!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s) {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod? n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)}; if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0'; n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0; t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script', 'https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js'); fbq('init', '1247826415289028'); fbq('track', 'PageView'); window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'UA-110018392-11');
Episodes

Episode 05 //

Bonhoeffer’s Dilemma

By Jerry J. Jostwick, the only survivor of the 16 cameramen of the operation[2] [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Episode 05 //

Bonhoeffer’s Dilemma

Even though the Christian may want to stay out of public engagement or not feel comfortable with it, there may come a time when the Christian must engage politics for the sake of loving their neighbor.

What separates Bonhoeffer from so many of his peers was that, even though he failed, he chose to act. During the Nazi rise to power in Germany, Bonhoeffer actively chose to resist an oppressive regime when much of the German church was actively complicit in unspeakable atrocities.

So how did a man so immersed in social and political chaos have the confidence to act, even when he knew he might fail in massive, consequential ways?

Bonhoeffer understood what it meant to imitate Jesus. And that meant handing your life over and dying to yourself, sometimes in a broader political sense–and sometimes in reality–for the sake of loving your neighbor.

Jesus, in so many ways, was not successful. But he for sure was victorious. – Laura M. Fabrycky

Tune in to the finale of Living & Effective, season 1: Bonhoeffer’s Dilemma, to learn more of Bonhoeffer’s struggle with the powers that be in Nazi Germany. Featuring guests Reggie Williams (author of Bonhoeffer’s Black Jesus), John Hendrix (author and illustrator of The Faithful Spy), and Laura M. Fabrycky (volunteer guide at the Bonhoeffer-Haus).

Listen to Living & Effective Now