Editor's Introduction to the Reader's Edition of Ethics
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
A Preliminary Investigation and Critique of the Ethics of Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Loyola University Chicago Loyola eCommons Master's Theses Theses and Dissertations 1968 A Preliminary Investigation and Critique of the Ethics of Dietrich Bonhoeffer David W. Clark Loyola University Chicago Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_theses Part of the Philosophy Commons Recommended Citation Clark, David W., "A Preliminary Investigation and Critique of the Ethics of Dietrich Bonhoeffer" (1968). Master's Theses. 2118. https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_theses/2118 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. Copyright © 1968 David W. Clark A PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION AND CRITIQUE OF THE ETHICS OF DIETRICH BONHOEFFER by David W. Clark A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate School, Loyola University, Ohicago, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for !he Degree of Master of Arts J~e 1968 PREFACE This paper is a preliminary investigation of the "Christian Ethics" of Dietrich Bonhoeffer in terms of its self-consistency and sufficiency for moral guidance. As Christian, Bonhoefferts ethic serves as a concrete instance of the ways in which reli gious dogmas are both regulative and formative of human behavioro Accordingly, this paper will study (a) the internal consistency of the revealed data and structural principles within Bonhoef ferts system, and (b) the significance of biblical directives for moral decisionso The question of Bonhoefferfs "success," then, presents a double problem. -
For Love of the World: Bonhoeffer's Resistance to Hitler and the Nazis
Word & World Volume 38, Number 4 Fall 2018 For Love of the World: Bonhoeffer’s Resistance to Hitler and the Nazis MARK S. BROCKER Pastor Bonhoeffer Becomes a Conspirator On June 17, 1940, in the early stages of World War II, France surrendered to Germany. Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his closest friend and colleague, Eberhard Bethge, were having a leisurely lunch in a café in the Baltic village of Memel. They were in East Prussia doing three visitations on behalf of the Confessing Church, which had issued the Barmen Declaration in 1934 and struggled against the inroads of the Nazis into the life of the church. They had met with a group of pastors in the morning, and Bonhoeffer was scheduled to preach in a Confessing Church congregation that evening. According to Bethge, when the announcement of France’s surrender came over the café loudspeaker, “the people around the tables could hardly contain them- selves; they jumped up, and some even climbed on the chairs. With outstretched arms they sang ‘Deutschland, Deutschland über alles’ and the Horst Wessel song. We had stood up, too.” Bethge was shocked, however, when “Bonhoeffer raised his arm Bonhoeffer’s Christian faith and his roles as theologian and pastor led him to active engagement with the very dangerous world around him, which led to his imprisonment. In prison he was led to examine and deepen his commit- ments both to this world and to the coming kingdom of Christ in ways that each informed and enriched the other. 363 Brocker in the regulation Hitler salute.” Recognizing his friend’s shock, Bonhoeffer whis- pered to him, “Raise your arm! Are you crazy?” Shortly thereafter Bonhoeffer added: “We shall have to run risks for very different things now, but not for that salute!”1 In Bethge’s assessment, Bonhoeffer’s “double life” truly began in that moment. -
“Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Apocalyptic Theology, and the Possibility of Christian Ethics”
“Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Apocalyptic Theology, and the Possibility of Christian Ethics” Brooklyne Oliveira W&L Department of Religion ii Acknowledgements: I owe a debt of gratitude to Professor Marks for first having introduced me to the wonderful world of religious studies, Professor Brown for her matchless support as advisor, mentor, and friend, Professor Kosky for his critical eye and constant encouragement, and Professor Pickett for our innumerable conversations about Bonhoeffer, Christian ethics, and his willingness to undertake this project with me. Finally, I am forever grateful to my parents, who have supported my passion and interest in studying theology, and to my brother, who first introduced me to Bonhoeffer and remains a faithful sounding board for all my musings about theology, philosophy, music, and of course, movies. iii Abstract: If one takes the assertions of Christianity seriously – that God became incarnate, was crucified, resurrected, and will come again – then one faces complex questions about worldly human responsibility and agency. Indeed, God’s apocalyptic intervention in history appears to override the possibility of meaningful human responsibility or agency, seemingly eliminating the possibility of Christian ethics. In this paper, I explore this ‘problem of Christian ethics,’ finding a solution in a reading of the theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer through the lens of Pauline apocalyptic. I argue that Bonhoeffer restores the viability and integrity of Christian ethics by adopting a thoroughly apocalyptic theology, affirming human responsibility and agency in a world that is ultimately in the hands of a sovereign God. Far from issuing a call to follow an ethical program or a facile imitation of Jesus, Bonhoeffer develops what scholar Philip Ziegler calls a “theological ethics of God’s apocalypse,” one in which human knowledge, agency, and ethics are radically transformed by the apocalypse of Christ’s incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection. -
