“I'm still discovering, right up to this moment, that it is only by living completely in this world that one learns to have faith. ~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer
As usual you are reading the zeitgeist accurately with clarity and right on point...just finished reading "Letter to the American Church" (Metaxis)..once again it's all about Jesus(eternity with God or eternity without God)!! Maranatha!!
Karen, once again I am deeply moved by your insights and writings. I pray that it’s towards simplicity and straightforwardness. I have been feeling somewhat defeated and hopeless lately and your essay hit home. Can’t thank you enough.
Thanks for the thoughts .. it’s a difficult topic to cover and one I think many Christian’s are trying to navigate as Christians should…
There are many aspects to Gods wisdom, too many to cover here.. but I few thoughts ..
When Jesus was tempted by the devil it was prior to the cross and the redemption the cross brings .. even so he actively drove out demons showing who really has authority and opposed evil leadership in voice and actions.. His death on the cross was necessary to accomplish redemption.. ransoming back the legal authority to this world the devil had… so the balance of power has changed now.. dramatically..
you only have to consider the progress made in Christian nations over the past and compare it character to the barbaric nature of those areas that reject Christianity.. eg USSR of Stalin, or look where the cartels and criminals gangs rule..
But amongst that history is an ebb and tide where civilisation waned in its devotion to God and in doing so brought judgement on themselves as we saw with Israel and is warned in Romans 1…
Bonhoeffer lived in one of those times where Christianity has shrunk back and his voice was one against millions..
That did not have to be that way..
there are so many promises in scripture that if His people stay faithful He will fight for us.. but apostasy is always punished by being delivered to our enemies…whose that for us is now communism and or Islam..
Many “freedom” fighters oppose the tyranny before us as unjust but few repent and accept they turn from God and so need to return to the One who brings real freedom…
That is the cry that’s needed to people today and you see people like Jordan Peterson grappling with this truth ….and then there is a need for a cry to God for mercy because we haven’t been faithful and that so many young people have been lied to from birth about evolution and what is true.. they bear less guilt than those who knew God and walked away..
Like Daniel we have to repent for our own and the sins of our nations ..
it’s not a popular message but it’s needed because the problem is not that the devil rules it’s that the heart of man is hard and sinful and needs to born again..
that was Wesley’s and Whitfields message and it’s relevance hasn’t changed..
Ultimately yes His kingdom is not of this world, but His prayer is thy kingdom come, thy will be don’t on earth as it is in heaven… He would not have asked us to pray that if heaven on earth was not His intention…
Regardless of all this we need to live a life of repentance, faith and holiness.. it’s our only just response to His sacrifice..
Thanks for the essay. I agree with the sentiment that we needed many more Bonhoeffer’s than we got, who were willing to vocalize and stand against the covid tyranny, with love and readiness to sacrifice, and lead by example.
I had not considered Bonhoeffer to be an advocate for a stateless society. My impression was he left America to return to Germany to be a voice and lived example for what was right in face of the horrific evils. He supported the overthrow of that particular government, but did he write about no rulers and no governments on Earth? I would have thought ‘Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's’ (Mtthw 22:21 KJV) to be the more general sentiment. Perhaps I have not read sufficiently B’s writings.
I realize many would not consider Bonhoeffer an anarchist. Of course we are told to give into Cesar what is Cesar's. However, anyone who lives as a disciple of Jesus will inevitably get into trouble with the state. They will be too much of a threat, just as Jesus was. I think Bonhoeffer is an example of that. I've been thinking about this a lot lately. I have no doubt he didn't believe there was an answer to humanity's ills by building a new or a better state. The way he lived his life and the words he spoke at his death tell us this.
Yes priorities. I’d agree with that too “ I have no doubt he didn't believe there was an answer to humanity's ills by building a new or a better state.”
