Lesson 1: Duty to God and the Duty to stay
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
- He was a German pastor who lived in nazi Germany and was the founding
member of a church, Confessing Church (a breakaway church that rejected Nazi
ideology)
- Christian life can often come across as a comfortable, “nice Christianity”,
communities, festivals and Sunday school.
1934: there was a split in the German protestant churches, there was:
- The Nazi controlled German Church
- A confessing Christian church which wanted to be authentically Christian and
separate from politics.
“The time is fulfilled for the German people of Hitler. It is because of Hitler that Christ,
God the helper and redeemer has become effective among us... Hitler is the way of
the spirit and the will of God for the German people to enter the church of Christ” -
German pastor
Some leaders promoted the Nazi Aryan Claus, this stopped ministers who has Jewish
ancestry from working in churches. Some campaigned for the removal of the Old
Testament from the bible, because it was Jewish. Hitler was seen as the leader of
Christianity.
If anyone in your family or previous past family was Jewish, you could not lead a
Church.
Bonhoeffer’s opposition:
- Ordained in 1931, accused the German Christians of not confessing their faith
and not being true to themselves, this brought conflict between him and the
state.
, Chruch as community and source of spiritual discipline
Bonhoeffer sees that Jesus must be the “salt and the lake light” this means salt adds
flavour to food, Christians must act like moral people, Christians are the salt, it is their
action which matter. “All these good works are a bearing of the cross of Jesus Christ”
Light: Christians must follow the mission of the church and be a “visible community”.
The confessing Chruch was a breakaway Church
What did the confessing Chruch reject? In 1934 it rejected
- The Nazi idea of Aryan supremacy
- Anti-Jewish laws
- The identification of Hitler as a person who fulfilled the Christian vision
Hitler got more powerful, and leader of the Confessing Church were pressured to
support Hitler, Bonhoeffer was against this. Hitler then tried to take over this Chruch
by taking the civil oath to Hitler.
Bonhoeffer's role in the confessing church and religious community at Finkenwadle:
- In 1935 the leaders of the confessing church asked Bonhoeffer to lead a secret
seminary (a place that trained new pastors) - this was illegal
Why was this needed?
- The main universities has Aryan law restrictions and so an independent
seminary did not have these laws
- The Confessing church could train ministers in a way that did not involve the
Nazi ideology (this was now part of German churches)
This seminary moved to a disused private school in Finkenwalde
In this seminar it included peace, prayer, working together, bible study, singing of
black spirituals (had heard this in his time in America).
His book is called “The cost of discipleship”
Luke 10:38-42 explains how they were saying with Mary and Martha and Jesus shows
his disapproval of Martha getting angry about Mary and the preparations of the house,
Jesus says the only thing that really matters is peace.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
- He was a German pastor who lived in nazi Germany and was the founding
member of a church, Confessing Church (a breakaway church that rejected Nazi
ideology)
- Christian life can often come across as a comfortable, “nice Christianity”,
communities, festivals and Sunday school.
1934: there was a split in the German protestant churches, there was:
- The Nazi controlled German Church
- A confessing Christian church which wanted to be authentically Christian and
separate from politics.
“The time is fulfilled for the German people of Hitler. It is because of Hitler that Christ,
God the helper and redeemer has become effective among us... Hitler is the way of
the spirit and the will of God for the German people to enter the church of Christ” -
German pastor
Some leaders promoted the Nazi Aryan Claus, this stopped ministers who has Jewish
ancestry from working in churches. Some campaigned for the removal of the Old
Testament from the bible, because it was Jewish. Hitler was seen as the leader of
Christianity.
If anyone in your family or previous past family was Jewish, you could not lead a
Church.
Bonhoeffer’s opposition:
- Ordained in 1931, accused the German Christians of not confessing their faith
and not being true to themselves, this brought conflict between him and the
state.
, Chruch as community and source of spiritual discipline
Bonhoeffer sees that Jesus must be the “salt and the lake light” this means salt adds
flavour to food, Christians must act like moral people, Christians are the salt, it is their
action which matter. “All these good works are a bearing of the cross of Jesus Christ”
Light: Christians must follow the mission of the church and be a “visible community”.
The confessing Chruch was a breakaway Church
What did the confessing Chruch reject? In 1934 it rejected
- The Nazi idea of Aryan supremacy
- Anti-Jewish laws
- The identification of Hitler as a person who fulfilled the Christian vision
Hitler got more powerful, and leader of the Confessing Church were pressured to
support Hitler, Bonhoeffer was against this. Hitler then tried to take over this Chruch
by taking the civil oath to Hitler.
Bonhoeffer's role in the confessing church and religious community at Finkenwadle:
- In 1935 the leaders of the confessing church asked Bonhoeffer to lead a secret
seminary (a place that trained new pastors) - this was illegal
Why was this needed?
- The main universities has Aryan law restrictions and so an independent
seminary did not have these laws
- The Confessing church could train ministers in a way that did not involve the
Nazi ideology (this was now part of German churches)
This seminary moved to a disused private school in Finkenwalde
In this seminar it included peace, prayer, working together, bible study, singing of
black spirituals (had heard this in his time in America).
His book is called “The cost of discipleship”
Luke 10:38-42 explains how they were saying with Mary and Martha and Jesus shows
his disapproval of Martha getting angry about Mary and the preparations of the house,
Jesus says the only thing that really matters is peace.