Beyond All Cost
BEYOND ALL COST A Play about Dietrich Bonhoeffer By Thomas J. Gardiner Performance Rights It is an infringement of the federal copyright law to copy or reproduce this script in any manner or to perform this play without royalty payment. All rights are controlled by Eldridge Publishing Co. Inc. Call the publisher for additional scripts and further licensing information. The author’s name must appear on all programs and advertising with the notice: “Produced by special arrangement with Eldridge Publishing Co. Inc.” PUBLISHED BY ELDRIDGE PUBLISHING 95church.com © 1977 & 1993 by Thomas J. Gardiner Download your complete script from Eldridge Publishing https://95church.com/beyond-all-cost Beyond All Cost - 2 - DEDICATION Grateful acknowledgement is hereby made to: Harper & Row, Macmillan Publishing Company, and Christian Kaiser Verlag for their permission to quote from the works of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Eberhard Bethge. The Chorus of Prisoners is dramatized from Bonhoeffer's poem "Night Voices in Tegel," used by permission of SCM Press, London. My thanks to Edward Tolk for his translations from “Mein Kampf,” and to Union Theological Library for allowing me access to their special collections. STORY OF THE PLAY The play tells the true story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a pastor who led the resistance to Hitler in the German church. Narrated by Eberhard Bethge, his personal friend, companion and biographer, the play follows Bonhoeffer from his years as a seminary professor in northern Germany, through the turbulent challenges presented by Hitler’s efforts to seize and wield power in both the state and the church. Bonhoeffer is seen leading his students to organize an underground seminary, to distribute clandestine anti-Nazi literature, and eventually to declare open public defiance of Hitler’s authority. -
Honoring and Perpetuating the Legacy of Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Honoring and Perpetuating the Legacy of Dietrich Bonhoeffer The 2014 Charles H. Hackley Distinguished Lecture in the Humanities May 8, 2014 It is a great privilege to stand before you tonight and deliver the 2014 Charles H. Hackley Distinguished Lecture in the Humanities, and to receive this prestigious award in his name. As a child growing-up in Muskegon in the 1950s and 1960s, the name of Charles Hackley was certainly a respected name, if not an icon from Muskegon’s past, after which were named: the hospital in which I was born, the park in which I played, a Manual Training School and Gymnasium, a community college, an athletic field (Hackley Stadium) in which I danced as the Muskegon High School Indian mascot, and an Art Gallery and public library that I frequently visited. Often in going from my home in Lakeside through Glenside and then to Muskegon Heights, we would drive on Hackley Avenue. I have deep feelings about that Hackley name as well as many good memories of this town, Muskegon, where my life journey began. It is really a pleasure to return to Muskegon and accept this honor, after living away in the state of Minnesota for forty-six years. I also want to say thank you to the Friends of the Hackley Public Library, their Board President, Carolyn Madden, and the Director of the Library, Marty Ferriby. This building, in which we gather tonight, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, also holds a very significant place in the life of my family. My great-grandfather, George Alfred Matthews, came from Bristol, England in 1878, and after living in Newaygo and Fremont, settled here in Muskegon and was a very active deacon in this congregation until his death in 1921. -
ACTA UNIVERSITATIS UPSALIENSIS Uppsala Studies in Social Ethics 51
ACTA UNIVERSITATIS UPSALIENSIS Uppsala Studies in Social Ethics 51 Ville Päivänsalo Justice with Health Faith in Support of Progress across Contexts Uppsala 2020 Päivänsalo, Ville, 2020. Justice with Health: Faith in Support of Progress across Contexts. Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis, Uppsala Studies in Social Ethics 49. 