Bonhoeffer
“My problems with this book are mostly cosmetic: there are too many instances of the author claiming at this point Bonhoeffer made another famous or infamous statement; there were occasions when I realized the source was a wikipedia page; and at times the book read like a very long high school...”
“My problems with this book are mostly cosmetic: there are too many instances of the author claiming at this point Bonhoeffer made another famous or infamous statement; there were occasions when I realized the source was a wikipedia page; and at times the book read like a very long high school essay. Any large section in block quotes is welcome. There are also times when a comparison is made to present times which is very much of the author's subjective opinion (which may be offensive to those who are not of the same opinion).
Still, this book gives a good sense of how complicated and difficult it was to try and stand against the German Church (in collusion with the National Socialists) and the Nazis themselves. For instance, although this book frequently emphasizes how quick Bonhoeffer was to perceive the enmity of the Nazi Party to Jewish Germans, and how steadfast he was in confronting Anti-Semitism in his sphere of influence, he was anxious about his safety in performing a funeral service for the father of his brother-in-law. After refusing to do it, he immediately regretted it, and asked forgiveness. Nevertheless, when he realized what kind of commitment it would take to oppose an authority that overwhelmed his country and looked to conquer the world, there was no longer any anxiety or hesitation, and he became a source of encouragement and joy for those together with him in dark times.
I suppose my main value of the book is in the man whom it covers. He's someone that, rather than using faith as something to stand on and thus feel superior to others, has it as a place where GOD works on him. Here is someone who, when leaders are clamoring to get more and more, and the rest are seeking shelter, is offering up himself to give those others an opportunity to be safe, because, as he said, many Christian "people neither steal, nor murder, nor commit adultery, but do good according to their abilities. But… they must close their eyes to the injustice around them. Only at the cost of self-deception can they keep their private blamelessness clean from the stains of responsible action in the world. In all that they do, what they fail to do will not let them rest. They will either be destroyed by this unrest, or they will become the most hypocritical of all Pharisees." This is something that the Church always needs to hear.
He is someone who saw suffering of others around him, and it broke him to be like Jesus, and to suffer with them. I want to be like that.”
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