Dietrich Bonhoeffers Letters from Prison - Essay Example

Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Letters from Prison I. Introduction Bonhoeffer Dietrich was a theologian of German descent who was not in support of the Nazi way and founded the Confessing Church. As a Lutheran pastor, Bonhoeffer was instrumental in writing about the relevance of Christians in the secular world and was against Adolf Hitler’s dictatorial rule and euthanasia project. As much as he professed to protecting human life and dignity, Bonhoeffer faced arrest in 1943 and died by hanging in 1945 during his imprisonment at the Nazi concentration camp. While in prison, Bonhoeffer continued to write letters and influenced other prisoners to follow in accepting the gospel that he professed. Other than that, he wrote to Bethge Eberhard where the prison warders helped to sneak them out of prison and became instrumental in building on the Christian faith. The execution order resulted from his alleged involvement with the Abwehr, which was a military intelligence group that planned to wipe out Hitler’s existence. Over time, Bonhoeffer’s letters have become the subject of debate in which this theologian introduced the ‘religionless Christianity’ where to date there is no concrete meaning to this phrase. With this, this essay will delve into the meaning that Bonhoeffer sought to bring in this letter and discussing on how righteous acts do not necessarily lead to a person’s salvation. II. Arguments surrounding Bonhoeffer thinking Ideally, many questioned Bonhoeffer authority to write about Christianity as he confessed to having been smoking at the time that he was writing the letters from prison. In essence, Bonhoeffer argued that the society had changed into one that associated with ‘religionless Christianity’ as many of those that perceived to be religious did not practice anything that the religious principles required. On the other hand, critics argued that this theologian wrote these letters about religion out of the situation that he was living in at that time as he was living in imprisonment while awaiting execution. However, Bonhoeffer maintained his stand that Christians only relied on the miracles and the blessings to confirm their association with God, but could not do so when faced with challenging situations. In making his arguments solid, Bonhoeffer used two ideologies in which one was the historical ideology while the other was on from the theological perspective (Higgins 83). Many were not in support of his theological ideologies mainly because he participated in the assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler despite the fact that this leader had caused too much suffering to the Jews. In many circles, the interpretations of the letters that Bonhoeffer wrote to his friend have varied partly because of the nature in which he used to communicate his ideologies. III. The interpretation of religious texts in Bonhoeffer’s words To begin with Bonhoeffer intimates that religion had passed on and that was in existence did not portray the true ways that Jesus had called people to follow. As much as religion has lost substance, Bonhoeffer does not mourn of this, but instead welcomes it as a move to establishing true Christian religion. Many Christians only viewed God through the side of being a miracle worker and as one that cannot associate with suffering, which was a concept that was non-binding. According to Bonhoeffer, religion was a way of living and not a new religious concept that had never existed since the time that society started experiencing this relationship with God. However, Bonhoeffer argues that Christians were aware of the requirements of being a Christian, but they deliberately shut them out because they did not sit well with their belief. Further, Bonhoeffer asserts that the existing Christians did not interpret the scriptures as required, but only did so in ways that suited them, but not as Christ would want it. Philosophers had also established a way of interpreting concepts in the bible in a political way in order to suit their characteristics and ways of living. In essence, religion had become a tool of selfish gain rather than a tool for reconciling men to God. The political interpretation that many philosophers held to draw influence from the fact that people intended to explain the history of God’s existence and His nature, which had bedazzled many. Some of these concepts that related to the ‘religionless Christianity’ are pantheism that states that God can be nature as deduced by Spinoza and Deism that denotes that the world is nothing but a mechanism as established by Descartes (Higgins 83). One of the arguments that Bonhoeffer seems to have supported is that the concept of ‘religionless Christianity’ had roots in Europe as most of those involved in the changing of the principles in Christianity were from this region. The other justification that Bonhoeffer points out about people becoming lesser religious is the fact that many also rely on scientific explanation to explain God and His attributes instead of believing the facts that His word portrays. The implication of this is that men are likely to buy into the Westernized thinking regarding religion rather than applying the real concepts embedded in the religion, which sets people apart in the secular world. Ideally, most Christians live in surroundings that have secular attributes hence making some to bow to pressure of conforming to the ways that are accommodating to the culture and civilized thinking. The conformity aspect is one that Bonhoeffer seems not to in agreement with as many suggest that the reversal of time would influence change towards making Christianity religion more acceptable to many. One of the key issues of contention surrounding Christianity that many yearn to adjust would be the fact that the birth of Jesus was of a virgin, which to many may not be logical as presented by Barth (Higgins 84). However, Bonhoeffer does not support the changing of this argument to suit logic because the ,man that began this criticism paved way for a healthy debate that ended up attracting more people to believing the gospel. The implication of this is that every documented event