Ellul a Christian anarchist? Certainly. But Bonhoeffer? Hardly. I’m no theologian or Bonhoeffer expert, but he didn’t reject earthly authority. Establishing the Confessing Church wasn’t an act of anarchy. His resistance targeted the monstrosity that was the National Socialist State and Nazified Reichskirche. He said “the term ‘state’ means an ordered community; government is the power which creates and maintains order . . . . Government is divinely ordained authority to exercise worldly dominion by divine right. Government is deputyship for God on earth.” He was associated with the Kreisau Circle, which was a small group of civilian and military members planning for a post-Nazi government. None of that sounds very anarchic — except of course in the eyes of the Gestapo. IMHO, characterizing his actions as anarchy lessens the nobility of his sacrificial anti-Nazi resistance.
I appreciate your perspective but I would argue that being a Christian Anarchist in no way lessens the mobility of how he lived his life.
I realize there are those would not consider Bonhoeffer an anarchist. Of course we are told to give into Cesar what is Cesar's. However, anyone who lives as a disciple of Jesus will inevitably get into trouble with the state. They will be too much of a threat, just as Jesus was. I think Bonhoeffer is an example of that. I've been thinking about this a lot lately. I have no doubt he didn't believe there was an answer to humanity's ills by building a new or a better state. The way he lived his life and the words he spoke at his death tell us this.
1 John 5:19. The whole world lies in the evil one.
The moral and immoral; the political and apolitical; the religious (including christian) and unreligious; the intellectual and the simpleton. It’s all a kingdom of darkness. The only escape and freedom is in being transferred out of the authority of darkness by our Heavenly Father and into the kingdom of the Son of His love. Thence forth to live as a sojourner in the darkness but no longer under the authority of its ruler.
Gorsh, Ellul REALLY was prescient! dyin' long 'fore the garbage pit of social MEdia blighted our nations, this guy had it down pat! The ignorance, the blind followin'--wow. I'd pair his words--this concept of echo-chamber ideas--with Rene Girard's -- on both mimetics & scapegoatin' (Girard is also SO before his time!).
I was aware of Bonhoeffer, known ta some've us "chews" as an important, blessed, heroic figger who sadly lost his life to speak out, to save jews because he believed the Nazis were wrong -- but I wasn't familiar with his actual words. I had no idea 'bout his chastisin' those who kept silent--an' how he found that we must all NOT be silent. Wise stuff!
Be we "ordained" as preachers (as he was) or just plain / regular folks--an' of course natch'urly like Jesus was, as a man who refused ta be silenced--he tasks us all with sidin' on the side of what we know is right--with our convictions. Didn't know about his observations in America, but his is an important message, knowin' that ta do this we SURELY will have ta go before those who are "against us" (on a daily basis!)--an' that we need ta do this even in absence of other supports or friends. Some've us do it in person, with our writin', with podcasts or plays or whatever it might be...
Many've us are "tryin'" to stick to this path (imperfect tho' we are, but we aim high!)--goin' amongst those who see us as the enemy or at very least "wrong"--"soldierin' " it out--even we must go it alone with none by our side.
I'd like to pair Bonhoeffer's words with those of Rabbi Michoel Green who addresses "silence" head on in this recent postin' on "The Sin of Silence"
He speaks of the vaxxxines--an' the silence of many--rabbis included!--who allowed their flocks ta take the jabs, knowin' of the harms an' mountin' evidence--AND to regular folks too (of course many of us who warned others were ignored but at least we tried, right?) :
he addresses "the enigma of widespread Israeli silence during covid tyranny, while seniors were left languishing to suffer and die in isolation, while patients were being helplessly euthanized with ventilators and Remdesivir ("run, death is near") in authoritarian hospitals, while millions were being force-injected with a lethal bioweapon, while healthy people were being marginalized, banned, penalized for their non-compliance. "
He asks (quotin' him from this postin'):
Don't they realize that silence doesn't bring honor on victims of democide, but just the opposite?
My friends, it's time to END THE SILENCE.
