The German pastor and theologian is famous for his rich, profound, provocative writings, and the challenge his own life presents as the pacifist who was killed for his involvement in a plot to assassinate Hitler.
On this day, February 7, 1945, Bonhoeffer was taken to Buchenwald concentration camp, where the Nazis tortured, experimented on and killed tens of thousands of its prisoners. Three months later Bonhoeffer was executed there, just days before the war ended and the Allies liberated the camp. The sombre anniversary provokes a reflection on the legacy of Bonhoeffer for the Church and the world.
As a hero who stood firm for his faith in a time of crisis, Bonhoeffer has often been used as a guide for the political present. Conservative evangelical writer Eric Metaxas authored the Bonhoeffer biography Pastor, Prophet, Martyr, Spy but received criticism for his depiction of the theologian as a close ally of American conservative evangelicals. In the 2016 election, Metaxas implored Christians to vote for Donald Trump, calling the choice a 'Bonhoeffer moment' of grave moral significance, and likening Hilary Clinton to Adolf Hitler.
Metaxas was excoriated by Bonhoeffer scholar Charles Marsh, who explained why Metaxas' appropriation of Bonhoeffer as a "white evangelical family values Republican" was inappropriate and delusional.
As experts on the man and his message, the International Bonhoeffer Society is well placed to explore the relevance of the German theologian to today. Last week the group issued a statement relating Bonhoeffer's legacy to current political events in the United States. It emphasised that the best way to relate Bonhoeffer to today is not to draw direct political analogies, but to consider Bonfoeffer's self-understanding "as a citizen in his own times" and draw on that.
Resistance to Trump
"We speak noting that Dietrich Bonhoeffer himself taught the profound relatedness of all human persons and, indeed, of peoples and nations. We therefore feel called to raise our voices in support of justice and peace, and in resistance to every form of unjust discrimination and aggressive nationalism," the statement began.
"The United States has undergone an unusually contentious, bitter, and ugly election that has brought us to an equally contentious, bitter, and ugly beginning of the presidency of Donald J Trump." The statement added that "we are gravely concerned by the rise in hateful rhetoric and violence, the deep divisions and distrust in our country, and the weakening in respectful public discourse" and warned: "Some of the institutions that have traditionally protected our freedoms are under threat."
Life for others
The society highlight the maligning of minorities in America as a key concern: "This election has made the most vulnerable members of our society, including people of colour, members of the LGBTQ communities, Muslims, immigrants, refugees, the poor, and the marginally employed and the unemployed, feel even more vulnerable and disempowered."
The statement pointed to Bonhoeffer as offering an alternative way: "His entire theological and political journey was shaped by his conviction that the church is only truly church when it lives for all God's children in the world, and that Christians fulfill their faith as Christians only when we live for others."
Don't interpret, obey
The society quoted Bonhoeffer's radical teaching from his book Discipleship:
"From the human point of view there are countless possibilities of understanding and interpreting the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus knows only one possibility: simply go and obey. Do not interpret or apply, but do it and obey. That is the only way Jesus' word is really heard. But again, doing something is not to be understood as an ideal possibility; instead, we are simply to begin acting."
"I believe that in every moment of distress God will give us as much strength to resist as we need...I believe that even our mistakes and shortcomings are not in vain and that is not more difficult for God to deal with them than with our supposedly good deeds. I believe that God is no timeless fate but waits for and responds to sincere prayer and responsible actions."
Bonhoeffer's legacy is surely as complex as the man himself, but the man clearly has profound relevance today, properly understood. Broad comparisons to Hitler and the Nazis are probably not always helpful, even if sometimes containing some truth. Bonfhoeffer may be best understood not as someone who can tell us whether Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton is most like Hitler, but rather points us to God in Jesus Christ who lives and gives his life "for others", and calls his disciples to make a radical, costly choice, and do the same.
Charles Marsh quotes Bonhoeffer: "Christ takes everyone who really encounters him by the shoulder, turning them around to face their fellow human beings and the world."
Marsh comments: "If we are in a Bonhoeffer Moment, it is a moment that confronts us with a different demand: learning to participate in God's created order, to trust in God's promises to bless, linking arms with all those who care about the human condition, asking ourselves how the coming generation shall live.
"...[it] moves us a long way from the harrowing worldview of Donald J Trump. It moves us to behold the world anew in the light of the Cross and Resurrection. And that's really good news."
