Dietrich bonhoeffer biography martyr
Home / Religious & Spiritual Figures / Dietrich bonhoeffer biography martyr
Even in class his questions were less exercises in academic abstraction and conjecture, and more existential and urgent questions about life and faith, eventually leading him to the question: who is Jesus Christ for us today?
The Rise of the Nazis & the Church Struggle
The rise of the National Socialists in Germany had concerned the Bonhoeffer family since before Dietrich’s return from New York; the ascent of Adolf Hitler to power at the very end of January 1933 brought their fears to the fore.
Christ was not concerned with whether “the maxim of an action” could become “a principle of universal law,” but whether my action now helps my neighbor to be a human being before God. God did not become an idea, a principle, a program, a universally valid belief, or a law. The principles of God’s Word still apply (2nd Timothy 3:16-17).
Bonhoeffer’s example urges believers to consider the broader implications of their actions and to remain faithful to God’s moral will, even when doing so is costly.
He wondered “who stands firm?” asserting that “civil courage can grow only from the free responsibility of the free man… It is founded on a God who calls for the free venture of faith to responsible action and who promises forgiveness and consolation to the one who on account of such action becomes a sinner” (DBWE 8:40, 41).
But God breaks gates of brass and bars of iron (Ps. War and Genocide: A Concise History of the Holocaust. Not to speak is to speak. At Finkenwalde, Bonhoeffer tightly structured the days of the seminarians: time alone, time together, time for study, time for work, time for prayer, time for play. This decision underscores the depth of his moral and spiritual conviction: the war against evil could no longer be waged through passivity.
In 1943, Bonhoeffer was arrested by the Gestapo.
His work in the church and the community – both in New York and Berlin – influenced his academic inquiry and teaching. The simple fact is that God certainly intended to create a human being and that this nascent human being has been deliberately deprived of his life. It requires self-denial, sacrifice, and sometimes requires confronting evil, as Bonhoeffer did.
He remained active in the ecumenical movement, discussing developments in Germany with Bishop George Bell and other leaders, and he reunited with his friend, Jean Lassere, at a conference in Fanø, Denmark, in the summer of 1934, where Bonhoeffer insisted that the conference pass a resolution, proclaiming “we are immediately faced with the decision: National Socialist or Christian” (DBWE 13:192).
On April 9, 1945, just days before the end of the war in Europe, Bonhoeffer was executed by a Nazi military tribunal.
Legacy
Dietrich Bonhoeffer's life and writings have had a profound impact on theology, ethics, and the struggle for justice. I must try to wrestle the steering wheel out of the hands of the driver.”
“There is no way to peace along the way to safety.”
“If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction.”
“Discipleship means adherence to Christ, and, because Christ is the object of that adherence, it must take the form of discipleship.”
“Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves.
“Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate” (Rom. While many readers of Bonhoeffer return again and again to Discipleship or Life Together (his brief account of life at Finkenwalde), I find myself drawn to the Letters and Papers from Prison. In fact, before the new critical editions of Bonhoeffer’s works were published by Fortress Press, my paperback copy of Letters was bound together with rubber bands and paper clips.
Despite the inhumane conditions, he remained steadfast in his faith and even wrote poetry. He spent the remaining years of his life in prison, enduring harsh conditions and yet continuing to encourage those around him with his unwavering faith and conviction. — Throughout his life, Bonhoeffer maintained a deep and robust spiritual life, marked by prayer, meditation on God’s Word, and theological reflection.