role of the church as a community

Question 1

What is the role of the church according to Bonhoeffer?

Answer 1

The role of the church is to provide the moral and spiritual community, equipping individuals with tools to live morally in the world.

Question 2

What needs to happen for the church to fulfil this role?

Answer 2

The church should not take a middle class role but instead be stripped of false pretence at being religious. The church must grow and embrace a religionless world and fully engage with it.

Question 3

What is a religionless society?

Answer 3

A religionless society is used to describe christianity without all the baggages of the past and the contamination by the ideological beliefs of the present.

Question 4

Why was Bonhoeffer critical of liberal societies?

Answer 4

He thought personal autonomy was essential for choosing the life best suited to one’s own happiness

Question 5

How does Bonhoeffer describe modern western culture?

Answer 5

He described this as a ‘world come of age’, western culture has grown up and in embracing a rational view of the world has discarded a superstitious view of religion.

Question 6

What is a disadvantage of the ‘world come of age?’

Answer 6

In order for the ‘world come of age’ to occur , this must have a cost. Liberalism has thrown out many Christian values as being irrational.

Question 7

What has the removal of Christian values created?

Answer 7

This has created the western void.

Question 8

What is the western void?

Answer 8

The western void is a moral and spiritual vacuum that allows dangerous beliefs that seek to occupy the role that Christianity used to occupy.

Question 9

What is an example of a ‘new religion’ in Nazi Germany?

Answer 9

National socialism was viewed as a ‘new religion’ by Nazis as it filled the gaps.

Question 10

How did Bonhoeffer link the role of the church to the rusty sword?

Answer 10

Rusty swords are outworn ethical attitudes that the church has used effectively in the past but which have no use today.

Question 11

What did Bonhoeffer conclude about his teaching on religiousless society?

Answer 11

Bonhoeffer argued that ‘christianity and ethics have nothing to do with eachother.’

Question 12

What was the birth of the confessing church?

Answer 12

This was a reaction against the Nazified faction of protestant clergy in the German Christian movement who had blended Christianity and National socialism.

Question 13

What did the confessing church go against?

Answer 13

Hitler created a german evangelical church which included an ‘aryan paragraph’- removing all clergy who were not of aryan decent.

Question 14

How did the confessing church go against the aryan paragraph?

Answer 14

In 1934, the confessing church held a meeting at Barmen and produced the Barman declaration

Question 15

What did the Barman declaration declare?

Answer 15

This states that a christians primarily duty is to christ

-the church should reject any teaching that is not revealed in Christ.

Question 16

How did Bonhoeffer develop a more inclusive role of the wider church?

Answer 16

Through ‘ecumenical theology - an indirect dispute with the german christian movement

Question 17

Why couldn’t the confessing church become a national church?

Answer 17

Bonhoeffer stated that the christian communities should have no national, political and racial boundaries.

Question 18

What was the purpose of religious community at finkenwalde according to Bonhoffer?

Answer 18

the purpose of religious community at finkenwalde was:

• to develop practical christian living
• exercise christian virtues, virtue of discipline in particular

Question 19

What are the central principles of the religious community at Finkenwalde?

Answer 19

Central principles were:
discipline
meditation 
bible
brotherhood
community for others

Question 20

What is the principle of Discipline?

Answer 20

Discipline is the foundation of God, Discipline=action.
Bonhoeffer believed that
-the body aswell as the soul has to be disciplined and exercised
*In Finkenwalde, the whole community would often go for bike rides.

Question 21

What is the principle of Meditation ?

Answer 21

Discipline is developed through meditation as the foundation for prayer.

Question 22

What is the principle of the Bible?

Answer 22

Frequent reading and discussions of the bible is at the heart of Christian daily life.
*Debates and discussions and lectures about encourage intelligent understanding and development of christian teachings

Question 23

What is the principle of Brotherhood?

Answer 23

The community is bound together by their love for christ and sustained by the holy spirit.
Bonhoffer believes that
the director should change frequently so communities should not be stuck in its way.
*In Finklewale, Bonhoeffer ensured that former students were informed by regular letters and reports of life in the community.

Question 24

What is the principle of community for other?

Answer 24

Bonhoeffer insisted that the church is community of the forgiven not the righteous because no one is perfect.
As Christ died for all human beings, the church community must engage with the world and look beyond their religion.