As you presumably know, I've been teaching an 8 week series on Christian thinking and application at two different churches here in Indianapolis. As a part of the first week's lesson, I've included a case study about Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his role in an assassination attempt of Adolf Hitler. He is part of what I wrote in that controversial case study, along with some of the questions for your reflection.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was hanged on April 9, 1945 in the Flossenburn concentration camp, mere weeks before Allies liberated Nazi Germany. He was only 39 years old.
The crime for which Bonhoeffer was brutally executed was his participation in an assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler.
...he was a Christian and a pastor. In fact, he actually known less for his role in the assassination attempt on Hitler and more for his sermons and writing during the years he spent in both Germany and the United States. And it his book The Cost of Discipleship which secured his reputation as one of the leading voices in the twentieth century.
Questions to Consider:
1. Do you believe Dietrich Bonhoeffer--as a Christian and a pastor--should have been involved in an assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler?
2. How do you think his Christian faith affected his decision to participate? Should it have affected his decision?
3. Knowing what we know about Hitler's legacy, if you were in Bonhoeffer's place to do something to prevent it--even if it meant assassination--would you do it? Why/why not?
4. What might the Bible to say about Dietrich Bonhoeffer's situation?
These are not easy questions to answer. And it is easy for us who sit in the safe confines of suburbia to suggest what we would or wouldn't do in Bonhoeffer's situation. But these are important things to think about. So, what do you think?
Comments