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I am looking forward to this weekend’s Bonhoeffer Symposium with Dr. Jenny McBride. Bonhoeffer is standard reading in seminaries across the theological spectrum. His Cost of Discipleship was the first theological text I ever read, years before going to seminary. He’s been recognized for his important understanding of what the Christian faith requires of those of us who claim to follow Jesus. His context, as a dissident voice in Germany during the rise of the Nazis, has always positioned him uniquely and added depth to his writing.
Bonhoeffer has been popular outside of academic circles. I would guess that after C.S. Lewis, Bonhoeffer has probably had the next most influential voice for folks I’ve encountered in the church over the years. While some of his writing was incredibly dense and academic, other pieces are quite accessible to those of us who don’t inhabit the scholarly world. When we studied Bonhoeffer for the season of Lent some years ago, it was one of the best attended classes we’ve offered seasonally.
In recent years there have been some attempts to reframe Bonhoeffer, trying to make him fit in contemporary boxes or serve a particular political point. Still, there remains a host of respected, learned writings about Bonhoeffer that are trustworthy and convey the depth and complexity of his thinking. Other than reading Bonhoeffer directly, the best way to ensure a measured reflection on his work is to find theologians and academics who use primary resources in their scholarship. That’s true with most things, but it's particularly useful about Bonhoeffer.
Time has made Bonhoeffer out to be a Christian hero, and while there are heroic aspects of his life and work, we must not get trapped by placing him on too high a pedestal. He is worthy of commendation and study, and he was also imperfect, to say the least – as any of us are. He might be the first to admit that, and we don’t do ourselves any favors by pretending otherwise. He was anti-Nazi, and he was part of the resistance, which is commendable. We also must admit that, like many Germans, his early resistance was not related to how Jews were being treated, only the Christian Church and the pressure it faced under Nazi rule. Eventually he came to the place of recognizing the great evil being perpetrated against Jews and lamented his own lack of action sooner to try to prevent it. This aspect of his witness and work has been a defining ethical reality for discussion within the church and one reason why Bonhoeffer’s work is perennially important.
I don’t know the exact content of Dr. McBride’s work with us this coming Saturday, but I know it will be worth the investment of time to learn a bit more about Bonhoeffer and to process what his work and his legacy might mean for us and for the church today. His sense that following Jesus means that our life must be, in fact, shaped by our faith is as important today as it has ever been. We are fortunate to have this opportunity, and I hope you will join me on Saturday.
