Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Do you know who Dietrich Bonhoeffer was? Until today, I had heard his name a few times; I had seen it here or there in passing, but I had never taken the time to find out his story. Well, I got to hear about it today.
As is my current Sunday morning ritual, I drive 45 minutes to Tupelo, MS, to attend church. I typically try to get "in the mood" for church, as it were; honestly, sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. This morning, it worked. I was flipping through the radio channels, trying to find some good praise & worship music; unfortunately, in rural Mississippi, all you usually get is Southern Gospel quartet music. Anyway, I found my way to Mississippi's NPR station, which airs a show called "Speaking of Faith" at 9AM--today, the topic was Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
Okay, so who was he? He was a German theologian during Adolf Hitler's rise to power. Because of the widespread violence that defined WWII Europe, it's often noted that Bonhoeffer was a pacificist, as well as a critic of Hitler's regime and how it hijacked Christianity as somehow supporting the Nazi cause. Like most German critics of Nazism, Bonhoeffer found himself imprisoned, and he was hanged in 1945.
While imprisoned, Bonhoeffer did a lot of writing, much of it in the form of letters to friends and family. All his prison writings have been compiled into a collection aptly called, Letters and Papers from Prison. I looked around the Internet and found a few excerpts from the book. What's so neat about this collection is its candor and its approachability. After all, Bonhoeffer wasn't writing scholarly theses, he was writing notes to his closest companions. He doesn't gloss over the fact that he's a screwed-up human being, and what I especially liked is that his letters chronicle his pursuit for understanding. He writes about the topics he thinks about...not in order to present an "answer," but to foster a dialogue. I think that parallels so nicely to how each of you uses your blog; they're places of honesty and openness. You don't use them to preach. You use them to share.
There was one detail I forgot to mention about Dietrich Bonhoeffer: the specific reason he found himself put to death. He participated in several attempts to assassinate Adolf Hitler. It's an amazing irony, considering his strong opposition to violence. And, that's another reason I want to read more of Bonhoeffer's writings. He was clearly a conflicted man, a man who recognized that a Christian's life is one of struggle between the earthly realm and the spiritual realm. That recognization leaves him somewhat unable to define or understand himself. I don't know about you, but that's where I find myself, more often than not.
As an example, here's a poem written by Bonhoeffer, included in Letters and Papers from Prison:
"Who Am I"
Who am I? They often tell me
I would step from my cell's confinement
calmly, cheerfully, firmly,
like a squire from his country-house.
Who am I? They also tell me
I would talk to my warders
freely and friendly and clearly,
as though it were mine to command.
Who am I? They also tell me
I would bear the days of misfortune
equably, smilingly, proudly,
like one accustomed to win.
Am I then really all that which other men tell of?
Or am I only what I myself know of myself,
restless and longing and sick, like a bird in a cage,
struggling for breath, as though hands were compressing my throat,
yearning for colors, for flowers, for the voices of birds,
thirsting for words of kindness, for neighborliness,
trembling with anger at despotisms and petty humiliation,
tossing in expectation of great events,
powerlessly trembling for friends at an infinite distance,
weary and empty at praying, at thinking, at making,
faint, and ready to say farewell to it all?
Who am I? This or the other?
Am I one person today, and tomorrow another?
Am I both at once? A hypocrite before others,
and before myself a contemptibly woebegone weakling?
Or is something within me still like a beaten army,
fleeing in disorder from victory already achieved?
Who am I? They mock me, these lonely questions of mine.
Whoever I am, thou knowest, O God, I am thine.
That's perhaps the most relatable piece of writing I've ever read.
As is my current Sunday morning ritual, I drive 45 minutes to Tupelo, MS, to attend church. I typically try to get "in the mood" for church, as it were; honestly, sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. This morning, it worked. I was flipping through the radio channels, trying to find some good praise & worship music; unfortunately, in rural Mississippi, all you usually get is Southern Gospel quartet music. Anyway, I found my way to Mississippi's NPR station, which airs a show called "Speaking of Faith" at 9AM--today, the topic was Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
Okay, so who was he? He was a German theologian during Adolf Hitler's rise to power. Because of the widespread violence that defined WWII Europe, it's often noted that Bonhoeffer was a pacificist, as well as a critic of Hitler's regime and how it hijacked Christianity as somehow supporting the Nazi cause. Like most German critics of Nazism, Bonhoeffer found himself imprisoned, and he was hanged in 1945.
