Christian moral action Flashcards
what religion was Bonhoeffer?
Christian
why did he move back to Germany in 1939?
“i will have no right to participate in the reconstruction of Christian life in Germany after the war”
how did his personal conviction link to Hitler and the Nazi party?
he believed being a pacifist violence should be avoided at all costs
what was the confessing church?
German protestant churches to resist Hitler
why did some Christians not agree with Bonhoeffer?
he believed that Jews who converted to Christian are entitled to the same rights.
what did he do to help Jews in Nazi Germany?
helped them escape to switzerland
what does a preferential pacifist believe?
better ot use violence then to let bad things happed
why was Bonhoeffer arrested?
played a role in trying to overthrow Hitler
How and why was Bonhoeffer killed?
hung by barbed wire, because he was part of resistance of Hitler
who did Bonhoeffer show duty to? State or God?
GOD
Bonhoeffer placed himself against the state and worked against it in two ways?
- member of confessing church (group of people refused to accept Ayran Germans could be part of church)
- joined the resistance
what was a key belief of Bonhoeffer? when was this shown?
solidarity, in his return to germany
how did Bonhoeffer see Nazism?
As evil ideology
two passages from the new testament reinforce the view that Christians have duty and duty to obey the stat?
- Jesus “give to the emperor the things that are the emperors and to god the things that are gods”
- Paul- “let every person be subject to the government authority except from god, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by god”
why did the church disobey the state?
Nazi Germany had gained too much power and put it’s policies before justice, it had to disobey to avoid more suffering and disorder.
what must Christians ask ourselves to submit to obedience?
“what is the will of god?” this is known in the moment of action
for Bonhoeffer what is the call to obedience the same as?
call to discipleship, to obey Jesus and the will of god
how did the first disciples respond to the call of discipleship?
wasn’t out of a profession of faith or a rational account of the theology they believed in but out of obedience?
quote to represent this?
“only obedience to the call of Jesus”
quote linking obedience and belief in faith?
“only he who believes is obedient and only he who is obedient believes”
what did Bonhoeffer call ‘acting in response to god’?
single minded obedience
what four things stand in the way of single minded obedience?
reason
conscience
responsibility
piety
how does Bonhoeffer respond to ‘how do we know what is the will of god’?
it will “only be clear in the moment of action”
how else will you know the will of god?
prayer
conscience
and reflection of christ
how did Bonhoeffer differentiate between leadership and leader?
leadership= grounder in community leader= specific to a particular person
can leadership be rationally justified?
yes, but by contrast “it is virtually impossible to give a rational basis for the nature of the leader”
for Bonhoeffer Germany had a creator a new category of leader what was it?
a leader divorced from society, a tyrant
what was Bonhoeffers justification for civil disobedience?
Christians have a “responsibility to the state”; this does not entail turning the state into a Christian one but o ensure that state acts in accordance with gods will
when do Christians have a duty to disobey the state?
when its making “reasonable people face unreasonable situations”
what did the Nazi’s trying to impose order in a disordered society mean for the society?
mistreatment of minorities
blatant disregard for life
led to a distortion of the god given order
give an example of “suffering disobedience”?.
tyrannicide may be a Christian duty if it means establishing social order
what did Bonhoeffer write about the attempted assassination of Hitler?
wasn’t justified in ordinary ethical terms but by “bold action as the free response of faith”
killing is killing and cannot be morally justifiable, what is the only possible consolation?
if god forgave the “man who becomes a sinner in the process”
What is the role of the church?
provide a moral and spiritual community which helps each person live morally in the world.
for Bonhoeffer how could this happen?
church cannot be the middle class institution it ahs become over the centuries but should be stripped of false pretences at being religious
‘world come of age’ definition for Bonhoeffer?
how western culture has grown up and in embracing a rational view of the world has discarded a superstitious view of religion.
the ‘western void’ definition
western secular world without religion filled with dangerous beliefs.
‘religionless Christianity’ definition
describes Christianity without the baggage of the past and contamination by the beliefs of the present
‘no rustty swords’ meaning
metaphor to describe outworn ethical attitudes which the church has used, not used today.
‘no rusty swords’ meaning
metaphor to describe outworn ethical attitudes which the church has used, not used today.
why did the confessing church come about?
reaction against the Reich church which had blended christianity and the Nazis
what was the result of the meeting at Barmen 1934?
the Barmen Declaration
who was the Barmen declaration created by?
