensure that the state act in accordance to God’s will
-He belived that nazism marginalisation of minorities and disreguard is a gross distortiin of god given order

Question 7

What did Bonhoeffer believe about the Christians who did nothing?

Answer 7

Nazism required christians to be disobediatn to the state so thos who did nothing were just as bad as doing evil
e.g he was banned from public speaking due to using his influence to speak out.

Question 8

What is suffering disobedience?

Answer 8

Tyrannicide (deliberately killing a ruthless ruler) is a christian duty if it creates social order.

Question 9

What does it mean when something is a bottom up theoloy?

Answer 9

Placing God’s protection of the oppressed above the state.

Question 10

In the Lutheran tradition what is believed about the fall?

Answer 10

Humans are fallen so therefore need human authorities to govern disordered people.

Question 11

what does it mean to take the higher ground?

Answer 11

They should vocalise that they do not agree but still follow orders e.g Jesus crucifixion

Question 12

What is the main argument against Bonhoeffer’s view that Christians should go against the state?

Answer 12

The fact that he was living in a very extreme circumstance where in which the society is unique.

Question 13

What dd Bonhoeffer believe about leadership?

Answer 13

-god is ultimate leader
-redirect followers to follow God
-Ultimate leader is shown in Jesus Christ he is the mediator

Question 14

What does Bonhoeffer believe God’s Will is?

Answer 14

-following Jesus first and foremost
-‘it will be clear in the moment of ACTION’
-this comes from conscience comes from living a good christian life.

Question 15

What is Bonhoeffer’s view of love?

Answer 15

-it is through community
-comes from understanding of the ultimate leader

Question 16

What are 3 arguments against Bonhoeffer view of duty to state and God?

Answer 16

-humans are fallen
-God has given free will we should use this free will to sort our situations ourselves (martin Luther)
-He took his view from the interpretation in the bible that Jesus is a mediator perhaps his interpretation is simply wrong.

Question 17

What is the confessing Church?

Answer 17

A church which arose as opposition to the unification of protestant churches becoming a protestant reich church

Question 18

What is the western void?

Answer 18

-christinaity had become dominated by middle class western ideals
-the chruch had to embrace the religonless society
-this created a vacuum of things where instead of filling the gap with christianity it woould be filled with the ideology of for example nazims

Question 19

Religionless christianity is what?

Answer 19

-something that’s free from the trappings of the past
-the mistaken idea that we need to fill in the gaps with new ideologies
-refocus Jesus is mediator

Question 20

What is Bonhoeffer’s rusty sword metaphor?

Answer 20

-refers to the outworn ethical attitudes held by the christian church but not by society
-He argued the German church was a rusty sword ineffective as he beleived they should make meaninful change

Question 21

Explain Bonhoeffer’s Community church in 1935.

Answer 21

-it was where pastors and preists were trained
-didnt have to follow hitler and avoided the aryan clause
-they focused on prsyer and dicipline

Question 22

What was life like in finkalwalde?

Answer 22

-they focused on simplicity
-ate simply had limited possestions meditated daily

Question 23

What did they do with the bible in these finkalwalde meetings?

Answer 23

they would debate and lecture and the book of psalms was the focus this allowed them to develop their spirituality with God.

Question 24

Why was Bonhoeffer’s view of the ideal christian not realistic?

Answer 24

-it cannot be applied to ordinary christians who are busy with jobs and families
-Faith is something personal its a connection you have with God individually no one dicatates that
-The seminaries were clearly much more nowledgable in the aspcet of christian knowledge as there studying it at a advanced level not what a ordinary christian can really comprehend

Question 25

What is God’s Grace?

Answer 25

God’s freely given love that cannot be earnt/bought German christians had lost sight of this.

Question 26

What is Cheap Grace?

Answer 26

-Christians who wrongly beleive that God’s grace was given as a gift without any personal sacrifice.
-They think that they can earn it throught good deeds and following christian teaching however this is viewed as a passive christian

Question 27

What is costly grace?

Answer 27

-free grace demands a responce of true sacrifical deiscipleship
-christian like in attitude
-scknowledge Jesus’s sacrifice and ‘pick up your cross’
-acknowledge that christianity can be burdensome
e.g forgiving your enemy

Question 28

What is bottom up theology according to Bonhoeffer?

Answer 28

-stand in solidarity to serve those who are most in need.
-look at those who are outcasted

Question 29

How did Bonhoeffer lead by example acting in solidarity?

Answer 29

-donated money to Jew families
-He returned to Germany after the second trip

Question 30

Why is duty to God more important (3)?

Answer 30

-the choice between defeating a nation or defeating christian civilisation the choice should be obvious
-any theology which takes a bottom up approach should understand the church to also be a moral guide to the state
-where christian principles are challengedduty to God is more important.

Question 31

why is duty to the state more important (3)?

Answer 31

-quotes
-fallen
-higherground

Question 32

What would catholics argue about knowing God’s Will?

Answer 32

The fact that we have god given reason and so we celebrate what it teaches us.

Question 33

Why cant we now God’s Will?

Answer 33

-fallen reason corrupted

Question 34

Why did bonhoeffer present a realistic view of christian life?

Answer 34

-makes sense for christian life to be centred around worshipping the ultimate leader

Question 35

What are disadvantages og finkalwalde?

Answer 35

-all male
only concerned for christians
-requires abandonement of contemporary lifestyle

Question 36

strengths of discipleship?

Answer 36

-all humans are equally made in God’s Image
-the fact that there is still revelance as there are oppressed people
-jesus called all followers to follow him