Discussing Bonhoeffer

He lived in a time of extreme suffering and danger, so it could be argued that this experience influenced his writings and theology, and lead him to over-emphasise the need of suffering for discipleship Very few Christians will experience this kind of suffering in their lifetime. That would make it not possible to live a true Christian life according to BH. His notion of discipleship relies on suffering and injustice, which is not a positive outlook, and does not seem indicative of the teachings of the religion.

However we do all experience suffering, just to different extents. BH does place emphasis on solidarity as well as suffering. Even if we do not experience this level of suffering in our lives, we can act in solidarity with those who do. 

BH's teachings may downplay the joy and hope of the resurrection. It is called the Good News after all. Jesus' passion is beyond just suffering. He did triumph life over death, which is a vital teaching within Christianity. BH would say that to avoid the sacrifice and suffering would mean failing to follow the call of Jesus 

The Bible gives mixed messages on this matter. St Paul says 'let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established'. This could be understood as God creating establishments of Government, so we should obey them, or that even the Government are under the authority of God.

Jesus did not openly challenge the rule of the time, or encourage people to not pay taxes, but he did often speak out against the status quo in society and challenge the local religious authorities. This suggests obedience in some cases but disobedience in others.

BH justifies his civil disobedience by his emphasis of obedience to God's will - but this creates problems, as society would be chaos if everyone disobeyed the authorities if a law went agaisnt their religion. Also who is to be sure of what the will of God is.

For BH, civil disobedience became necessary because of the context in which he was living, and the Nazi rule obviously undermined Christian teachings. In less extreme circumstances, this may not be so obvious, and makes disobedience less justifiable 

In 'The Cost of Discipleship', BH provides many interpretations of the Bible, which he believes illustrate God's will, but these are often not the only reasonable interpretations. His account of God's will could be misunderstood. It is difficult to be certain of God's will, especially when going as far as BH did in claiming his assasination attempt on Hitler was God's will. 

BH could be seen as dangerously encouraging individuals with distorted interpretations of God's will. This could justify violence. 

BH did spend much of his life working in a community trying to understand and correctly interpret the Bible. This could have provided him with a good basis for understanding and interpreting God's will from his teachings. 

We may not know God's will, but can agree that he was correct to disagree with the Nazi regime. The fact that many agree could be used to say that we can know God's will.  

BH's teachings on solidaity with those who are suffering will always be relevant, there is always injustice, and things that can be done by Christians to help. 

The modern world focusses on self-interest and selfishness, so a focus on existing for others is necessary in society today.

BH thinks that the only true Christianity is that of scripture - this lacks the ability for Christianity to be modernised and made more accessible for people 

BH lived in a very extreme context that most do not experience today. His teachings on civil disobedience were very relevant for the time, but most do not encounter those kind of problems 

The world is becoming more and more divided - the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer, so BH's theology of solidarity and existing for others is needed still. Also there is always suffering, even if we do not experience it ourselves, so we must still follow BH in order to help those who are suffering.