347 pp. Uppsala. ISBN 978-91-513-0971-2. Abstract This book combines a religiously non-confessional approach to justice with health to- gether with an analysis of the faith-based promotion of justice with health and focuses mainly on the time period beginning from the mid-1960s. Here “justice with health” means a particular reasonable conception of socio-political justice that includes health-related capabilities among its central components. The faith-based heritage in question is Protestant, especially Lutheran, Christianity. Drawing on some of the most prominent theories of justice from the past few decades, primarily those by John Rawls and Amartya Sen, the constructive part of the study defends a moderately structured account of reasonable justice identified through ten guidelines. Although these guidelines are first defended in terms of religiously non-confessional theories, it is argued that they could be properly supported by in- sights of faith as well. The guidelines—concerning the foundations, principles, and goals of justice—allow comparatively flexible variation across contexts. Yet they are intended to help achieve a firmer consensus in the promotion of health-related justice than the status quo among various responsible agencies usually indicates. A broad historical review of the Protestant promotion of social justice and health, from the Reformation era onwards, illuminates the importance of this faith-based heritage. -
Protestant Dissent in Nazi Germany: the Confessing Church Struggle with Hitler's Government
Western Washington University Western CEDAR WWU Honors Program Senior Projects WWU Graduate and Undergraduate Scholarship Spring 2001 Protestant Dissent in Nazi Germany: The Confessing Church Struggle with Hitler's Government Jenisa Story Western Washington University Follow this and additional works at: https://cedar.wwu.edu/wwu_honors Part of the European History Commons Recommended Citation Story, Jenisa, "Protestant Dissent in Nazi Germany: The Confessing Church Struggle with Hitler's Government" (2001). WWU Honors Program Senior Projects. 348. https://cedar.wwu.edu/wwu_honors/348 This Project is brought to you for free and open access by the WWU Graduate and Undergraduate Scholarship at Western CEDAR. It has been accepted for inclusion in WWU Honors Program Senior Projects by an authorized administrator of Western CEDAR. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Protestant Dissent in Nazi Germany: The Confessing Church Struggle with Hitler's Government Jenisa Story Advisor: Dr. Harry Ritter Honors Project June 4, 2001 An equal OP/JOrtunity university Honors Program Bellingham, Washington 98225-9089 (360)650-3034 Fax (360) 650-7305 HONORS THESIS In presenting this honors paper in partial requirements for a bachelor's degree at Western Washington University, I agree that the Library shall make its copies freely available for inspection. I further agree that extensive copying of this thesis is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood that any publication of this thesis for commercial purposes or for financial gain shall not be al1owed without my written permission. Signature r Date ~ - 3-JOOI Protestant Dissent in Nazi Germany: The Confessing Church Struggle with Hitler's Government Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. -
Aryan Jesus and the Kirchenkampf: an Examination of Protestantism Under the Third Reich Kevin Protzmann
Aryan Jesus and the Kirchenkampf: An Examination of Protestantism under the Third Reich Kevin Protzmann 2 Often unstated in the history of National Socialism is the role played by Protestantism. More often than not, Christian doctrine and institutions are seen as incongruous with Nazism. Accordingly, the Bekennende Kirche, or Confessing Church, receives a great deal of scholarly and popular attention as an example of Christian resistance to the National Socialist regime. Overlooked, however, were the Deutsche Christen, or German Christians. This division within Protestantism does more than highlight Christian opposition to Nazism; on balance, the same cultural shifts that allowed the rise of Adolf Hitler transformed many of the most fundamental aspects of Christianity. Even the Confessing Church was plagued with the influence of National Socialist thought. In this light, the German Christians largely overshadowed the Confessing Church in prominence and influence, and Protestantism under the Third Reich was more participatory than resistant to Nazi rule. Like the National Socialists, the Deutsche Christen, or German Christians, have their roots in the postwar Weimar Republic. The movement began with the intention of incorporating post-war nationalism with traditional Christian theology.1 The waves of nationalism brought about by the dissolution of the German Empire spread beyond political thought and into religious ideas. Protestant theologians feared that Christianity retained many elements that were not “German” enough, such as the Jewishness of Jesus, the canonicity of the Hebrew Bible, and the subservient nature of Christian ethics.2 These fears led to dialogues among the clergy and laity about the future and possible modification of Christian doctrine. -
The Political Theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Ethical Problem of Tyrannicide
Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Master's Theses Graduate School 2015 The olitP ical Theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Ethical Problem of Tyrannicide Brian Kendall Watson Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses Part of the Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Watson, Brian Kendall, "The oP litical Theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Ethical Problem of Tyrannicide" (2015). LSU Master's Theses. 612. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/612 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Master's Theses by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE POLITICAL THEOLOGY OF DIETRICH BONHOEFFER AND THE ETHICAL PROBLEM OF TYRANNICIDE A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in The Department of Political Science by Brian K. Watson B.A., Baylor University, 2011 August 2015 PREFACE 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 often 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. -