Speak out against dystopian democide.
Time is short. The stakes are too high. Ignore the silent and the silencers.
Be vocal and speak the truth.
Don't worry if you're the only one. People will hear you. You'll save lives.
Follow the example of our saintly Rebbe and use your voice!
Notes:
[1] Genesis 27:22.
[2] Samuel II 7:23, Chronicles I 17:21.
[3] Bava Bathra 158b
[4] See “When Silence us a Sin: the Obligation to Protest and the Obligation to Settle the Entire Land of Israel, from the Talks of the Lubavitcher Rebbe,” published by Sichos in English.
Of course it wasn't just in the Pfizer-guinea-pig land of Israel that the rotten leaders sold out their people--SO many the world over--dokturds, pastors, rabbies, leaders--horrible ta fathon. An' soitenly we sawr that here too. But also--there were those who spoke out, even riskin' their own lives (Dr. Zev Zelenko traveled to Israel to warn them an' got death threats in return--not from the Orthodox communities who were receptive...but from the corrupt gubbamint there--an' here too!).
Grateful ta know the wisdom of both these brave, prescient men!
I cain't say much fer anarchy--I prefer order to chaos as I've witnessed chaos too many times ta find it a solution--but I can see how "polly-ticks" are devilish--that's fer sure! I will say that since this plandemic I've paid a lot more attention ta the "libertarian" veeeery limited gubbamint angle--perhaps not as "holy" as "holy anarchy" (ha ha) but I DO think it's a passle better than what we've got now!
Blessin's back yer way! Loved these Sunday reflections!
Brilliant. Thank you. What we need to hear and think deeply about.
Yes, I agree. It might be an unpopular topic for many but much needed. Thank you 🙏
As usual you are reading the zeitgeist accurately with clarity and right on point...just finished reading "Letter to the American Church" (Metaxis)..once again it's all about Jesus(eternity with God or eternity without God)!! Maranatha!!
Thank you 🙏
Karen, once again I am deeply moved by your insights and writings. I pray that it’s towards simplicity and straightforwardness. I have been feeling somewhat defeated and hopeless lately and your essay hit home. Can’t thank you enough.
This is always the best kind of comment I can receive. It really gives me the energy to keep on going. So thank you!
Thanks for the thoughts .. it’s a difficult topic to cover and one I think many Christian’s are trying to navigate as Christians should…
There are many aspects to Gods wisdom, too many to cover here.. but I few thoughts ..
When Jesus was tempted by the devil it was prior to the cross and the redemption the cross brings .. even so he actively drove out demons showing who really has authority and opposed evil leadership in voice and actions.. His death on the cross was necessary to accomplish redemption.. ransoming back the legal authority to this world the devil had… so the balance of power has changed now.. dramatically..
you only have to consider the progress made in Christian nations over the past and compare it character to the barbaric nature of those areas that reject Christianity.. eg USSR of Stalin, or look where the cartels and criminals gangs rule..
But amongst that history is an ebb and tide where civilisation waned in its devotion to God and in doing so brought judgement on themselves as we saw with Israel and is warned in Romans 1…
Bonhoeffer lived in one of those times where Christianity has shrunk back and his voice was one against millions..
That did not have to be that way..
there are so many promises in scripture that if His people stay faithful He will fight for us.. but apostasy is always punished by being delivered to our enemies…whose that for us is now communism and or Islam..
Many “freedom” fighters oppose the tyranny before us as unjust but few repent and accept they turn from God and so need to return to the One who brings real freedom…
That is the cry that’s needed to people today and you see people like Jordan Peterson grappling with this truth ….and then there is a need for a cry to God for mercy because we haven’t been faithful and that so many young people have been lied to from birth about evolution and what is true.. they bear less guilt than those who knew God and walked away..