in its current form is relevant applicable to the Christian doctrine without any altercations hence setting this religion apart from the others. In another definition, people seem to have associated miracles with God hence making to be a reflection of the other, but this may not necessarily be true because God remains the same even when there is no performance of miracles. The argument that Bonhoeffer intimates here is that God does not have to perform extraordinary things in order for people to believe that He exists because His nature is unexplainable. On the other hand, Bonhoeffer supports the ideology that when a man performs religious acts and behaves in a manner that suggests that he is religious may not be a solid indicator that they are righteous. Evidently, his personal life speaks volumes of this trait in which Bonhoeffer was somehow an atheist, but he never admitted it to himself or to others. The atheism concepts that Bonhoeffer believed in were non-conscious because he attended church regularly yet in some instances did not believe that he required God to be in his life. As much as one would be aware that certain activities are sinful and that this person related to other people in a way that makes him respectable was not proof enough that this person was righteous. Bonhoeffer seems to be in support of the idea that a man can live in a secular world without God and still fit into the existing culture because having God did not dent one's involvement with their maker. Through this view, critics argue that Bonhoeffer was not a devout Christian at the time that he was almost facing execution because his view was that God was not with him at that time. Contrary to the expectations of many, Bonhoeffer also advocates for Christians to accept the whole package that comes with this religion to include suffering before one can transcend into eternal life with Christ (Higgins 82). The implication of this is that man has to live and experience all the things that life has to offer such as suffering, success, problems, and experiences among a list of other attributes as these things Christ also experienced them and formed part of the Christian religion. In this argument, it is pertinent to note that God might have withdrawn from the world, but this did not mean that he had abandoned the people that seek Him diligently. As Bonhoeffer puts it, Christianity as a religion requires that a man that purports to confess to this faith has to associate themselves with suffering in order for their lives to be complete or be in tandem with the life of Christ. However, the modern day churches seem to have distanced themselves from the fact that Christianity may not be as smooth as one would think and that suffering forms part of the trueness of this religion. IV. The contrary view to Bonhoeffer thinking One of the key ideologies that Bonhoeffer believed in was that God was a God of others in that He paid attention to those that were in suffering and not to those that were having it all in their living (Higgins 88). In his letter, Bonhoeffer suggests that God only helps the suffering fraction of Christians making Him to be limited to scope and geography. Using this as the basis, Bonhoeffer suggests that even Jesus experienced how man can disassociate himself from suffering in the garden of Gethsemane where he could not stay vigil while Jesus prayed. In essence, a religious man expects that since Jesus is God then he needed not have any one to watch because nothing bad would happen to him. However, as Bonhoeffer puts it, it is an irresponsible way of thinking because God’s expectation is that man partakes suffering bravely and not to think that God does not exist. This seems to support the fact that religious acts may not necessarily be an indicator that a man is righteous because it also involves that active participation in suffering at the hands of the secular world. The other suggestion that Bonhoeffer offers is that a religious Christian has to live in a world that does not believe or apply the principles of Christianity instead of distancing himself from it. In essence, Bonhoeffer came from a well-known family in which his stature could have avoided his sentencing to hanging, but he did not opt for this route. His family had made prior arrangements for him to escape and be safe from the death judgment that hung over his head, but he chose to await his death for the sake of his brother and another family member. On one end, this was an act of nobility because he considered the safety of others before his own and he accepted his fate in the same way that Jesus accepts to go to the cross for the sake of the world. Essentially, Jesus did not go to the cross because he did not have an alternative, but he did so in order for his destiny to achieve purpose. On the other hand, the sacrifice that he made to die in order for other people that were of significance to him was not proof enough that Bonhoeffer was a righteous man because he had instances where he did not acknowledge God’s supremacy. Further, Bonhoeffer’s prior life before his conviction indicates that he was a man that had a deep understanding and interest in Christianity, but this also did not justify his actions later in his life. V. Bonhoeffer’s spirituality From the letters that he wrote to Eberhard, Bonhoeffer appears to have had a spiritual past and through his self-confession of performing some devotional practices from time to time while in confinement. Some quarters also indicate that Bonhoeffer involved himself with intense pastoral work while in prison hence creating speculation as how this theologian came with the concept of ‘religionless Christianity’. As much as he knew, the requirements for living a spiritual life with God, Bonhoeffer was not an ardent reader of the Bible that he confessed that he was unable to read the Bible in some occasions. However, Bonhoeffer later changed his belief to one that he called ‘religionless Christianity’ in which the world needed not depend on religion for support or explaining their existence. With this, he hinted towards secular theology as the world had come of age in which the perceived man had gone beyond theology. In his belief, Bonhoeffer was of the