25867210 Lewis JW.Pdf
The Confessing Church's Response to the Holocaust from a Theological Christian-Ethical Perspective JW Lewis orcid.org/0000-0003-1111-3109 Thesis accepted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Church and Dogma History at the North-West University Promoter: Dr Vitali Petrenko Co-Promoter: Prof JM Vorster Graduation: May 2020 Student number: 25867210 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I am indebted to my two promoters, Dr Vitale Petrenko and Professor JM Vorster for their support and guidance throughout the process of researching and writing this thesis. I am especially grateful for the direction they provided early on in structuring the research proposal – the guidance that they provided during this critical stage of the project was invaluable. Secondly, I want to express my appreciation to North-West University and The Greenwich School of Theology for their interest in the subject matter, and for making this venture possible. I am especially grateful to Peg Evans and Tienie Buys for helping me to stay on track with the procedural details, and to Dr Ester Petrenko for her assistance in formatting the document. In addition, I am grateful to my Doctor of Ministry Supervisor Dr Kevin King for his encouragement to continue my studies in theology, ethics, and Christian history and to analyse their relationship with Christian apologetics. I also wish to acknowledge the resources that were made available through the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. The selection of related works that was available to me and the valuable insights of Dr Victoria J. -
The Finkenwalde Project
The Finkenwalde Project Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s project at Finkenwalde Seminary to recover for congregations the deep Christian tradition is a prominent model for young twenty-first-century Christians. Weary of the false dichotomy between right belief and right practice, they seek the wholeness of discipleship in what Bonhoeffer called “a kind of new monasticism.” Christian Reflection A Series in Faith and Ethics Prayer O God, this world is a place of your activity, a place where your light shines. But there are barren places, too. There are places where your image, which once shined like the sun, is obscured and eclipsed by those you created. War, hatred, and fear make deserts in your world; but so do Focus Article: our neglect, ignorance, and complacency. Though you came The Finkenwalde Project to bring light, we often sit in darkness; though you came to (Monasticism Old and New, give life, we often walk in the shadow of death. pp. 19-25) We hear your call to the deserts of this world. Help us to answer. Show us how to seek you in the forgotten places. (Unison) We pray to you, Father, through Jesus the Christ, in the power of your Spirit. Amen. Scripture Reading: Matthew 5:1-12 Meditation† The restoration of the church will surely come from a sort of new monasticism which has in common with the old only the uncom- promising attitude of a life lived according to the Sermon on the Mount in the following of Christ. I believe it is now time to call people to this. -
PA RT 1 the Interrogation Period April–July 1943
PA R T 1 The Interrogation Period April–July 1943 1. From Karl Bonhoeffer[1] 43 Berlin-Charl[ottenburg] 9, April 11, 1943 Dear Dietrich, I wanted to send you a greeting from us and tell you that we are always thinking of you. We know you and are therefore confident that everything will turn for the better, and hopefully soon. Despite all the anxiety we are now experiencing, we have the happy memory, to which we will hold on, of the cantata Lobe den Herren,[2] which you rehearsed and performed with your brothers and sisters and the grandchildren for my seventy-fifth birthday.[3] Hopefully, we can speak with you soon. Kindest regards from Mama, Renate, and her fiancée,[4] and your old Father With permission we have sent you a package on Wednesday the seventh, with bread and some other groceries, a blanket, and a woolen undershirt, and such. [1.] NL, A 76,2; handwritten; the letterhead reads: “Professor Dr. Bonhoeffer. Medical Privy Counselor”; the line below the return address “Berlin-Charl.” reads: “Marienburger Allee 43” (the letterhead and information about the sender are the same in subsequent letters from Karl Bonhoeffer). Previously published in LPP, 21. [2.] Helmut Walcha, Lobe den Herren (Praise the Lord); a cantata for choirs, wind instruments, and organ. [3.] On March 31, 1943; see DB-ER, 785; and Bethge and Gremmels, Life in Pictures, centenary ed., 134. [4.] Renate Schleicher and Eberhard Bethge. During the first six months of Bonhoef- fer’s incarceration in Tegel, Eberhard Bethge’s name was never mentioned directly for safety reasons.