Karl Barth
in summary what does the Barmen declaration state?
a Christians primary duty to Christ and that any teaching not revealed in Christ should be rejected.
what did Bonhoeffer think about the barmen declaration?
it should have gone further in condemning the state especially the states treatment of the Jews
when bonheoeffer returned from the usa 1935 he set up a community, where? what ?
- Finkenwadle
- training ministers and pastors for the confessing church (1937 nazis declared training of confessing church illegal)
who was the finkenwadle closed down by?
tird Reich
name the 5 central practices of finkenwadle?
- discipline (discipline of oneself in relationship with others is the foundation of the church and he believed led to action)
- meditation (discipline developed through meditation)
- Bible (frequent reading and discussion of the bible, to encourage intelligent understanding and development of Christian teaching)
- Brotherhood (community bound together by love of and for Christ)
- Community for others (church must be outward looking and engage with the world )
how did bonhoeffer describe his time at the seminary?
as an experiment in community, it was essential to challenge the nationalist ideology with the experience of Christian community
Bonhoeffer quote for discipleship?
“when Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die…Suffering then, is the badge of true discipleship
what did Bonhoeffer focus on rather than the issues of good and evil?
obeying the will of god
what question should Christians be asking instead of asking about the nature of god?
“who is Christ for us today?”
what is action promoted by?
conscience
what is action promoted by?
conscience- moment of self knowledge
ethical decisions are always ones of what?
conflict and action- knowing between good and evil and then acting in the correct way
what does love overcome?
disunity which is not a human attitude but is revealed in God’s love for humanity as expressed in Jesus Christ
what is grace?
gods love and mercy, given freely to the people, forgiveness of sins and offer of eternal life.
where does grace come from?
Gods desire to save all sinners
what was Bonhoeffers book on discipleship called?
The Cost Of Discipleship
Books beginning statement about grace?
“cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our church. We are fighting today for costly grace”
what does the statement suggest?
attacks churches that do not place any expectations that people should struggle to be a good Christian
what does the statement criticize?
the idea that Christian living is an easy and comfortable experience without any struggle.
why did Bonhoeffer have a problem with forgiveness?
he thought that the idea of forgiveness meant that people thought that they wouldn’t need to change their lives
Bonhoeffer believed that authentic Christianity has to based on three fundamentals, what were they?
“only christ, only scripture and only faith”
what is cara?
Swagalishous
why is costly grace ‘costly’? and why is it ‘grace’?
“costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives man the only true life…above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his son”
why is grace costly?
It calls us to follow Jesus and that means making changes to our lives and our decisions
for christians what is the experience of suffering a result of?
Christian engagement with the world and it is entering into the suffering of Christ. taking up the cross with him each day. cost of true discipleship
for Christians what is the experience of suffering a result of?
Christian engagement with the world and it is entering into the suffering of Christ. taking up the cross with him each day. cost of true discipleship
quote from mark about being a disciple?
“whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. for whoever want to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it”
Bonhoeffer says that the call to discipleship is clearly linked to what?
the passion of the death of Jesus, suffering and rejection- death without honour
Bonhoeffers idea suggests that discipleship and costly grace entails what?
self-denial and endurance of the cross. Suffering like pains of loss, illness, disappointment.
the challenge and burden of Christian life involves temptation and the burden of what?
forgiving others, this is the kind of cross that jesus refers to and bearing it is the only way of triumphing over the suffering
when jesus is praying in teh garden of gethesmane what does he say?
‘let this cup pass me by’ but the way he leaves suffering is by drinking the cup. THIS IS THE PATH TO VICTORY.
what has jesus’ suffering done for us?
open the path to come into communion with god
how did Bonhoeffer describe Jesus? as the church is?
“the man for others” “body of Christ”
for Bonhoeffer what is the purpose of Christian life?
not be religious but to be in a relationship with others
Bonhoeffer had three forms of solidarity what were they?
- solidarity against injustice
- solidarity with the Jews
- solidarity with his people
explain solidarity against injustice?
believed church had an obligation to fight against political injustice
- help victims whatever their faith
explain solidarity with the Jews
spoke publicly against poor treatment of Jews in Germany and helped Jewish immigrants when acting as a double agent
explain solidarity with his people?
he returned to Germany in danger to be with his people. we have to live through experience of suffering .
