Tuesday, January 31, 2012

The Cost of Discipleship - Chapter 12

Revenge

The passion of Christ is the victory of divine love over the powers of evil, and therefore it is the only supportable basis for Christian obedience. Once again, Jesus calls those who follow him to share his passion. How can we convince the world by our preaching of the passion when we shrink for that passion in our own lives? [...] The cross is the only power in the world which proves that suffering love can avenge and vanquish evil.

Recently, Bonhoeffer's chapters have tackled an issue or a sin. I feel like I am reading a daily devotional book, a word of wisdom for everyday concerning a topic that everyone deals with. This chapter on revenge was very interesting... At the start of the book there was a memoir of Bonhoeffer's life which talked about his plans to kill Hitler and a host of other things he had done in his lifetime.

At the start of this chapter, using Matthew 5:38-42 as a basis, Bonhoeffer is adamant that one must repel evil through non-violence. That when someone steals your cloak you must also give him your tunic. To stop evil in it's tracks by not reacting to it... However, it was Bonhoeffer who was executed for attempting to kill Hitler. I wish that he would have lived on through the war and could have reconciled his words in this chapter with his real life actions. I am not condemning him for attempting to take out Hitler, I would just like to know where he drew the line in regards to "revenge."

Your thoughts?

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