christian moral action (bonhoeffer)

how long was bonhoeffer alive?

• 1906- 1945

bonhoeffer intro

• dietrich bonhoeffer (1906- 1945) was a seminal german theologian and pastor whose ethics developed in direct response to the rise of hitler and the nazism

• rejecting the complacency of the state- controlled church, bonhoeffer co- founded the confessing church to argue that the church must remain entirely separate from government control

• for bonhoeffer, christian ethics cannot be passive; true discipleship demands moral action over mere belief

what is bonhoeffer’s belief about duty to state?

• bonhoeffer argued that christians should generally obey the state as reflected in romans 13:1, which states that governing authorities are instituted by god

• however, if a state become corrupt and enforces laws that directly contradict divine will, it loses its moral legitimacy, making civil disobedience a theological necessity

example of bonhoeffer + civil disobedience

• bonhoeffer acted on the principle of civil disobedience during the 1930s

• by rejecting the nazi- aligned german christians and co- founding the confessing church, a movement built upon the barmen declaration (1934) to assert the church’s independence from flawed state ideology

what year was the barmen declaration?

• 1934