What Christian Should Do If Law Undermine Faith Flashcards
Who faced situation of what to do when Christian faith undermined by law
This was a situation faced by German Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer when he lived in a Nazi state headed by Hilter
What church was Bonhoeffer a key founding member of ?
Confessing church
What is the confessioning church
Breakaway Christian church that rejected the way the German Christian church accepted the nazi ideology as the church was following the law of hilter and he couldn’t support it so created own church
What did Bonhoeffer value
- church community
- ethic responsibility for others
- focused on the cost of discipleship, sacrifice and suffering
As Bonhoeffer was moving away from the nazi ideology what else was he moving away from ?
The law
How did the Nazi ideology gain strong influence and control over the church
As it was Seeing hitler as the leader of the church Alongside Jesus
What is the Key issue of Hitler wanting to coinsicde or be in par with Jesus
As Jesus himself was a Jew and not a Christian as Christianity was created after in the name of Jesus after his sacrifice so Hitlers ideology is uneducated and ridiculous as killing all Jews but Jesus himself was a Jew who practised Judaism
How did the confessing church preach the message
Leader of the confessing church in 1935 asked Bonhoeffer to lead a secret and illegal seminary - a place to train new pastors
Which was illegal as practised something beyond Nazism
What happened to the illegal and secret seminary
But was closed down by the gesapo (German police) but this was a place of community and home for people that did not feel at home in Germany and church that sided with Nazi
What did the confessing church sought to be
Split of Protestant that sough to be authentically Christian
How to know German Church was siding with Nazism
- German Christian’s would wear brown uniforms linking them to national socialism
- promoted Nazi aryan cause :
- no one from Jewish background could be a minster in the church
- campaigned to remove Old Testament from bible (Jewish scriptures) e.g Moses , 10 commandment
What did Bonhoeffer accuse the German Christians of not doing
- Not confessing faith
- Being true to discipleship
- Following commandments of God
What 3 things did the confessing church do to reject anti Jewish rules
- Nazi influence over church
- he openly spoke against Nazi persecution of Jews causing a Nazi conflict
What does Bonhoeffer have synoptic links to
Jesus was seen as a rebel went against society e.g forgave sins of adulterous , healed on sabbath breaking Laws to do right, ate sinners
