Christian moral actions Flashcards
living
what should a Christian do when a key part of their faith is undermined by the law?
-situation that faced German Lutheran pastor Bonhoeffer when he lived in the National Socialist State headed by Hitler
-Bonhoeffer was a key founding member of the confessing church, a religious community at Finkenwalde
-was a breakaway Christian church that rejected the way the German Christian Church had accepted Nazi ideology
-valued Church community
-promoted an ethic of responsibility for others
-focused on the cost of Discipleship and the sacrifice and suffering that it entails
the German Christian Church
-some Christians joined the Party and incorporated the ideology of Nazism into their Christian beliefs
-led to the split in the German Protestant Churches in 1934 between:
1. Christians in a Nazi controlled German church
2. a confessing church which sought to be authentically Christian
-Nazi ideology gained strong influence and control over the Church. Hitler was seen as the leader of Christianity alongside Jesus
-some leaders of the Germans Christians began to wear brown uniforms, linking them to the National Socialism
-promoted the nazi Aryan Cause including: no ministers with Jewish ancestry, campaign from removal of Old Testament from the Bible
German Christians vs Bonhoeffer
-Bonhoeffer was ordained in 1931 and with a group of ‘young reformers’ tried to change what was happening in Germany
-accused German Christians of not: confessing their faith, being true to their discipleship, following the commands of God
-the Confessing Church rejected the anti jewish rules and Nazi influence over the Church.
-he openly spoke against the Nazi persecution of Jews = conflict with the Nazis
-link to persons of Jesus - Jesus as a Liberator
preaching the message
-1935 the leaders of the Confessing Church asked Bonhoeffer to lead and direct a secret and illegal seminary - a place to train new pastors
-seminary closed in 1937 by the Gestapo, described his time in the seminary as an experience in community and as a place for the spiritually damaged and a refuge for the persecuted
-source of spiritual discipline, a life of prayer and a way to provide the caring service of the Church - Christ being present in community
-Bonhoeffer came to see, was what is meant to live under the Word of God
key themes
- Discipleship
- Obedience
- Grace
- Solidarity
- Discipleship
-‘the cost of discipleship’ = book
-Bonhoeffer, the call to discipleship entails exclusive obedience to the leadership of Jesus and the will of God, placing it above the law and any human leadership
-entails cutting yourself off from previous existence, not just fitting it into your life where convenient
-act of obedience is the only real faith
-God’s call demands action, no time to think things through, simply act
-‘single-minded obedience’ = called for by Bonhoeffer
-reason, conscience, responsibility and piety all stand in the way of obedience
-suffering and sacrifice are inherent to discipleship for anyone who follows Jesus because they must pick up his cross and follow the path of suffering that Jesus walks
-this suffering is essential to Christian life
- Obedience
-Bonhoeffer spoke out against the Nazi ideals in: the university where he worked, public lectures, illegal seminars
-argued that Hitler was the anti-Christ and is believed to have joined the plot to assassinate Hitler in 1944
-he said that one must break the Christian teaching of obeying civil authority, justifying civil disobedience because of his emphasis on obedience of God rather than duty to the state
-but in an age of terrorism and extremism this feels like a dangerous idea
- Grace
-God’s love and mercy, given freely to people, including forgiveness of sins and the offer of eternal life
-grace isn’t offered as a reward for action - not earned but a freely give gift
-comes from God’s desire to save all sinners
- Grace - cheap grace
“Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of the Church. We are fighting today for costly grace. Cheap grace means grace sold on the market like cheapjack’s wares” (the Cost of Discipleship)
-view attacks the churches that do not place any expectation that people should struggle to be a good Christian
-it criticises that Christian living should be easy and comfortable, full of reward with little struggle
-Bonhoeffer is concerned that people think because Jesus died for everyone that God’s grace is just given out for free to everyone
- Grace - costly grace
-this is grace that is the “treasure hidden in a field” the idea that you would gladly sacrifice everything for
-grace is costly because it calls us to follow Jesus and that means making changes to our lives and our decisions
-should involve suffering and struggle
-“it is costly because it costs man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life”
- Solidarity
-the purpose of Christian life is not to be ‘religious’ but rather to being in a relationship with God, through living an existence for others
-Bonhoeffer, this conviction of being with and for others led to the decision, only 21 days after arriving in America to return to Berlin
-determined to share in the time of suffering with the German people
-sharing our suffering included to get involved with the Resistance including passing on information to the Allies and smuggling Jews to safety into Switzerland under the guise of being a member of the German military intelligence
-it was this that led to his eventual arrest by the Gestapo
-seen as a shift from the Church and religion to social action
-was eventually executed by the Nazis