idea that religious Christianity had let down the Germans and other nations in the West hence intimating that it was time for society to re-evaluate their belief in Jesus Christ. Bonhoeffer started as a believer, but he later changed his stance because of what is believed to have been the environment that he was living in before his execution (Higgins 81). Many critics also speculate on how much Bonhoeffer’s thinking would have come were it not for his death in 1945. However, those that have no regard for Christianity have used this as the basis to push the debate on religion coming into a new age further as much as the founder of the religion had died many years back. On the contrary, Eberhard did not support the belief that Bonhoeffer had adopted as he spoke various conventions referring to Bonhoeffer thinking as a modernist concept and not a religious one. Other than this, Bonhoeffer advocated for society and humanity in general to view God from an angle that was beyond the religious attributes that they had confined Him to from time immemorial. Bonhoeffer believed that it was time that society acknowledged that He was above scientific discoveries and that everything that existed drew influence from Him, which was a belief that he shared decades before he went to prison. Prior to Bonhoeffer changing his beliefs in religion, he was not in support of morality as a basis for religion as some practices were not accepted before the eyes of man and before God’s eyes. In essence, some Jews had to do despicable things to the members of their ethnic community all in the name of ethical practice, which was a trait that Bonhoeffer negated for a significant part of his life. VI. The death of religion in the present as predicted by Bonhoeffer In relation to religion of the present, Bonhoeffer had predicted that Christians would become lesser attached to the gospel and religion that the past belief conveyed to humanity. In essence, Bonhoeffer suggests that God becomes powerless in a world of suffering as much as Christianity advocated for Him to be powerful in reality. The fact that God became man and died on the cross is reason enough for Bonhoeffer to conclude that God could only help man by dying on the cross rather than perform a miracle to make it simpler to save him. Critics argue that this was a clear indication that Bonhoeffer was inclining more towards being an atheist when he went to jail rather than stand by what he had believed in from his religious days. According to Bonhoeffer, religion had shifted from relying on the principles of Christianity to simply relating with other people in a desirable way making it the new ‘religionless Christianity’. Essentially, this statement has provoked more question as whether performing righteous acts make a person more of a Christian as compared to participating in the suffering of Christ as the only true way to becoming a believer (Higgins 77). The obvious implication of this is that Bonhoeffer made non-religious interpretation of Christianity in some instances in which he inclined towards opposing faith and law as the core principles of Christianity. The other argument embedded in Christianity was that this religion only targeted those that were not righteous while those that were righteous needed not to hear the gospel. Many critics view Bonhoeffer thinking as atheist in which he argues that God of the new generation metaphysics and inferiority had died and the existing God is the God of Jesus Christ. Principally, Christianity requires a believer to have faith in the things that are seen and even to those that are not in sight. Other than this, the belief that had existed for a long time was that operates in the absence and in silence in which it was the dogma and acceptable practice that characterized religion. As much as Jesus died on the cross does not mean that God did not exist, but it was a way of reconciling belief and allowing for preaching about the cross. Essentially, this seems to affirm the principle that everything that happens in the Christian religion is significant to the life of man because the death at the cross, paved way for teachings on the God of Jesus Christ. VII. Conclusion Bonhoeffer’s arguments were conflicting in that at one point he supports Christianity, but then introduces the aspect of ‘religionless Christianity’ as one that provokes thinking into a broadened view of this religion. In some quarters, he communicates in the ways God operates in absence, but he also brings back the argument that all this works for the good of Christians. However, Bonhoeffer also illustrates ways in which the performance of acts perceived to associate with Christianity does not make one to be a believer. The death of Jesus as God was of significance to Christianity as this paved way for the basis to the teachings witnessed in the religion in the present times. As much as his arguments provoked positive thinking, they also had some aspects of atheism, which critics argued to have basis on the surroundings that he was living in prison. On the other hand, Bonhoeffer illustrates that a man may not be righteous because they believe in the principles of religion because of his involvement in Hitler’s planned assassination (Higgins 80). Further, Bonhoeffer was a smoker in which in some instances attributes his writing prowess to, which is contrary to the dogmas of Christianity making his contributions to be the subject of heated debates. On the contrary, his arguments were insightful as they helped the society to view Christianity in a new light as much as he claimed at some point that it had failed the Germans and the people in Europe. Bonhoeffer advocated for Christians to develop interest in this religion rather than rely on the attributes that people from the past had given to it in order for their belief to have validation and basis. Lastly, the entire aspects of Christianity required that an individual also shares in the suffering of Christ in which do not agree to hence creating the notion that this religion had moved to ‘religionless Christianity’. Works Cited Higgins, Gregory C. The Tapestry of Christian Theology: Modern Minds on the Biblical Narrative. Mahwah, N.J: Paulist Press, 2003. Print. Read More