Life Together and Prayer of the Bible - Book Report/Review Example

of the paper of the of the Following his martyrdom at the hands of the Geastapo in 1945, Dietrich Bonhoeffer continued with the much adored witness in the hearts of Christians around the globe. His papers and letters which he wrote from the prison became a prized testimony to Christian faith and courage, read by numerous people. Dietrich Bonhoeffer is vitally a modern saint and his martyrdom revealed how he was a man who perfectly walked what he preached (Bonhoeffer et al. 2010, 78-90). He is one of the most influential Christian martyrs in history, dedicated to humanity a heritage of spirituality and theological creativity that continues to intrigue people from diverse background. The motivation behind writing the “book life together prayer-book of the book” was the closing of the preacher’s seminary at Finkenwalde. In the book life together and prayer book of the bible, we have Pastor Bonhoeffer’s experience of Christian community. This book demonstrates a unique story of fellowship in an underground seminary during the Nazi years. The book gives practical advice on how life together in Christ is sustainable in groups and families. The role of worship, personal prayer, everyday work and Christian service is treated in the most simplistic and biblical words. The book is bread for all who are in dire need for the real life of Christianity and Christian fellowship (Harnack and Martin 1989, 12-28). In the interpretation of psalms, he tries to understand the mood of a person’s relationship with God and also turns of sorrow and joy, of heartbreak and love, which are themselves the Christian community’s path to God. The content At a time when suspicion and hatred were on the rise due to the world wars, Bonhoeffer demonstrated the importance of love and living in harmony through this book. He strongly believed, as described in the book, that God bestows brotherhood upon people us due to the fact that we are our brother’s keeper. This premise is well expounded in his writing where he quotes:  "Without Christ there is discord between God and man and between man and man . . . Christ opened up the way to God and to our brother". He opens with the quote from Psalms 133:1: "Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity"(Bonhoeffer et al. 2005, 67-90). Bonhoeffer argue that community is not something to be taking for granted. In the book, Bonhoeffer describes the necessity of the function of the church as a living vibrant organism. According to him, this is called a community of love. Bonhoeffer was able to articulate what he saw as the gap in the reality between what the church should resemble, because of his position as a pastor. The theme of community and the core concepts of the book In the book, Bonhoeffer ascertains that the church is the meeting grounds of Christianity. He expands on this argument by seeking to know what the church should do when to meet and why to meet its all important obligations. Unity is important for all Christians and it doesn’t matter if the Christians agree among themselves on the words to sing or which tempo to praise God. Through the book, Bonhoeffer says that everyone has to live as the body of the Christ, exercising their given gifts to assist other believers and then working through that body of believers to reach out to those who have not accepted Christ as their savior. According to him, the most important thing is that Christians are lifting voices up as one family (Bonhoeffer, et al. 2001, 103-145). This book offers a very neo-monastic and contemporary explanation of community. It is a source of serious reflection and anybody who reads it is reminded of what living as a free human being before God can mean and do at the same time. Life together is based in the love of God, which is the first and foremost truth; this book demands critical thinking and meditation while at the same time acting as an opportunity of deliverance from the ever present demand of our conscience to guide every action we undertake in this life. That is, according to the book, Christians should not wait for a revelation from the creator before doing something. This is because they are always and prayerfully considering what is right, it is most likely that the will of God has already been revealed and they only need to summon up the courage to take the appropriate actions. The central idea in this book is that: the church is the fellowship of Christ as opposed to the idea of an association of people with a common goal. Bonheoffer argues that fellowship of the human community comprise of devout souls and works along the line of the magnetic persuasion of a leader. Human actions and love are linked to a desire for human community. Spiritual love and the love of Christians come from Christ and goes out to the other individual, through the Christ. He ascertains that Christ stands between an individual and other people (Bonhoeffer and Clyde 1975, 80-99). That is, disciplining of others is through Christ. He argues that personal influence may result to oppression, or be an improper influence in another’s life. It is not a crime to state that this book have taught many people about the dynamics of Christian community. When a person hides his or hers sins under a black veil, their Christian values are un-authentic and sin grows unhindered. People must work to be more open in their expressions, to lay bare the heart, to confess their