Bonhoeffer- Civil Disobedience

Question 1

What historical context allowed Bonhoeffer to reconcile civil disobedience with Christianity

Answer 1

The protestant reformation- Martin Luther challenging the divine right of kings in the Holy Roman Empire
Authority of the church is sola gratia, sola fides, sola scriptura, solus christus. No earthly power can be a gateway to the divine

Question 2

Mark 12:17 on civil disobedience

Answer 2

“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s”

Question 3

Romans 13:1 on civil obedience

Answer 3

“Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established”

Question 4

How did Bonhoeffer believe Christians should enact civil disobedience

Answer 4

There should be a single minded obedience to God and only God.
“A terrible alternative” is civil disobedience, but against a regime like the Nazis there is no choice

Question 5

Hermann Gruner on Hitler

Answer 5

“Hitler is the way of the spirit and the will of God for the German people to enter the church of Christ”

Question 6

How does bonhoeffer justify civil disobedience with respect to the scripture

Answer 6

“Guilty and blackened by duty”: it is nothing noble but rebelling against the Nazis .
In a secular world, more secular authorities may appear to threaten core values of Christians. In this circumstance, they may have no choice but to act against them.
Good against evil: Bonhoeffer saw smuggling Jews into Switzerland as the only morally tenable opportunity in the face of the Holocaust

Question 7

Support for Bonhoeffer’s civil disobedience

Answer 7

Human reason is fundamentally flawed, so laws created by a human regime will be also (Barth and Augustine).

Question 8

Bonhoeffer leader quote

Answer 8

“If a leader tries to become the idol the led are looking for, the image of the leader becomes one of a misleader”

Question 9

Criticism of bonhoeffers civil disobedience

Answer 9

Calvin & propositional revelation
Kraemer
Kant- perhaps in times of such crisis, duty should come above faith and one should not be so obsessed with trying to fit moral actions with Christianity

Question 10

Criticism of bonhoeffers civil disobedience

Answer 10

Calvin & propositional revelation
Kraemer
Kant- perhaps in times of such crisis, duty should come above faith and one should not be so obsessed with trying to fit moral actions with Christianity