Bonhoeffer

Question 1

Who was Dietrich Bonhoeffer?

Answer 1

A German Lutheran pastor, theologian, and resistance figure, executed in 1945 for involvement in plots against Hitler.

Question 2

What is Bonhoeffer’s central question in ethics?

Answer 2

How to discern and obey the will of God in concrete, lived situations rather than abstract rules.

Question 3

What is ‘cheap grace’?

Answer 3

Grace without discipleship, forgiveness without repentance, baptism without obedience; a distortion of the gospel.

Question 4

What is ‘costly grace’?

Answer 4

Grace that demands following Christ in obedience and suffering, because it cost God the life of His Son.

Question 5

How does Bonhoeffer define discipleship?

Answer 5

A concrete call to follow Christ in daily obedience, even when it leads to suffering or death.

Question 6

What is ‘religionless Christianity’?

Answer 6

Christianity lived authentically in obedience to Christ without reliance on outward forms or mere religiosity.

Question 7

How does Bonhoeffer describe Christian freedom?

Answer 7

Freedom is found in responsibility before God and others, not in autonomous self-determination.

Question 8

What role does community play in Bonhoeffer’s thought?

Answer 8

Christian community sustains faith, obedience, and mutual accountability; life together is essential.

Question 9

What was the Confessing Church?

Answer 9

A movement within German Protestantism opposing Nazi control of the church, with which Bonhoeffer was aligned.

Question 10

What is the Church’s duty toward the state according to Bonhoeffer?

Answer 10

To call the state to account under God, and if necessary to resist or ‘jam the wheel’ of injustice.

Question 11

What are ‘the ultimate’ and ‘the penultimate’?

Answer 11

The ultimate is God’s kingdom and will; the penultimate is earthly life and concerns, which must be oriented to the ultimate.

Question 12

How does Bonhoeffer see the relation between faith and works?

Answer 12

Genuine faith must manifest in works of obedience; faith without obedience is cheap grace.

Question 13

What is ‘responsible action’ for Bonhoeffer?

Answer 13

Acting in freedom before God, sometimes taking guilt upon oneself, in obedience to God’s command.

Question 14

What does Bonhoeffer say about principles versus God’s will?

Answer 14

Principles risk rigid legality; God’s will is living, dynamic, and concrete in each situation.

Question 15

Why did Bonhoeffer join the resistance against Hitler?

Answer 15

He believed God’s will required active opposition to evil and protection of the innocent, even through radical means.

Question 16

What is the link between Christology and ethics in Bonhoeffer?

Answer 16

Christ is the centre of reality; ethics flows from following Christ’s concrete command and example.

Question 17

How does Bonhoeffer describe the Sermon on the Mount?

Answer 17

As a direct call to radical discipleship, not an ideal but a concrete standard for Christian living.

Question 18

What is Bonhoeffer’s view of conscience?

Answer 18

Conscience is not autonomous reason but response to God’s will revealed in Christ and community.

Question 19

What is meant by ‘world come of age’?

Answer 19

Humanity no longer depends on religious crutches; Christians must live maturely and responsibly before God in the secular world.

Question 20

What does Bonhoeffer say about obedience and knowledge?

Answer 20

True knowledge of God’s will comes only in obedience; one cannot know without acting.

Question 21

How does Bonhoeffer view suffering in Christian life?

Answer 21

Suffering is part of discipleship; ‘When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.’

Question 22

What is the relationship between grace and discipleship for Bonhoeffer?

Answer 22

Grace is the call to follow Christ; it enables and demands costly obedience.

Question 23

What is Bonhoeffer’s view on ethics during crisis?

Answer 23

In times of moral collapse, responsible action may require breaking norms to serve God’s will.

Question 24

How does Bonhoeffer understand the incarnation’s ethical meaning?

Answer 24

God’s will is revealed in Christ’s becoming human; ethics is grounded in real, concrete existence.

Question 25

What does Bonhoeffer say about truth?

Answer 25

Truth is not abstract but relational, found in living responsibly before God and others.

Question 26

What does Bonhoeffer mean by ‘the structure of responsible life’?

Answer 26

Human life is structured by mandates (work, family, church, government), each under God’s will.

Question 27

What is the danger of autonomous ethics, according to Bonhoeffer?

Answer 27

It replaces obedience to God’s living command with human-made principles.

Question 28

How did Bonhoeffer interpret the role of the Church under Nazism?

Answer 28

The Church must not only bandage victims under the wheel, but seize the wheel itself.

Question 29

What does Bonhoeffer mean by solidarity?

Answer 29

Christians share in the suffering of Christ and of others, bearing guilt and responsibility in love.

Question 30

What was the significance of Finkenwalde?

Answer 30

The seminary Bonhoeffer led for training pastors in disciplined Christian community against Nazi interference.

Question 31

How does Bonhoeffer define God’s will?

Answer 31

The concrete, living command of God in the present, discerned in Christ through prayer, Scripture, and community.

Question 32

What does Bonhoeffer teach about prayer and ethics?

Answer 32

Prayer is essential for discerning God’s will; ethical action flows from communion with God.

Question 33

How does Bonhoeffer describe the cross for discipleship?

Answer 33

The cross is not misfortune but the mark of Christ’s call; to follow Him is to bear it willingly.

Question 34

What is the ultimate aim of Bonhoeffer’s ethics?

Answer 34

To live responsibly in obedience to God’s will, revealed in Christ, for the sake of the world.