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Bonhoeffer Quotes

Browse 18 quotes about Bonhoeffer.

Bonhoeffer Quotes

“Much later in his life, Auden would borrow a musical metaphor from Dietrich Bonhoeffer and say that Kierkegaard was a 'monodist, who can hear with particular acuteness one theme in the New Testament -- in his case, the theme of suffering and sacrifice -- but is deaf to its rich polyphony.' And for the Auden who emerges in the pages of this volume [Prose, Volume III: 1949-1955], the unique power of Christian doctrine is its polyphonic character, its capacity to address every dimension of our being, to give a comprehensive account of how history and nature relate, and -- decisively in Christ's incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection -- how they may be reconciled. (The Poet's Prose)”

Human NatureReconciliationChristian DoctrineAudenKierkegaardBonhoefferPolyphonyMonody
Book:Wayfaring: Essays Pleasant and Unpleasant
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“Do not give dogs what is holy; and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you’ (Matt. 7:6). The promise of grace is not to be squandered; it needs to be protected from the godless. There are those who are not worthy of the sanctuary. The proclamation of grace has its limits. Grace may not be proclaimed to anyone who does not recognize or distinguish or desire it. Not only does that pollute the sanctuary itself, not only must those who sin still be guilty against the Most Holy, but in addition, the misuse of the holy must turn against the community itself. The world upon whom grace is thrust as a bargain will grow tired of it, and it will not only trampled upon the Holy, but also will tear apart those who force it on them. For its own sake, for the sake of the sinner, and for the sake of the community, the Holy is to be protected from cheap surrender. The Gospel is protected by the preaching of repentance which calls sin sin and declares the sinner guilty. The key to loose is protected by the key to bind. The preaching of grace can only be protected by the preaching of repentance.”

SinGraceGospelBonhoeffer
Author:Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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“Men speak of God’s love for man… but if providence does not come in this hour, where is He then? My conclusion is simple. The Semitic texts from Bronze Age Palestine of which Christianity is comprised still fit uncomfortably well with contemporary life. The Old Testament depicts a God capricious and cruel; blood sacrifice, vengeance, genocide; death and destruction et al. Would He not approve of Herr Hitler and the brutal, tribalistic crusade against Hebrews and non-Christian ‘untermensch?’ One thing is inarguable. His church on Earth has produced some of the most vigorous and violent contribution to the European fascist cause. It is synergy. Man Created God, even if God Created Man; it all exists in the hubris and apotheosis of the narcissistic soul, and alas, all too many of the human herd are willing to follow the beastly trait of leadership. The idea of self-emancipation and advancement, with Europe under the jackboot of fascism, would be Quixotic to the point of mirthless lunacy.”

GodReligionReligiousChristianityFascismVengeanceItalyCatholic ChurchRight WingOld TestamentEmancipationCrusadesHitlerNietzscheFrancoVengefulSpanish Civil WarZealotryVaticanMussoliniApotheosisBonhoefferJackboot BritainZealotsJackbootVatican CityCatholic Church Nazi GermanyOld Testament GodNazis And The ChurchBronze Age PalestineCatholic FascismChurch HitlerChurch Right WingExtreme RightFascism And The ChurchGod VengeanceThe CrusadesTribalistic
Book:Jackboot Britain
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“The wish to have everything by one’s own power is false pride. Even what one owes to others belongs nevertheless to oneself and is a piece of one’s own life, and the desire to calculate what one has 'earned' on one’s own and what one owes to others is surely not Christian and is a futile undertaking besides. With what one is in oneself and what one receives, a person is a whole.”

CommunityGratitudeDependenceSharingInterdependenceBonhoeffer
Book:Letters and Papers from Prison
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“Grace is costly because it calls us through our person to the person of Jesus Christ. And when we follow the person of Jesus Christ, when we follow his call through our person, we're sent to act for the concrete person of our neighbor in the world.”

TheologyYouth MinistryBonhoefferCostly Grace
Book:Bonhoeffer as Youth Worker: A Theological Vision for Discipleship and Life Together
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“The family trees of Karl and Paula Bonhoeffer are everywhere so laden with figures of accomplishment that one might expect future generations to be burdened by it all. But the welter of wonderfulness that was their heritage seemed to have been a boon, one that buoyed them up so that each child seems not only to have stood on the shoulders of giants but also to have danced on them.”

ChildrenHas BeensSeemsMightGenerationsTreeFiguresShouldersAccomplishmentGiantsHeritageFuture GenerationBoonBonhoeffer
Book:Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy
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“Must the Christian go around looking for a cross to bear, seeking to suffer? No, insisted Bonhoeffer. Opportunities for bearing crosses will occur along life's way and all that is required is the willingness to act when the time comes. The needs of the neighbor, especially those of the weak and downtrodden, the victimized and the persecuted, the ill and the lonely, will become abundantly evident.”

WayNeedsChristianSufferingOpportunityBearsCrossesLonelyWeakIllSeekingNeighborInevitableWillingnessEvidentPersecutedDowntroddenCrosses To BearBonhoeffer
Author:Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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“I saw Pastor Bonhoeffer, before taking off his prison garb, kneeling on the floor praying fervently to his God. I was most deeply moved by the way this lovable man prayed, so devout and so certain that God heard his prayer. At the place of execution, he again said a prayer and then climbed the steps to the gallows, brave and composed. His death ensued in a few seconds. In the almost 50 years that I have worked as a doctor, I have hardly ever seen a man die so entirely submissive to the will of God.”

MenWayYearsSaidCertainDiesPrayerStepsSawsHeardPrayingDoctorsMovedBraveGods WillFiftySecondsExecutionPastorLovableSubmissiveKneelingGallowsBonhoefferShort Prayer
Author:Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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