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Christian Moral Action, image - Coggle Diagram
Christian Moral Action
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Church as community
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Confessing Church
The Confessing Church was organised by Martin Niemoller and Bonhoeffer in opposition to the German Christian movement as part of the Kirchenkampf (church struggle)
Its basic beliefs were set out in the Barmen Declaration. This said a Christian's primary duty is to Christ and God, not to the state thus denying Nazi involvement in the Church
This only gave 'limited disobedience' to the state. Later, Bonhoeffer developed his 'ecumenical theology' that the Confessing Church should have no national, political or racial boundaries - against the German Christian movement
He became disillusioned with the Confessing Church in his final days as they were less engaged with the world and he felt 'The Church is her true self when she exists for humanity.' As it failed to topple Hitler, it was not a Church 'come of age'
Finkenwalde
He set up a religious community at Finkenwalde in 1935 for training ministers for the Confessing Church
This ultimately was closed down in September 1937 as the Himmler Decree declared the training of Confessing Church ministers illegal
The true purpose of the community was to develop practical Christian living as a community of disciples and to exercise discipline
Central practices included:
Discipline - physical and mental discipline, this led to action
Bible - frequent reading and discussion gives understanding
Outward facing - engaging with the world meaningfully
Meditation - this is basis of prayer, leads to discipline
Brotherhood - bound by love of Christ and community
Cost of discipleship
Ethics as action
Barth said we don't know God, but God decides to reveal Himself to us in a special act - like with Jesus Christ. Bonhoeffer said we needed to not just hear the law but act upon it (Martha acts but does not listen)
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Action is prompted by conscience, the experience of disunity in oneself, with God and others. Conscience is self-knowledge, like with Bonhoeffer's recognition of the 'terrible alternative' while in the US
Ethical decisions are about conflict between good and evil and action which is distinguishing between them
Love overcomes disunity. Agape is not a human attitude but is revealed in God's love for humanity through Jesus
Costly grace
Bonhoeffer argued that Christianity should not be used for political ends so should be free from the state, as Christianity could be based on 'only Christ, only scripture and only faith'
This places the Christian disciple in a precarious position should they be taking on an unjust society
Cheap grace is going to Church every Sunday for bourgeois respectability and is 'grace without discipleship'
Costly grace requires the 'living sacrifice' mentioned by St Paul, and as shown in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ
Sacrifice and suffering
Suffering is part of the Christian experience, shown with Jesus' sacrifice. 'Our God is a suffering God'
The crisis of human sinfulness can only be overcome with God's judgement ('krisis') and gift of grace and redemption in Jesus Christ - theology of crisis
Bonhoeffer realised he would probably have to pay the ultimate sacrifice of death but saw this as part of his stand against wickedness; he did not seek to be a martyr of suffering
Solidarity
As Jesus was 'the man for others,' it ought to be a 'Church for others,' one which acts to help by standing in solidarity with the oppressed and vulnerable
He wrote that the Church must fight political injustice against the Jews as it should act as a check on the state, help victims of injustice and be sure 'not just to bandage the victims under the wheel, but to put a spoke in the wheel itself
He himself stood in solidarity with the Jews, criticising the Nazi regime after the boycott of Jewish businesses. He publicly rejected the view that Kristallnacht was God's punishment for the Jews not accepting Jesus. He also helped to raise money to help Jews escape to Switzerland, which got him arrested and later executed
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