Thoughts on Bonhoeffer

Well, from what I understand I missed out on quite the discussion in class the other day. Not gonna lie--I am not entirely sure how we got on the subject of killing Hitler, considering Bonhoeffer's Cost of Discipleship doesn't really discuss anything about it, though I do understand that he was a part of the plot to assassinate Hitler.

First of all, I will just say that any hypothetical situation or generalization will not do this question justice. For me, this dilemma deals only with Hitler and the Holocaust--not some other historical event or some imaginary situation. If I was Bonhoeffer, seeing the injustice, having people I cared about killed, knowing in my heart of hearts how wrong and powerful this man was: I would have killed him. Now would I have thought it was just? Perhaps not. I would have done it, but I would have been fully ready to accept the consequences, begging for forgiveness. I probably would have realized that Hitler and I were both pretty great sinners. I would need a lot of grace. Eventually, I might even regret what I did--but for the most part I could pretty confidently say that I would have felt that I saved a lot of souls from perishing, though I had killed one. Yes, morally that might not be right. In the end, though, there is really no good option. It is simply a matter of what consequences you are willing to suffer.

On another note entirely, I found it very cool that in my bible study, at True Spin, and in my reading that the body of Christ was discussed. Neal even quoted Bonhoeffer a lot. One of my favorite sections in The Visible Community says:

"A truth, a doctrine, or a religion need no space for themselves. They are disembodied entities. They are heard, learnt and apprehended, and that is all. But the incarnate Son of God needs not only ears or hearts, but living men who will follow him."

It adds a bit more reality to the whole being a Christian idea if you think about it. It's pretty sweet.

Commented on Tori's.