Christian moral action Flashcards
What does Bonhoeffer ask himself?
What should a Christian do when a key part of their faith is undermined by the law?
Context to Bonhoeffer:
- German Lutheran Pastor.
- Lived in National Socialist state (Nazi).
- Founding member of the confessing Church in Finkenwalde, which rejected the ideologies accepted by the Christian church (Nazism).
What did Bonhoeffer focus on in the Confessing Church?
- Promoted ethic of responsibility for others.
- Focused on the Cost of Discipleship and the suffering in entails.
Nazism in the Christian community:
- Lead to split in German Protestant Churches, 1934.
- Those who incorporated Nazism.
- Those who wanted to remain purely Christian. (Confessing Church).
- Became the Reich Church, Hitler seen as the leader of Christianity.
- Leaders of Christian communities wore brown, linked them to national socialism.
- Promoted Aryanism- Jews could not be ministers.
- Campaigned to remove Old Testament from the Bible, which were Jewish scripture.
Why is it ironic that Jesus was seen as on par to Hitler?
Jesus himself was a Jew.
Bonhoeffer makes moves against Nazism:
-Ordained as a Christian minister 1931. Joined a group of ‘young reformers’.
Accused German Christians of not:
- Confessing their faith.
- Being true to discipleship.
- Following the commands of God.
Synoptic link to Bonhoeffer as a rebel:
- Jesus was a rebel, ‘I came to bring a sword not peace’.
- Both end up executed.
Bonhoeffer preaches the message:
- 1935, leaders of the confessing church asked Bonhoeffer to lead an illegal seminary.
- Seminary closed 1937 by Gestapo.
What did Bonhoeffer say his rebellion was like?
What it was like to live under the word of God.
What are the key themes in this topic?
- Discipleship.
- Obedience.
- Solidarity.
Discipleship:
- Call to discipleship entails the exclusive obedience to the leadership of Jesus. Law below Jesus. This links to Aquinas’ tiers of law in NL.
- You’re meant to leave all life behind
- Only real faith.
- God’s call demands action. Links to Liberation theology calling for ‘orthopraxy’.
- Called for ‘single minded obedience’. Just like Jesus called Peter to walk on the sea and risk his life.
Examples of single-minded obedience in the Bible:
‘God gives us the boat and oars, but then tells us ‘It’s up to you to row’’.
What does Bonhoeffer think distracts us from obedience?
Reason:
Kant telling us to do our duty.
Teleological.
We should act radically according to extreme situations.
Conscience:
Aquinas- ‘the mind of a man making moral decisions’. We shouldn’t just strive to be ‘moral’ now we should strive to do the right thing.
What is fundamental to discipleship?
- Suffering and sacrifice.
- Jesus’ crucifixion.
- The binding of Isaac.
What is the name of Bonhoeffer’s book?
The Cost of Discipleship.
Disobedience:
- Said that Hitler was the ‘anti-Christ’.
- Duty to God more important than duty to the state.
- Spoke out against Nazism in university he was employed. Lost job.
- Allegedly joined plot to assassinate Hitler 1944.
Justification for Civil disobedience:
10 Commandments, you must respect your parents.
What if they’re terrible people?
Disadvantage to Bonhoeffer’s thinking:
- Could be argued that he is promoting terrorism and extremism.
Bonhoeffer’s idea of grace:
- God’s love and mercy. It is universal and offers eternal life to all.
What does Bonhoeffer’s idea of grace contrast?
‘The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats’.
Types of Grace:
Cheap and costly.
Cheap grace:
- ‘deadly enemy of the church’.
- It’s superficial, acting immoral knowing you are to be saved.
- Criticising that Christian life should be easy.
Costly grace:
- ‘Treasure in a hidden field’.
- Something worth sacrificing everything for.
- ‘It is costly because it costs man life’.
Solidarity:
- Says we should ‘exist for others’.
- Links to JSM’s altruism (unselfish love for others).
- He escaped safety from the USA because he felt so wrong. After 21 days.
- Smuggled Jews to Switzerland.
- Arrested by Gestapo and executed.
How is Bonhoeffer described?
‘Ultimate role model for Christians today’.
‘Ultimate witness to a world that is not Christian’.
Eric Metaxas
What metaphor does Bonhoeffer use?
- Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5-7.
- Jesus’ followers must be like ‘salt’ and ‘light’.
- Metaphor of salt shows Christians need to add ‘flavour’ to their community.
- ‘Light’ means Christians must be leading an example, and must be visible in the community.
Religionless Christianity:
Wrote of this as an ideal time after the war where Christians will focus on being moral rather than ‘religion’.
Term to describe Jesus’ crucifixion:
‘Died to the flesh’ Romans.
