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Jewish World Review June 22, 2010 / 10 Tamuz 5770 Bonhoeffer: A True Believer By Cal Thomas
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
June 18, 2010 marked the 70th anniversary of Another anniversary might have gone unnoticed were it not for a brilliant new biography of a man who gave his life in a failed plot to assassinate Bonhoeffer came from a family of intellectuals. His father was Twice Bonhoeffer visited
Bonhoeffer's theology might be summed up in a letter he wrote in 1936 to his brother-in-law, Bonhoeffer struggled over whether to join the conspiracy to assassinate Hitler and that struggle is chronicled in Metaxas' book. His may have been a simple faith surrounded by theological muscle, but its application -- which he knew might cost him his life -- was a classic struggle of flesh vs. spirit faced by all who seek to take G0d seriously. Metaxas writes of the attempt by Hitler to create a state church that would give him moral cover for his immoral acts, especially his goal of exterminating Jews. The willingness of so many to sign on to this rogue and apostate church warns us moderns about the dangers of a church that is more interested in advancing an earthly political agenda than the Kingdom of G0d. Clerics are seen sieg-heiling and speaking lovingly of their Fuhrer with a reverence that convicts them of spiritual adultery. Bonhoeffer bravely stood against them as he participated in the formation of the "Confessing Church," which, among other things, spoke up for the Jews. The high regard in which the Bonhoeffer family was held in
Inevitably he was arrested, but even then he won the respect of prison guards, who offered him special treatment, which he refused. Further complicating things and adding to his temptation to live was that he had fallen in love with a young woman, 18 years his junior. Their love letters, mostly written when Dietrich was in prison, are riveting. Metaxas writes, "Bonhoeffer thought it the plain duty of a Christian -- and the privilege and honor -- to suffer with those who suffered." That's why he considered it both privilege and honor to be executed at the Flossenburg Concentration Camp on Bonhoeffer's memorial service at In an age (then and now) full of "cheap grace," here is a book that will challenge Christians and non-Christians alike. Few books can claim to be a "must-read." This is one.
JWR contributor Cal Thomas is co-author with Bob Beckel, a liberal Democratic Party strategist, of "Common Ground: How to Stop the Partisan War That is Destroying America". Comment by clicking here.
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