N.T. Wright said much the same thing when he declared rather than thinking in terms of leaving earth and going off to live in Heaven we should be bringing the life of Heaven to earth.
I also wish that Bonhoeffer's "being there for others" had not been shortened by his being hanged on the personal orders of an-other person whom he had conspired to kill so that I could see what that life would have looked like for me to try to emulate. I really suck at "being there for others." I suspect that we all do. Thank God for Jesus Christ, the only One of us who never did, huh?
Thanks for this Richard. Bonhoeffer's "religionless Christianity" is such a provocative phrase. You've unpacked it in a helpful way and sharpened the provocation.
Richard, with the skill of a craftsman you've beautifully woven together the threads of Bonhoeffer's ideas about "world come of age" and "religionless Christianity" and "this worldliness." Your conclusions remind me of another quote of his: "There remains an experience of incomparable value. We have for once learned to see the great events of world history from below, from the perspective of the outcasts, the suspects, the maltreated — in short, from the perspective of those who suffer. Mere waiting and looking on is not Christian behavior. Christians are called to compassion and to action."
Would you say that your conclusions on Bonhoeffer's "religionless Christianity" find resonance with much of what you wrote in Stranger God and the little way of St. Therese of Lisieux? Or are there any points of dissonance?
I love this whole series. We have a book of Bonhoeffer’s writings, and I haven’t read very much of it, but now I would like to read much more.
N.T. Wright said much the same thing when he declared rather than thinking in terms of leaving earth and going off to live in Heaven we should be bringing the life of Heaven to earth.
I also wish that Bonhoeffer's "being there for others" had not been shortened by his being hanged on the personal orders of an-other person whom he had conspired to kill so that I could see what that life would have looked like for me to try to emulate. I really suck at "being there for others." I suspect that we all do. Thank God for Jesus Christ, the only One of us who never did, huh?
"Thus, before God and with we live etsi deus non daretur"
I think there's a missing "God" after "with".
Excellent series of posts, BTW.
Thanks for this Richard. Bonhoeffer's "religionless Christianity" is such a provocative phrase. You've unpacked it in a helpful way and sharpened the provocation.
Richard, with the skill of a craftsman you've beautifully woven together the threads of Bonhoeffer's ideas about "world come of age" and "religionless Christianity" and "this worldliness." Your conclusions remind me of another quote of his: "There remains an experience of incomparable value. We have for once learned to see the great events of world history from below, from the perspective of the outcasts, the suspects, the maltreated — in short, from the perspective of those who suffer. Mere waiting and looking on is not Christian behavior. Christians are called to compassion and to action."
Would you say that your conclusions on Bonhoeffer's "religionless Christianity" find resonance with much of what you wrote in Stranger God and the little way of St. Therese of Lisieux? Or are there any points of dissonance?