The Hebraic concept on life and the Scriptures emphasizes that there is no separation between the physical and spiritual worlds. This contradicts many aspects of Greek philosophy (of which we are highly influenced by in the West) and many early Church heresies. Although these early Church ideas were heretical, they still seeped into some aspects of Church doctrine. Bonhoeffer understand the unity of the physical and spiritual worlds as well as the unity of faith and works. The Hebrew word for faith is EMUNAH which is understood to mean a combination of faith and faithfulness. Therefore, it is not possible to have faith without the action behind it. Or to paraphrase one of my teachers, "I don't care what you believe, show me what you are doing and I will know what you 'believe'. Here is an excerpt about Dietrich Bonhoeffer:
The Scriptures said that faith without works is dead, that faith “is the evidence of things not seen.” Bonhoeffer knew that one could see some things only with the eyes of faith, but they were no less real and true than the things one saw with one’s physical eyes. But the eyes of faith had a moral component. To see that it was against God’s will to persecute the Jews, one must choose to open one’s eyes. And then one would face another uncomfortable choice: whether to act as God required.
Bonhoeffer strove to see what God wanted to show and then to do what God asked in response. That was the obedient Christian life, the call of the disciple. And it came with a cost, which explained why so many were afraid to open their eyes in the first place. It was the “antithesis” of the “cheap grace” that required nothing more than an easy mental assent, which he wrote about in Discipleship. Bonhoeffer “was a person about whom one had the feeling that he was completely whole,” said one Finkenwalde [his seminary] ordinand, “a man who believes in what he thinks and does what he believes in.” [pg 278-279]
That's a good word. Bonhoeffer was so progressive! What a visionary. What strength to be able to stand up to such forces of evil.
ReplyDeleteI had a conversation tonight with some friends which provoked many thoughts/questions in me. I look forward to bouncing them off you. They concern a range of topics including choice, Reform theology, trinity and oneness, and Romans 9:6-8. :)
You know I love these conversations about the
ReplyDeleteL-RD! For our discussion, be sure to read all of Romans 9-11 for a more wholistic understanding of Paul's argument. Additionally, I always recommend reading Stern's commentary on the passage not because it is "authoritative" but because he does a good job of introducing a Hebraic perspective on Scripture that traditionally has been understood through a Greek mindset.
johng said: much food for thought... emunah is the key, faithfulness is covenant faithfulness and loyalty, a kind if bedrock that inspires us for a lifetime. What will we do when faced with a maniac like Bonhoeffer faced? Will we proclaim Yeshua and go to prison and hear the hard word of the moment, like taking action against him. In his own country, he did the honorable thing that came out of faith/faithfulness, he took action!
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