Like Daniel we have to repent for our own and the sins of our nations ..
it’s not a popular message but it’s needed because the problem is not that the devil rules it’s that the heart of man is hard and sinful and needs to born again..
that was Wesley’s and Whitfields message and it’s relevance hasn’t changed..
Ultimately yes His kingdom is not of this world, but His prayer is thy kingdom come, thy will be don’t on earth as it is in heaven… He would not have asked us to pray that if heaven on earth was not His intention…
Regardless of all this we need to live a life of repentance, faith and holiness.. it’s our only just response to His sacrifice..
Iyes, it's a message that we naturally rebel against.
Thanks for the essay. I agree with the sentiment that we needed many more Bonhoeffer’s than we got, who were willing to vocalize and stand against the covid tyranny, with love and readiness to sacrifice, and lead by example.
I had not considered Bonhoeffer to be an advocate for a stateless society. My impression was he left America to return to Germany to be a voice and lived example for what was right in face of the horrific evils. He supported the overthrow of that particular government, but did he write about no rulers and no governments on Earth? I would have thought ‘Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's’ (Mtthw 22:21 KJV) to be the more general sentiment. Perhaps I have not read sufficiently B’s writings.
I realize many would not consider Bonhoeffer an anarchist. Of course we are told to give into Cesar what is Cesar's. However, anyone who lives as a disciple of Jesus will inevitably get into trouble with the state. They will be too much of a threat, just as Jesus was. I think Bonhoeffer is an example of that. I've been thinking about this a lot lately. I have no doubt he didn't believe there was an answer to humanity's ills by building a new or a better state. The way he lived his life and the words he spoke at his death tell us this.
Yes priorities. I’d agree with that too “ I have no doubt he didn't believe there was an answer to humanity's ills by building a new or a better state.”
Ellul a Christian anarchist? Certainly. But Bonhoeffer? Hardly. I’m no theologian or Bonhoeffer expert, but he didn’t reject earthly authority. Establishing the Confessing Church wasn’t an act of anarchy. His resistance targeted the monstrosity that was the National Socialist State and Nazified Reichskirche. He said “the term ‘state’ means an ordered community; government is the power which creates and maintains order . . . . Government is divinely ordained authority to exercise worldly dominion by divine right. Government is deputyship for God on earth.” He was associated with the Kreisau Circle, which was a small group of civilian and military members planning for a post-Nazi government. None of that sounds very anarchic — except of course in the eyes of the Gestapo. IMHO, characterizing his actions as anarchy lessens the nobility of his sacrificial anti-Nazi resistance.
I appreciate your perspective but I would argue that being a Christian Anarchist in no way lessens the mobility of how he lived his life.
I realize there are those would not consider Bonhoeffer an anarchist. Of course we are told to give into Cesar what is Cesar's. However, anyone who lives as a disciple of Jesus will inevitably get into trouble with the state. They will be too much of a threat, just as Jesus was. I think Bonhoeffer is an example of that. I've been thinking about this a lot lately. I have no doubt he didn't believe there was an answer to humanity's ills by building a new or a better state. The way he lived his life and the words he spoke at his death tell us this.
I stand humbled and sorely lacking by Christ's words given through you. Thank you for that.
🙏
Karen, thank YOU for this amazing and inspiring article!💗
You're welcome and thank you for your encouragement.
Thoughtful and thought provoking. Thank you.
Thank you.
Well spoken. Clear, measured, not hurried, with intonation. Thank you for the improvement.
Ellul and Bonhoeffer. Good stuff.
1 John 5:19. The whole world lies in the evil one.
The moral and immoral; the political and apolitical; the religious (including christian) and unreligious; the intellectual and the simpleton. It’s all a kingdom of darkness. The only escape and freedom is in being transferred out of the authority of darkness by our Heavenly Father and into the kingdom of the Son of His love. Thence forth to live as a sojourner in the darkness but no longer under the authority of its ruler.
Very true.
