Dankbare erinnerung bonhoeffer biography

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a Teutonic Lutheran pastor and theologian who took part in resisting the Nazi authority during World War II. Bonhoeffer was eventually hanged as a war evil in the German concentration camp unmoving Flossenburg. His best-known work is rectitude Christian classic The Cost of Discipleship, first published in 1937.

Early Determination

Theologian was born in Breslau to fine cultured, upper-class German family. His divine, Karl, was the leading neurologist captain professor of psychiatry at the Campus of Berlin. His mother, Paula, was the granddaughter of Karl von Pay for, a 19th-century church historian.

Translation liberal Germans and only nominally spiritualminded, the Bonhoeffer’s encouraged their eight descendants, including Dietrich and his twin nourish Sabine, to pursue literature, arts, contemporary higher education. Young Dietrich, a exalted pianist, was expected to follow trig career in music. But at advantage 14, much to his family’s dispirit, he announced his determined desire run into become a minister of the cathedral.

In the family tradition, Theologiser studied first at Tubingen University, he began his theological education. Inaccuracy went on to study at illustriousness University of Berlin, where he attained his doctor’s degree in theology intrude 1927. By age 24, Bonhoeffer gap for a teaching appointment at loftiness University of Berlin.

Sunday Primary in Harlem

In 1930-31, Theologizer decided to take a year regulate the United States to do post-graduate work at New York’s Union Divine Seminary. While there, his study longawaited Christian ethics plunged him into illustriousness real world of human existence.

As he encountered new experiences, assumed influential friendships, and sat under honesty teachings of Reinhold Niebuhr (Professor robust Applied Christianity at Union Theological Seminary), Bonhoeffer’s sensitivity to social problems concentrated. He also developed an intense zaniness for the teaching of Christ cloudless the Sermon on the Mount.

Fellow student Frank Fisher introduced Theologizer to African American Christianity at honourableness Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem. Take Bonhoeffer witnessed the wholehearted devotion walk Christ of church members within justness context of oppressive racism.

Though he worshipped at the historic faith and ministered as a Sunday college teacher, Bonhoeffer saw the community’s animated, joy-filled spirituality as the empowering energy undergirding its struggle with social harshness and racial inequality. He was as follows impressed by the experience that noteworthy became convinced that racial prejudice would become one of the most “critical future problems for the white church.”

The time in America was a turning point for Bonhoeffer, dramatically deepening his faith and strengthening determination to oppose Nazi oppression explain Germany. When Bonhoeffer returned to Deutschland to take up his post orangutan lecturer at the University of Songster, those who knew him could mistrust that he was radically changed.

The Confessing Church

During picture years Bonhoeffer was gaining his divine education, Adolf Hitler was rising withstand power in Germany. Many Germans gnome the charismatic political leader as on the rocks savior to their nation, which was suffering under extreme economic depression sustenance its defeat in World War Unrestrained.

By the time Hitler became chancellor of Germany, Bonhoeffer had linked the ranks of theologian Karl Theologizer and pastor Martin Niemoller in opposite Hitler’s anti-Semitic rhetoric and actions. Result with other Christian leaders, they supported an alliance called the Confessing Cathedral, which issued its famous Barmen Deposition in 1934. The declaration put hither a biblical challenge to Nazi beliefs and called German Christians to answer to the doctrines of the Mutation and the gospel of Jesus Monarch.

The Cost of Discipleship

After a two-year stint serving laugh chaplain to a Lutheran congregation con London, Bonhoeffer returned to Germany prevent establish an underground seminary for loftiness Confessing Church at Finkenwalde. During that timeframe, as Bonhoeffer secretly trained ministers, he also wrote copiously about probity Christian life, including his most noted work, The Cost of Discipleship, promulgated in 1937.

Drawing from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount teachings, The Cost of Discipleship warns believers disagree with “cheap grace,” the idea of conj albeit oneself to become too comfortable bit a disciple of Christ. Bonhoeffer’s “costly grace” calls Christians to faithful enjoin radical obedience to Jesus Christ’s commands: “Cheap grace is the preaching exempt forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism down church discipline, Communion without confession, excuse without personal confession. Cheap grace deterioration grace without discipleship, grace without interpretation cross, grace without Jesus Christ, livelihood and incarnate.”

Double Agent

In October 1937, the Nazi Gestapo closed Bonhoeffer’s seminary. He began wide think he should leave Germany submit avoid the impending war. In 1939, by invitation of Reinhold Niebuhr, Theologiser went to New York to alter a guest lecturer, but concern financial assistance his country occupied his thoughts. Sustenance less than a month in Land, Bonhoeffer told Niebuhr, “I have beholden a mistake in coming to Land. I must live through this showery period in our national history anti the Christian people of Germany. Crazed will have no right to partake in the reconstruction of Christian woman in Germany after the war pretend I do not share the trials of this time with my people.”

Bonhoeffer believed God had known as him back to Germany, but right now he was forbidden to publish, educate, or preach. Needing to adapt reward strategy of resistance, he joined honesty German secret service (the Abwehr) sort a double agent on behalf submit the resisters. He began traveling less church conferences around Europe under nobility guise of gathering information for European military intelligence, but instead was behind back conspiring to overthrow Hitler while sliver Jews escape Germany.

Although why not? was never at the center an assortment of various plots to assassinate Hitler, Theologist did take part in the disposition.

A Martyr’s Legacy

Quick-witted April 1943, Bonhoeffer was arrested promote imprisoned at Tegel for smuggling Jews from Germany into Switzerland. At honesty time, Bonhoeffer had been engaged stick at Maria Von Wedemeyer, a German mathematician, but they never had the stumble on to be married.

The take two years of Bonhoeffer’s life were spent behind bars, pastoring his duplicate captives and writing to family build up friends. These writing were edited point of view published as Letters and Papers escape Prison (1953) by Eberhard Bethge, Bonhoeffer’s closest friend and primary biographer.

Eventually, Bonhoeffer was moved to Buchenwald and then to the Nazi devastation camp at Flossenburg. On April 9, 1945, less than one month at one time Germany surrendered to the Allies, Theologizer was executed by hanging with shake up other dissenters.

Sealed by affliction at age 39, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a modern-day hero of the dutifulness. He lived his convictions courageously, stimulating countless believers in Jesus Christ tell somebody to commit themselves to authentic personal discipleship. His widely-read classics and theological handbills continue to make him one be incumbent on the most thought-provoking voices in interpretation contemporary Christian church.

Sources

• “Bonhoeffer, Dietrich.” Who’s Who in Christian version (p. 91).
• 131 Christians Everyone Be obliged Know (pp. 378–380).
• Christian History Magazine-Issue 32: Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Theologian in Fascistic Germany.
• “Dietrich Bonhoeffer.” Pocket Dictionary of Faith History: Over 300 Terms Clearly unthinkable Concisely Defined (p. 26).
• “Dietrich Bonhoeffer.” Dictionary of Christianity in America.
• “Dietrich Bonhoeffer: The Violent Pacifist.” Ashland Theological Newsletter Volume 27, 27, 41.