A young German theologian by the name of Diedrich Bonhoeffer was given a teaching position at a famous New York seminary just as the situation in Nazi germany became very dangerous for a man who preached Christ. In New York, at the Union Theological Seminary he would be safe, would have ample time for further theological studies, and would be given a handsome salary and a prestigious position. In other words, he would be a perfectly suitable man of high Christian ideas, a philosopher, writer, and pastor.
Instead, Bonhoeffer declined the generous offers and safety of the U.S. and boarded a ship returning to Europe, to Germany, and into direct personal danger.
This fantastic book by Eric Metaxes aptly and beautifully tells the story of a man whose principles and faith led him to go beyond the world of ideas and peripheral religion in order to follow the narrow path of action, even in the face of mortal danger. Bonhoeffer's faith in God led him directly into the lion's den, out of which he would never leave with his life. And yet the actions of this man have left us with the quintessential legacy of a true twentieth century hero. The world might yet look on Nazi Germany as a collectively hopeless, dark and twisted, cruel and insane epoch-- yet Bonhoeffer shows us that from the heart of such a hell, a light was shining for God's kingdom. And though he lost his life, his light has continued to shine, and the world is better for it.
Metaxes uses eye-witness accounts, letters, interviews, and Bonhoeffer's own writings to show that Bonhoeffer's ultimate decision to become a part of a conspiracy to assassinate Adolph Hitler was not a departure from his Christian life, but rather a difficult, agonizing decision that was born from his faith. Bonhoeffer was himself a pacifist, but he began to see in Adolph Hitler and the whole terrible German predicament a dark desperation which called for something beyond his own capacities. As he saw it, he felt like a Jeremiah, who "was not eager to become a prophet of God. When the call came to him...he shrank back, he resisted, he tried to get away." Perhaps Bonhoeffer's trip to New York was a last attempt to avoid the terrible fate that he probably suspected awaited him. And we might have had a great theologian grow old and write many things, but we wouldn't have had a Bonhoeffer as we know him today.
One of the themes that arises in the book is the vast difference between "playing Church"-- being "religious", a good church-goer, and generally moderate in faith-- and true Christianity, as in the true following of Christ. The church situation in Nazi Germany shows exactly how a negligent theology could lead people over the edge of a cliff.
Metaxes provides in this biography a glimpse into the spiritual implications of the Nazi situation. The state church was overrun by the Third Reich and the message from the pulpit became anything but Christian. For a pastor such as Bonhoeffer, who continued to preach the Gospel, the entire political struggle in Germany was reinforced by the spiritually bankrupt theology of the Reich Church. Bonhoeffer was part of a split that became The Confessing Church, whose aim it was to continue preaching about Jesus when it was no longer safe to do so. Bonhoeffer, who had many Jewish friends and a Jewish brother-in- law, also fought against Nazi Anti-Semitism long before the world was made to witness the atrocities of the holocaust, arguing that the Church must step in and protect Jewish citizens ("The Church and the Jewish Question", 1933).
Those who truly follow Christ know that suffering will attend such a following (Matthew 16:24, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."). Who can truly escape and resist the danger of evil-- whether that evil be explicit or in turning a blind eye? A lukewarm faith is one that follows the "wide path to destruction (Matthew 7:13)." Bonhoeffer was compelled by faith to choose the narrow path, one that went against the reasonable persuasion of those who told him to just go with the flow, that Hitler wouldn't last long, and Germany would be fine.
Metaxes provides in this biography a glimpse into the spiritual implications of the Nazi situation. The state church was overrun by the Third Reich and the message from the pulpit became anything but Christian. For a pastor such as Bonhoeffer, who continued to preach the Gospel, the entire political struggle in Germany was reinforced by the spiritually bankrupt theology of the Reich Church. Bonhoeffer was part of a split that became The Confessing Church, whose aim it was to continue preaching about Jesus when it was no longer safe to do so. Bonhoeffer, who had many Jewish friends and a Jewish brother-in- law, also fought against Nazi Anti-Semitism long before the world was made to witness the atrocities of the holocaust, arguing that the Church must step in and protect Jewish citizens ("The Church and the Jewish Question", 1933).
Those who truly follow Christ know that suffering will attend such a following (Matthew 16:24, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."). Who can truly escape and resist the danger of evil-- whether that evil be explicit or in turning a blind eye? A lukewarm faith is one that follows the "wide path to destruction (Matthew 7:13)." Bonhoeffer was compelled by faith to choose the narrow path, one that went against the reasonable persuasion of those who told him to just go with the flow, that Hitler wouldn't last long, and Germany would be fine.
Bonheoffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy is an important book for the church to read, for it paints us a vivid picture of a twentieth century human choosing Christ and the suffering that such a choice (Bonhoeffer speaks of it not as a choice, but as a submission to God) will incur; but it also shows the ultimate triumph of God and a Church that is faithful to Him. Are we richer because of Diedrich Bonhoeffer's writings? Yes. Are we, too, richer because of the records of his sermons? Sure. But we are made vastly richer in his example to follow Christ all the way to the cross.
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