Dietrich Bonhoeffer is an exquisite man, whose theology was extremely influential. His theology shed a whole new light on the true meaning of Christ. By taking a look at Bonhoeffer's life in Germany, you can truly see how his life has greatly influenced his views and works.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German Lutheran Pastor, a theologian, and a martyr. Bonhoeffer was brought up in Berlin, Germany in the upper-middle-class family of a leading neurologist. He studied Theology at the University of Berlin, where he eventually received his doctorate. As a student Adolf von Harnack, Bonhoeffer was highly influenced by the work of Karl Barth, who was a theologian and considered to be one of the most important Christian thinkers of the 20th century. Bonhoeffer studied with Reinhold Niebuhr, from 1930 to 1931 at the Union Theological Seminary in New York. Later, he returned back to Germany where he began teaching technology. Upon returning to Germany, Bonhoeffer became a student chaplain and youth secretary in the ecumenical movement. Bonhoeffer struggled with the Nazification of churches and the persecution against the Jews, which began in 1933. He was one of the founders of the Confessing Church, which consisted of Christians who resisted the Nazi domination. His involvement resulted in him being forbidden to teach at the University of Berlin. Bonhoeffer's resistance against Hitler, along with his Hitler assassination attempt, led to his imprisonment and eventually this all led to his death. The end of Bonhoeffer's final years in prison was the time when his thoughts took a very surprising, radical turn. Dietrich Bonhoeffer has come to be best remembered for his interpretation of modern history, which was developed on the basis his study of the Bible during his imprisonment.
Bonhoeffer's views are nothing short of an interesting read. Bonhoeffer regarded secularization, from the Christian point of view, as a considerably positive process. Often times, he perceived that the "god of explanation" was moderately disappearing from European history and along with that, what he called "the religious a priori" was disappearing, too (Bonhoeffer 1953). Basically, this meant that a person must adopt a sort of specialized view of transcendence, or an intrinsic form of piety, almost a churchly existence, before he or she can become a Christian. Bonhoeffer felt that all of this truly belonged to the spiritual adolescence of humans. Bonhoeffer cherished Biblical texts and those aspects of theologian tradition that spoke of transcendence located in the center of human affairs, particularly within the history of Jesus Christ. Bonhoeffer has pointed out that the role of philosophy has become increasingly secularized as it focuses more on human autonomy.
Bonhoeffer’s has many important works that we wrote during his life, with the most famous work being published "The Cost of Discipleship," which achieved a wide reputation for him. It is an extremely serious piece of work and in some ways a work of "hard sayings." The Cost of Discipleship contains a profound interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount plus an exposition of Matthew 9:35-10:42. It also contains sections on the "Church of Jesus Christ" and on the "Life of Discipleship."
In Bonhoeffer's The Cost of Discipleship the main question is, "What does it mean to follow Jesus Christ?" Bonhoeffer fears that many do not follow Jesus Christ for the wrong reasons. Bonhoeffer calls for a return to Scripture and for a return to Jesus Christ in order to propose how Jesus calls us to be his disciples. Discipleship may be hard, yes, but it is certainly not limited to a small spiritual elite. Discipleship, according to Bonhoeffer, is the road to Christian joy.
Bonhoeffer explains the background for the exposition of the Sermon on the Mount, which is the prevalence in the church of "cheap grace." According to Bonhoeffer, cheap grace has brought chaos to the church. Cheap grace can be defined in many ways, which include but is not limited to: intellectual assent to a doctrine, justification of the sin without the justification of the sinner (46). The greatest passage that explains cheap grace is as follows: "Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnates (47)." Grace is dear and costly. With costly grace, a man must give up his life to follow Christ. Grace is dear because it cost the Son of God his life, but it is grace because God did not count this too great a cost. Cheap grace only arose due to the secularization of the Church and the due to the world becoming Christianized. Even though cheap grace kept rising, this does not mean that costly grace was becoming extinct; it was not. This is true because of the rise of the monastic movement where the spiritual elite retained something of the demands of discipleship. The life of a disciple must be lived in the world against its hostility not in the favored atmosphere of a friendly monastery. Bonhoeffer calls for a return to obedience of Christ. It is true that only in costly grace is there joy in Christian living.
So, how does one become a disciple anyways? Well, first off, there is the call of Jesus to follow him. Secondly, in answering the call of Christ, one must take the first concrete step. This step is necessary because it takes one out of his previous existence and places him where faith is possible. Bonhoeffer says, "Faith can no longer mean sitting still and waiting — they must arise and follow him (64)." There are two propositions that one must follow in order to become a disciple. The first being "Only he who believes is obedient," and the second being, "Only he who is obedient believes." Basically, this means that there is no obedience without faith and there is no faith without obedience. In order to follow Christ one must leave the world of the finite and must be brought into the life of the infinite. Being a disciple is most often related to bearing the cross of Christ. "To deny oneself is to be aware only of Christ and no more of self, to see only Him who goes before and no more the road which is too hard for us (87)."
What does the cross mean and what role does it play in becoming a disciple of God? The cross has three meaning to it. It means that one must abandon the attachments of this world, one must come after Christ and die to himself, and one must undergo death completely. In discipleship men become individuals. The call of Christ demands a break with the world as well as with the past and it places a barrier between man and the world. When one answers Christ's call, then it becomes possible for one to see how isolated man is from man. Every Christian must bear the cross. In this bearing of the cross comes suffering. However, suffering is necessary because it is one of the badges of discipleship. Only in suffering will there be triumph. When suffering is concluded, then there is nothing else that it can do. Suffering is a path to victory.