sins, build a string communion with others in the same faith, to be freed from the sinful pride that covers their personal lives. Because of the graciousness nature of God, we build a “fellowship of sinners who live by the grace of God in the Cross of Jesus Christ” if we die (Bonhoeffer et al. 2005, 67-89 ). Thankfulness is the lead way to greater spiritual resources. Without it, especially in relation to our daily gifts God has given, some other greater gifts from God cannot come our way. Bonheoffer argues that thankfulness is the only attitude for forgiveness, fellowship and daily provisions (Bonhoeffer et al. 2009, 167-187). Pastors and other church leaders should embrace the concept of thankfulness with a lot of seriousness it deserve. A pastor or any other church leader has no right to accuse his congregation before God. On the contrary, let him make intercession and give thanks for his congregation. Life together goes across board; teaching the congregation on the good word of the Lord, at the same time it gives directions to the church leaders on what to do when doing their daily ministry (Johnson 1974, 90-95). Bonheoffer agrees that the church is not a human reality if at all it is not ideal. The continual existence of the community depends on how it distinguishes love from human, the spiritual community from the human ideal. Christ is the uniting factor when it comes to community, "Through him alone do we have access to one another, joy in one another and fellowship with one another"(Bonhoeffer et al. 2005, 130-145). Prayer Prayer is very powerful tool in the Christian community. Christians need to learn how to pray. The prayer request by the disciples was answered by Jesus through showing them how and what to pray. Jesus talk his disciples the very word to say when praying. Therefore, Psalms lay a pattern that touches our worship and prayer lives. These are the God’s inspired prayers/songs. These are the words that please God most when he is worshiped or pleaded with. For Bonhoeffer, encouraging Christians to pray always and sing praise songs to God was just enough to comfort him in Nazi Germany. He wrote “Whenever the Psalter is abandoned, an incomparable treasure is lost to the Christian church” (5:162) (Bonhoeffer et al. 2005, 150-163). Confession Community and prayer dominate the book, but the theme of confession is also revealed thoroughly in the book. Sin demands to have a person by himself. It separates him from the community. The more secluded the person is, the more powerful the sin is and the more the sin will destroy him. Bonheoffer argues that confession of sin is made in the presence of a Christian brother and this has lead to the abandonment of the last stronghold of self-justification. In confession, the light of the gospel breaks into the isolation and the darkness of the heart (Pangritz1999, 82-88). The sin must be brought into the light. It is hard to struggle until the sins are fully confessed. If a sinner surrenders, he will give up all his evil deeds. He then surrenders his heart to God and eventually finds the forgiveness of all his sin through the fellowship in Jesus and his brothers. He then move away and disassociate himself from the group of sinners. Therefore, Bonheoffer agrees from all aspects that confession is important for a strong relationship between the Christians and God. However, confession must be done with a lot of honestly and without any element of pride. The importance of this book in defining the current Christian community is inevitable. The book states the Christ is the umbrella of Christianity. Christians should live a life as required by Jesus Christ. They have to live in harmony, love each other, confess their sins and pray always. Church leaders also should also perform their duties diligently to make sure that the congregation does not go a stray (Tipton, and Witte 2005, 67-76). References Bonhoeffer, Dietrich, and Clyde E. Fant. 1975. Bonhoeffer: worldly preaching. Nashville: T. Nelson. Bonhoeffer, Dietrich, Clifford J. Green, Reinhard Krauss, Charles C. West, and Douglas W. Stott. 2005. Ethics. Minneapolis: Fortress Press. Bonhoeffer, Dietrich, Geffrey B. Kelly, and John D. Godsey. 2001. Discipleship. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=517736. Bonhoeffer, Dietrich, Geffrey B. Kelly, Daniel W. Bloesch, James H. Burtness, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. 2005. Life together ; Prayerbook of the Bible. Minneapolis: Fortress Press. Bonhoeffer, Dietrich, Hans-Richard Reuter, Wayne W. Floyd, and Martin Rumscheidt. 2009. Act and being: transcendental philosophy and ontology in systematic theology. Minneapolis: Fortress Press. Bonhoeffer, Dietrich, John W. De Gruchy, and Isabel Best. 2010. Letters and papers from prison. Minneapolis: Fortress Press. Harnack, Adolf von, and Martin Rumscheidt. 1989. Adolf von Harnack: liberal theology at its height. London: Collins. Johnson, William A. 1974. The search for transcendence; a theological analysis of nontheological attempts to define transcendence. New York: Harper & Row. Pangritz, Andreas. 1999. Karl Barth in the theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer: a clarification whose time has come. Grand Rapids, Mich: W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co. Tipton, Steven M., and John Witte. 2005. Family transformed: religion, values, and society in American life. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown Univ. Press. Read More