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Thoughts from fifty years ago ring true for today
By philhigley | October 23, 2008
The following is an entry from Bonhoeffer’s Ethics. He makes some very interesting points about the nature of the “West” and how it has and is continuing to forget its history. Further, the church within the context of the West is losing sight of its responsibility in the world. On the one hand, there are those who want “the end” to come so badly that they are willing to play “pin the tail on the Antichrist” at every occasion where they feel politically uncomfortable, while on the other hand there are those who might be so socially minded that they forget the reality of a real judgment day and indeed eschaton. Bonhoeffer’s comments remain relevant today. The church needs to remain faithful and remain on task. I don’t pretend to know all the answers for this task, but I do know that I’m willing to humbly listen to persons like Bonhoeffer, who actually lived out their philosophical and theological talk during the Nazi oppression of Europe. Because of what he believed and acted on as a Christian, namely trying to unseat Hitler (i.e., kill him), Bonhoeffer paid the price by dying as a Christian in a concentration camp. He was hung naked until he died. On the other hand, however, there were those like Bishop Ludwig Mueller (see picture!) who compromised their faith and integrity.
The West is about to repudiate its historical heritage. It is becoming hostile to Christ. This is the unique situation of our time, and it is actual decay. The Christian churches stand in the middle of the dissolution of all that exists, as protectors of the heritage of the Middle Ages and the Reformation, but above all as witnesses to the miracle of God in Jesus Christ “yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb. 13:18). Next to the churches, however, stands “the restraining power,” the remnant of ordering power, that still effectively resists decay. The church has a unique task. The corpus christianum has broken apart. The corpus Christi stands over against a hostile world. The church must bear witness to Jesus Christ as living lord, and it must do so in a world that has turned away from Christ after knowing him. As bearer of a historical heritage, the church, while waiting for Judgment Day, has an obligation to the historical future. Its vision of the end of all things must not paralyze its historical responsibility. The church must leave the end to God as well as the possibility that history will continue. Both remain its concern.
–from Bonhoeffer’s Ethics
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October 23rd, 2008 at 11:28 am
I never thought about the similarities between bonhoeffer vs hitler and calvin vs servetus, but maybe there’s something there that’s relevant to ethics. Also, N.T. Wright thought that Marcion and Hitler (possibly Nero too) were demonstrations of the failure of supersessionism. I never associated Marcion with Hitler, but there are some similarities.
America is quickly following europe, and it’s hard to believe in post-millennialism like Edwards. I’ve heard some interesting arching/typologies that say that all these tyrants are partial incarnations of the man of lawlessness. Specifically how Jesus said many antichrists are already in the world, and how the final beast was a combination of all the previous beasts. Eschatology is interesting to me. I was actually reading 1 Thessalonians this morning.
October 23rd, 2008 at 11:32 am
Good points. I read both parts the other day. Very interesting stuff.
October 23rd, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Wait, come to think of it, I disagree with you about Servetus. He was no Hitler and he should not have been killed. Although he was obviously a heretic, he should not have been killed for that. His death was wrong, stupid, and idiotic on Calvin’s part. It is as equally disturbing as Luther’s anti-semitic comments. I’m reformed, to be sure, but these great reformers don’t get a pass for their stupidity!
October 23rd, 2008 at 4:24 pm
I wasn’t saying that servetus should or shouldn’t have been killed. I’m just noticing the correlation between those events
October 23rd, 2008 at 4:30 pm
Ok, I just had to make sure, hehe.