What Would Bonhoeffer Say?

The story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. pastor and theologian, is the story of a man who spoke as a prophet to a German church that was more concerned with her own security than she was with doing the work of God in the midst of oppression and human need. This pastor-prisoner challenged the typical expressions of popular Christian piety, a piety that denied the reality of injustice toward innocent people, namely Jews. Bonhoeffer compels us to struggle with him regarding the nature and expression of Christian faithfulness in the context of horrifying injustice. One of his most important contributions to theology and to our understanding of contemporary discipleship came as a result of his experiences as a prisoner of the Gestapo from April 1943, until his death by hanging on April 9, 1945. During his incarceration he learned what it meant to view life, history, and scripture from what he termed "the view from below, from the perspective of the outcasts, the suspects, the maltreated, the powerless, the reviled. In short, from the perspective of those who suffer." Dietrich Bonhoeffer's testimony in word and deed continues to influence people all over the world. His witness has drawn praise from leading theologians and philosopher alike. After Bonhoeffer's death his close friend and biographer, Eberhard Bethge, said of him, "When he was silenced for good at age 39, he began to speak more loudly than ever before."