Earlier on, I talked about the Sermon on the Mount. Bonhoeffer takes the beatitudes seriously. The poor, in spirit, are the ones who have accepted the loss of all things, which includes their own selves for His sake. Those who mourn are those who do "without what the world calls peace and prosperity (108)." Mourning, in Bonhoeffer's eyes, means to refuse to be in harmony with the standards of the world. The meek are the ones who are willing to give up claims to their own rights. They do this for the will of Christ. The ones who hunger and thirst for righteousness are the ones who renounce all claims to personal achievement. They are the ones who wait for God’s reign of righteousness. The merciful, or the ones to give up claims to their own dignity, become "men for others." They help the needy, the sick, and the cast outs. They help all the ones who are in need of any kind of ministry. The pure in heart become the way they are by giving their hearts completely to the reign of Jesus. Jesus does this by purifying their hearts with his word. The peacemakers renounce all violence and "maintain fellowship where others would break it off (112)." The ones who are persecuted for righteousness suffer for any just cause, and will also be rejected by the world, but even though they are persecuted, God's kingdom still belongs to them. For a disciple, there are only two options: 1.) being the salt of the earth, or 2.) being annihilated and crushed.
When one becomes a disciple, one must know the laws of discipleship. Bonhoeffer declares that it is false to separate the law from a disciple. He is not free of the law anymore than he is free of God for he is in Christ. Bonhoeffer says, "There is no fulfillment of the law apart from communion with God, and no communion with God apart from fulfillment of the law (121)." Discipleship should not to be confused with obeying the law, but if one disobeys the law then this will remove one from being a disciple (120).
Along with knowing the laws of discipleship, Bonhoeffer focuses on other topics in discipleship, which includes: killing/anger, adultery/lust, oaths/swearing, revenge, loving the enemy, prayer, and fasting. Killing relates not only to the overt act but to attitudes of anger, hate, and insult. Bonhoeffer rejects subtle distinction between "righteous indignation and unjustifiable anger (126)." He sees that freedom from anger is the command for the disciple and that anger hinders worship and prohibits service. As for adultery, well, adultery is related to desire where there is no love. If one wants to follow into discipleship, then one but refrain from lust. Bonhoeffer interprets Jesus as sanctifying marriage along with its indissolubility. If there is to be any violation of the law, in any sexual irregularity that is, then this is an act against the body of Christ because the disciple is a member of his body. Prohibiting the use of oaths is accepted by Bonhoeffer, that is, without the Reformation exception of the state in a court of law. Discipleship means complete truthfulness. A disciple must be completely truthful with Jesus or else there is no forgiveness. Truthfulness is the foundation of fellowship among believers and without truthfulness, brotherhood is destroyed. Moving onto revenge, Bonhoeffer feels that the only way to conquer evil is not politically, but passively. If the disciple is forbearing, then he will seek redress when wronged. Resistance will end up creating further resistance, which solves nothing. Bonhoeffer says, "There is no deed on earth so outrageous as to justify a different attitude. The worse the evil, the readier must the Christian be to suffer... (138)." This ties into love for the enemy. Bonhoeffer says that the greater the hatred, the greater the love must be for the hater. Loving the enemy is to serve Him. No sacrifice, which a lover would make for his beloved, is too great for us to make for our enemy (143). Jesus commands that love for the enemy is necessary in becoming a disciple. This love, according to Bonhoeffer, is the fulfilling of the law and obedience to Christ. To be a disciple, prayer is included in the life of a disciple. Prayer is not an entreaty; it is not pious. Prayer is a hidden character, for in prayer, men "have ceased to know themselves, and know only God whom they call upon (156)." Fasting relates to prayer, for fasting is a practice akin to prayer. Fasting is important because it has the motive of self-discipline, which is necessary to better service Christ. When the Christian has failed in obedience, or is guilty of sin against others, or has lost the joy of Christian grace, or even has come to little or no prayer at all, then he needs to fast and pray. Bonhoeffer felt that all of the above is necessary if one plans to become a disciple.
So, what about discipleship today? Is there any difference between being a disciple when Jesus was alive and being a disciple today, without Jesus? Are we today not in a more difficult situation when we do not have the direct call from Jesus to follow? How are we to suppose to decide what following Jesus may mean for us, if he is not here to guide us? Well, Jesus still lives and Jesus still calls for us to follow him. "The preaching of the Church and the administration of the sacraments is the place where Jesus Christ is present (211)." Baptism is today's equivalent of following Christ. This is because in baptism, one dies to the old world. "Christ invades the realm of Satan, lays hands on his own and creates for himself his Church (224). The demand of Christ is manifested in the public act of baptism. Bonhoeffer says that Baptism is a one time thing; it may not be repeated. Bonhoeffer concluded with, "be ye therefore imitators... (285)."
Bonhoeffer concludes The Cost of Discipleship with a return to God’s beginning point. God created man in his own image. Christ came to renew God’s work of his image in man. Christ came to save man; because man could not achieve renewal by himself. The image of God will reach its final form in the resurrection. This is where the transformation of man will be complete. The Cost of Discipleship still stands today, and will possibly always stand, as a very important piece of work. Bonhoeffer's The Cost of Discipleship has been so influential to Christianity. The guiding force in Bonheoffer’s life, underlying all that he did, worked and suffered for, was his faith and love of God. Turning to God is where Bonhoeffer was able to find peace and happiness.