“‘I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity.’ Ike declared in 1946. Ike had seen the horrors of war in the Nazi concentration camps, the Normandy landing and assault, and the bloody battles in North Africa. He had written … More We Could Use Such a Leader Today
Christmas day and the day after Christmas are two of my favorite days of the year. They are filled with memories of lazy days with my wife and children enjoying the celebration of the Savior and the gifts of love we give to one another following his model of giving himeself for us. This year, … More Great Quotes From Bonhoeffer’s Advent Messages
I am reading a collection of Christmas Sermons by Dietrich Bonhoeffer and it is encouraging to see Bonhoeffer’s evangelistic heart unmediated by biographers and interpreters. The editor and translater is Edwin Robertson. In this sermon, Bonhoeffer’s text is Deuteronomy 32. He works off the promise to Israel to give them a land. But Moses is … More Bonhoeffer’s Christmas Sermon
Rereading Life Together for the 20th time. Always timely. This quotation is from the introduction. 1933, February Germany Bonhoeffer had just turned 27 years of age “In February Bonhoeffer delivered a lecture broadcast over the Berlin radio in which he flayed the German public for its hankering after a ‘leader’ who would inevitably become a … More When the “Leader” Becomes the “Misleader”
Sunday Afternoon Musings “Above all, it is not necessary that we should have any unexpected, extraordinary experiences in meditation. This can happen, but if it does not, it is not a sign that the meditation period has been useless. Not only at the beginning, but repeatedly, there will be times when we feel great spiritual dryness … More Bonhoeffer on: Happiness and Meditation
The good news of the Gospel is good because of some really bad news. We have been pronounced guilty before . . . an absolutely good being, an absolutely holy king, an absolutely righteous judge, an all seeing, all knowing sovereign who knows every thought and intention of our hearts, every behavior of our past, every secret … More Pronounced Guilty, and the Good News of the Gospel
An Excerpt from Bonhoeffer “Let not the sun go down upon your wrath” (Eph. 4:26). It is a decisive rule of every Christian fellowship that every dissension that day has brought must be healed in the evening. It is perilous for the Christian to lie down to sleep with an unreconciled heart. Bonhoeffer, Life Together, 74. … More How Community is Protected
It is the beginning of a new year and that means the beginning of another rereading of Bonhoeffer’s Life Together. I am looking forward to this year’s reading more than others. I feel like after reading it so many times over the years I am at the place where I might understand it at a deeper … More Bonhoeffer: It Starts Again
The Church is Drowning in Cheap Grace Bonhoeffer was actually aiming at the German Church leading into the rise of World War II but he might have been writing about America. I am starting on my third copy of Bonhoeffer’s, The Cost of Discipleship, having worn out two copies already. It is embarrassing to see how much … More Bonhoeffer’s Analysis of American Religion?
It is part of my yearly pattern. I reread, Bonhoeffer’s LIFE TOGETHER. Recently, the book has popped up a number of times in mentoring or counseling situations so now seemed like a good time for me to begin the process this year. And every time I am humbled by its wisdom and understanding of the … More Brotherhood—It’s a Real Thing Not a Feeling
