BONHOEFFER: GOD'S WILL, DISCIPLESHIP & LEADERSHIP Flashcards
What is God’s Will in this context?
We must submit to obedience = an act of faith, an inner law achieved through prayer.
For Bonhoeffer, what is the call to discipleship?
A call to obedience to the leadership of Jesus and the will of God.
Give a quote from Bonhoeffer about a clear encounter with Jesus.
“Only obedience to the call of Jesus.”
What does discipleship entail?
The exclusive obedience to the leadership of God and all other legal ties are unimportant.
How does one know what the will of God is according to Bonhoeffer?
It will “only be clear in the moment of action” - no rusty swords.
What does being obedient to God’s will mean for Bonhoeffer?
Going against the state.
What distinction does Bonhoeffer make between Leadership and leader?
Leadership is grounded in the community, but the idea of leader is specific to a particular person.
What does leadership focus on? How does Bonhoeffer link this to Germany?
Leadership focuses on matter beyond the leader, not the leader himself. Germany had invested a leader divorced from society - a tyrant.
What was the call to discipleship for Bonhoeffer?
A call to obedience to the leadership of Jesus and the will of God.
What is Christian discipleship according to Bonhoeffer?
Fundamentally about something you do; who which leader you obey.
What does Bonhoeffer state in the Cost of Discipleship about leaders?
“It is nothing else than bondage to Jesus Christ alone.”
What does discipleship entail?
The exclusive obedience to the leadership of God and all other legal ties are burned.
What does God’s will mean?
That we cannot take on the call on our own terms, fitting it in around our life in a way that is convent.
What does Bonhoeffer state about the road to faith?
“Only he who believes is obedient, and only he who is obedient believes.”
What did Bonhoeffer call for?
‘Single-minded obedience’.
What did the leaders of the confessing church ask Bonhoeffer to do in 1935?
To lead and direct a secret and illegal seminary - a place to train new pastors.
When was the seminary closed? By whom?
1937 by the Gestapo.
What was the seminary for Bonhoeffer?
A source of spiritual discipline, a life of prayer and a way to provide the caring service of the church.
What did the call to discipleship entail for Bonhoeffer?
Exclusive obedience and cutting yourself off from previous existence.
What did Bonhoeffer believe discipleship was?
The only real faith.
What does God’s call demand?
Action, there is no time to think things through, just simply act.
What did Bonhoeffer call for? How does this link to Jesus?
‘Single-minded’ obedience, just as Jesus called Peter to risk his life and work on the sea.
What three things stand in the way of obedience? Who does this link to?
Conscience, responsibility and piety.
Aquinas - conscience.
How can Bonhoeffer be defended from this notion of going against Jesus’ teaching?
The alternative was to abide by the German Church which followed the Aryan Race Policy, a direct contradiction of Jesus’ teaching.
What must anyone who follows Jesus do?
Pick up their cross and follow the path of suffering.
