Small Comment (Bonhoeffer)

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I just finished the first part the "authoritative" Bonhoeffer biography. It is amazing and I am thoroughly enjoying it.

A couple of years ago Eric Metaxes came out with a biography that was a very popular success, but it received heavy criticism as well, especially from academics. I read that book and enjoyed it. It was my second biography on Bonhoeffer but it was much more detailed and exciting than the other one I had read. I remember feeling somewhat frustrated that he received such negative press with titles like "Hijacking Bonhoeffer." It felt like sour grapes and a political war. I never felt like I found much substantial reasoning for the criticism.

Today I finished the chapter of Bonhoeffer's time in America and I was able to see what the trouble was. Bonhoeffer was very critical of Union, especially of the lack of dogmatics and theology he saw in the students and the curriculum. Metaxes, perhaps unintentionally, played all this up. I had many quote circled in his biography making fun of the liberal american school. But reading Bethge's chapter I saw: a) Bethge did not include nearly as many or as harsh comments from the 24 year old exchange student. b) Having read all of Bonhoeffer's later works it is undeniable that he was majorly influenced by Niebuhr, Baillie and the courses he took at Union.

The Americans were light on theology, but their interest in politics, workers rights, race issues, in a word their emphasis on action and work as opposed to abstract truth and creed tie directly to his later writings, especially Ethics and Letters and Papers.

Here is Niebuhr's criticism of one of Bonhoeffer's papers:

...in making grace as transcendent as you do, I don't see how you can ascribe any ethical significance to it. Obedience to God's will may be a religious experience, but it is not an ethical one until it issues in actions which can be socially valued ...

And Bonhoeffer himself, commenting on American philosophy, writes:

"It is not truth, but 'works' that is 'valid,' and that is their criterion."

This shows how American university, its social gospel (he was there in 1930 during the Great Depression and right before the New Deal) seems to have had a major good influence on Bonhoeffer, something that Metaxes didn't see clearly in my recollection.

Right before his imprisonment he wrote to all his fellow conspirators and said:


"the ultimately responsible question is not how I extricate myself heroically from a situation but how does the coming generation go on living. Only from such a historically responsible question will fruitful solutions arise, however humiliating they may be for the moment." 

Comments

Jarrett said…
Bonhoeffer is a strange character. People are always co-opting him and trying to attach him to their side. For example, Bonhoeffer was tied to the "God is dead" movement some years back. Bonhoeffer makes an ambiguous reference to "religionless Christianity" in one of his letters from prison and folks use that as a launching point for an ethical religion without a transcendent deity. I've puzzled over this phenomenon. Why does everyone want Bonhoeffer on their side? I think it has to do with the way that he is viewed as a prophetic figure who was martyred for his beliefs. That's the kind of guy everyone wants on their side to validate their viewpoint.
June 6, 2013 at 7:40 AM
jaypercival said…
You're right. I read a biography of Letters and Papers by Martin Marty and it really has been amazing how many different places Bonhoeffer has gone (South America, South Africa, etc.) He said the Death of God theologians were not very thoughtful in their usage of DB, but that it actually effectively scared off some people who associate DB's later writings with that movement. I have talked with people who had that view.

I feel like DB is like anyone else, he was young and he grew through experience, but he was amazingly consistent in his thought and central drives. Yet, he did learn and change through every new experience.

Hey Jarrett, thanks for reading. Hope you are doing well.
June 7, 2013 at 1:42 PM
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