Responsible Discipleship in Society

  In the early days of my biblical studies, I was exposed to the teachings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945), a Lutheran pastor and theologian living in Germany during World War II. He was one of a few godly men who actively opposed the regime of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi oppression of the Jews. Bonhoeffer spent time in America, attending Union Theological Seminary in New York City.

He eventually felt called to return to the German church in its time of need. At one point, Bonhoeffer made the controversial decision to participate in a plot to assassinate Hitler, and he was eventually executed for that offense and for helping Jews escape Nazism. He was hanged on April 9, 1945, just before the end of the war. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a symbol of hope to many Christians during the war, and his classic book, The Cost of Discipleship (1937), is still widely read by Christians.

Jeremiah 45 made a deep impression on Bonhoeffer. He voiced this sentiment from his prison cell. Why did Jeremiah 45 impress Bonhoeffer to the extent that he, an avowed pacifist, engaged in activities that he felt violated his earlier convictions, to save his people and his nation? Let me mention five points:

1. He believed he was called to imitate the prophet Jeremiah, to preach against a prevalent spiritual failure in the lives of many in his nation.

2. Bonhoffer, like Jeremiah, believed that God was calling him to engage in plucking up and breaking down false teachings of many in his nation.

3. In this mission, he was not to seek greatness for himself (Jeremiah 45:5).

4. Like Jeremiah, Bonhoeffer was to suffer because of the loss of his people and his nation (Jeremiah 45:3).

5. Unlike Jeremiah, however, Bonhoeffer lost his life under the National Socialist regime (Jeremaih 45:5).

Dietrich Bonhoeffer saw National Socialism as a brutal attempt to make history without God and to build a foundation and its national hopes on the strength and wisdom of man alone (cf. Roots of War, by: Ryan Huber, pp. 131-132, 141). And this despite the Psalmist’s word: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD” (Psalm 33:12).

The questions I am leading up to in this article are, “Do you think that Jeremiah speaks to us today in the manner in which Bonhoeffer thought it spoke to him?” “Is it a Christian duty to love God and his people and to speak out against false philosophies that are no longer based on natural law and the word of God?” “Is it also in the sphere of the state and society that responsible Christian discipleship has to be manifested in our accountability as the “salt and light of the world?”

What about those who cannot be heroes? Can the many be expected to make personal sacrifices and commitments made by the few? There are not many Abrahams, Davids, or Paul’s. The future may depend more on the heroism of the few, but then, maybe it also depends on those within the ranks who quietly carry out the goals of the few who have dreams and visions.

As we look at our lives, let us not be discouraged because we seem to be doing nothing meaningful. Bonhoeffer had a philosophy on this: “Life is filled with fragments of deeds, ideas, and aspirations. Many of these fragments do not mature into useful, or good, things, yet this does not mean that all of life is a failure. It is the few good and worthwhile fragments that come from our lives that make life meaningful and beneficial to the world.”

Reach out in your own, often quiet ways, to make changes in this world.