Gorsh, Ellul REALLY was prescient! dyin' long 'fore the garbage pit of social MEdia blighted our nations, this guy had it down pat! The ignorance, the blind followin'--wow. I'd pair his words--this concept of echo-chamber ideas--with Rene Girard's -- on both mimetics & scapegoatin' (Girard is also SO before his time!).
I was aware of Bonhoeffer, known ta some've us "chews" as an important, blessed, heroic figger who sadly lost his life to speak out, to save jews because he believed the Nazis were wrong -- but I wasn't familiar with his actual words. I had no idea 'bout his chastisin' those who kept silent--an' how he found that we must all NOT be silent. Wise stuff!
Be we "ordained" as preachers (as he was) or just plain / regular folks--an' of course natch'urly like Jesus was, as a man who refused ta be silenced--he tasks us all with sidin' on the side of what we know is right--with our convictions. Didn't know about his observations in America, but his is an important message, knowin' that ta do this we SURELY will have ta go before those who are "against us" (on a daily basis!)--an' that we need ta do this even in absence of other supports or friends. Some've us do it in person, with our writin', with podcasts or plays or whatever it might be...
Many've us are "tryin'" to stick to this path (imperfect tho' we are, but we aim high!)--goin' amongst those who see us as the enemy or at very least "wrong"--"soldierin' " it out--even we must go it alone with none by our side.
I'd like to pair Bonhoeffer's words with those of Rabbi Michoel Green who addresses "silence" head on in this recent postin' on "The Sin of Silence"
https://westbororabbi.substack.com/p/the-sin-of-silence
He speaks of the vaxxxines--an' the silence of many--rabbis included!--who allowed their flocks ta take the jabs, knowin' of the harms an' mountin' evidence--AND to regular folks too (of course many of us who warned others were ignored but at least we tried, right?) :
he addresses "the enigma of widespread Israeli silence during covid tyranny, while seniors were left languishing to suffer and die in isolation, while patients were being helplessly euthanized with ventilators and Remdesivir ("run, death is near") in authoritarian hospitals, while millions were being force-injected with a lethal bioweapon, while healthy people were being marginalized, banned, penalized for their non-compliance. "
He asks (quotin' him from this postin'):
Don't they realize that silence doesn't bring honor on victims of democide, but just the opposite?
My friends, it's time to END THE SILENCE.
Speak out against dystopian democide.
Time is short. The stakes are too high. Ignore the silent and the silencers.
Be vocal and speak the truth.
Don't worry if you're the only one. People will hear you. You'll save lives.
Follow the example of our saintly Rebbe and use your voice!
Notes:
[1] Genesis 27:22.
[2] Samuel II 7:23, Chronicles I 17:21.
[3] Bava Bathra 158b
[4] See “When Silence us a Sin: the Obligation to Protest and the Obligation to Settle the Entire Land of Israel, from the Talks of the Lubavitcher Rebbe,” published by Sichos in English.
Of course it wasn't just in the Pfizer-guinea-pig land of Israel that the rotten leaders sold out their people--SO many the world over--dokturds, pastors, rabbies, leaders--horrible ta fathon. An' soitenly we sawr that here too. But also--there were those who spoke out, even riskin' their own lives (Dr. Zev Zelenko traveled to Israel to warn them an' got death threats in return--not from the Orthodox communities who were receptive...but from the corrupt gubbamint there--an' here too!).
Grateful ta know the wisdom of both these brave, prescient men!
I cain't say much fer anarchy--I prefer order to chaos as I've witnessed chaos too many times ta find it a solution--but I can see how "polly-ticks" are devilish--that's fer sure! I will say that since this plandemic I've paid a lot more attention ta the "libertarian" veeeery limited gubbamint angle--perhaps not as "holy" as "holy anarchy" (ha ha) but I DO think it's a passle better than what we've got now!
Blessin's back yer way! Loved these Sunday reflections!
An inspiring piece for our times. Thank you, Karen.