Dietrich Bonhoeffer, born February
4, 1906, was a German Lutheran pastor, theologian, anti-Nazi, and founding member
of the Confessing Church. Bonhoeffer
graduated summa cum laude from the University of Berlin in 1927 and earned his
doctorate in theology at the age of 21 with his doctoral thesis, Sanctorum
Communio (Communion of Saints), which presented a significantly new way of
looking at the nature of the Christian church and was praised by Barth as a
"theological miracle." He was
involved in plans by members of the Abwehr (the German Military Intelligence
Office) to assassinate Adolf Hitler. He
was arrested in April 1943 by the Gestapo and executed by hanging in April
1945, 23 days before the Nazis' surrender. His view of Christianity's role in the secular
world has become very influential. His
book was published in 1937 and he addressed the demands Christianity might make
on a person's life and the importance of obedience to Jesus' call.
According to Bonhoeffer, the road to faith or discipleship is obedience to the call of Jesus Christ. Christ calls people and they follow, which is grace and and commandment in one. Bonhoeffer says the one who has faith is obedient and the obedient have faith. The two cannot be separate. People must believe in Jesus Christ to be able to receive the call, and then they can act and be obedient to the call. In addition, only the call of Jesus makes a situation where faith is possible.
I agree with Bonhoeffer to an extent. I think that faith and obedience (or works) go together but not exactly in the way that Bonhoeffer explains it. If someone has faith in Jesus Christ, then they are alive in Christ. Obedience is a response to the faith someone has in Jesus Christ. People have the tools built in their hearts to be obedient to God and Jesus Christ. In faith we are led by the Spirit and the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. The Spirit leads us in our faith to emanate good works. We are not under the law, as Galatians states, but we rely on faith to lead us to good works.
"Dietrich Bonhoeffer." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Apr. 2012. Web. 30 Apr. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietrich_Bonhoeffer>.
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