While imprisoned, Bonhoeffer did a lot of writing, much of it in the form of letters to friends and family. All his prison writings have been compiled into a collection aptly called, Letters and Papers from Prison. I looked around the Internet and found a few excerpts from the book. What's so neat about this collection is its candor and its approachability. After all, Bonhoeffer wasn't writing scholarly theses, he was writing notes to his closest companions. He doesn't gloss over the fact that he's a screwed-up human being, and what I especially liked is that his letters chronicle his pursuit for understanding. He writes about the topics he thinks about...not in order to present an "answer," but to foster a dialogue. I think that parallels so nicely to how each of you uses your blog; they're places of honesty and openness. You don't use them to preach. You use them to share.
There was one detail I forgot to mention about Dietrich Bonhoeffer: the specific reason he found himself put to death. He participated in several attempts to assassinate Adolf Hitler. It's an amazing irony, considering his strong opposition to violence. And, that's another reason I want to read more of Bonhoeffer's writings. He was clearly a conflicted man, a man who recognized that a Christian's life is one of struggle between the earthly realm and the spiritual realm. That recognization leaves him somewhat unable to define or understand himself. I don't know about you, but that's where I find myself, more often than not.
As an example, here's a poem written by Bonhoeffer, included in Letters and Papers from Prison:
"Who Am I"
Who am I? They often tell me
I would step from my cell's confinement
calmly, cheerfully, firmly,
like a squire from his country-house.
Who am I? They also tell me
I would talk to my warders
freely and friendly and clearly,
as though it were mine to command.
Who am I? They also tell me
I would bear the days of misfortune
equably, smilingly, proudly,
like one accustomed to win.
Am I then really all that which other men tell of?
Or am I only what I myself know of myself,
restless and longing and sick, like a bird in a cage,
struggling for breath, as though hands were compressing my throat,
yearning for colors, for flowers, for the voices of birds,
thirsting for words of kindness, for neighborliness,
trembling with anger at despotisms and petty humiliation,
tossing in expectation of great events,
powerlessly trembling for friends at an infinite distance,
weary and empty at praying, at thinking, at making,
faint, and ready to say farewell to it all?
Who am I? This or the other?
Am I one person today, and tomorrow another?
Am I both at once? A hypocrite before others,
and before myself a contemptibly woebegone weakling?
Or is something within me still like a beaten army,
fleeing in disorder from victory already achieved?
Who am I? They mock me, these lonely questions of mine.
Whoever I am, thou knowest, O God, I am thine.
That's perhaps the most relatable piece of writing I've ever read.
posted by Trey at
2:37 PM
3 Comments:
"That's perhaps the most relatable piece of writing I've ever read."
I wholeheartedly agree.
It makes me tired and yet comforted. I once again realize I'm not in this world and Christian life alone, but I also see that just because I'm not alone doesn't mean the struggles stop or the trials end. We just have each other to pull us through tough time and our God who will bring us through it all...
All things said before; all things to be said again.
By
cr, at 7:50 PM
I'm not all that familiar with his works. I've only read 'Life Together' which I received in a gift exchange. It was great. First of all, his writing style is exceedingly easy to get through... what I would classify as an 'easy read'.
But, more importantly, this book ('Life Together') had a profound impact on the way I see my role as a member a community (a broad community and more narrow community)
As for his 'history', all I know is that which is published on the jacket of his book.
I wonder if anyone has written a biography on him? I bet that would be an interesting read.
By
Unknown, at 8:00 AM
Also...if you happen to read 'Life Together', there is an 'introduction', of sorts, before the book.
This tells a bit his 'history' (although it's condensed to 7 pages, and leaves the reader with many unanswered questions)
I feel like I need 'The rest of the story' (ala Paul Harvey)
By
Unknown, at 8:21 AM
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