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Bonhoeffer’s Antifascist Theology – Part III. Unexpected Alliances

Today we will continue looking at what I am calling “antifascist theology,” as expressed by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. [In Part I, I introduced the core concepts of fascism and introduced Bonhoeffer. In Part II, we explored the three general categories of Christians who fall under fascism’s sway.]

In recent years, I’ve noticed unexpected connections and alliances between certain Christian and non-Christian groups that are both working for truth, justice, and human dignity. Take for instance, anti-violence and anti-poverty Christian activist Shane Claiborne, who literally beats guns into gardening tools and once illegally occupied an abandoned church in Philadelphia to set up a shelter for homeless people. As a Christian activist, Claiborne regularly finds himself working alongside lots of people who he disagrees with theologically– but he finds common ground when it comes to issues like these. Or for another example, check out these Christians in Oregon working alongside firmly non-Christian antifascist groups to provide mutual aid in the wake of the Oregon protests and wildfires.

Members of the secular Portland mutual aid group “EWOKS” in front of a church sign. Photo courtesy of Clackamas UCC

Now, I had previously thought that unexpected alliances like these were a somewhat recent, novel phenomenon. It is now only in reading Bonhoeffer’s Ethics that I saw the same dynamics took place in the context of German fascism! Bonhoeffer points out that when values of truth and tolerance are threatened by authoritarian power, there often forms a kind of a temporary alliance between the beleaguered defenders of those values and the remaining, antifascist Christians. Check out his words below—doesn’t most of this sound scarily relevant? It’s a long quote, but powerful-so please read carefully:

“Whenever, in the face of the deification of the irrational powers of blood, of instinct, of the predator within human beings, there was an appeal to reason; whenever, in the face of arbitrariness there was an appeal to the written law; whenever, in the face of barbarism, there was an appeal to culture and humanity; whenever, in the face of their violation there was an appeal to freedom, tolerance, and human rights; whenever, in the face of the politicization of science, art, and so on, attention was drawn to the autonomy of the various areas of life…then this was sufficient to evoke immediately awareness of some kind of alliance between the defenders of these threatened values and Christians. Reason, culture, humanity, tolerance, autonomy– all these concepts, which until recently had served as battle cries against the church, against Christianity, even against Jesus Christ, now surprisingly found themselves in very close proximity to the Christian domain…as a goal-driven alliance…Christ is the center and power of the Bible, of the church, of theology, but also of humanity, reason, justice, and culture.” [Ethics, 340-2]

To summarize, in this passage Bonhoeffer writes that the same secular liberals who had previously been attacking religion before the rise of fascism, now quickly found common cause with antifascist Christians such as himself. Of course, there were different theological values, but here was an alliance of convenience in order to defend their shared values: reason, law, culture, humanity, freedom, tolerance, human rights, science, and art. To bring it to our present day, I would argue that whenever contemporary Christians forge tactical alliances with secular antifascist movements (such as groups in opposition to nuclear weapons and war-mongering, corporate greed, environmental pillaging, dehumanization at the border, human trafficking, voter suppression, or other issues), these Christians are embodying this same kind of antifascist perspective that Bonhoeffer is espousing. Which brings me to a related topic.

Black Lives Matter

The Amish Community Protests For George Floyd & System Oppression In Minneapolis... - YouTube
Thanks to a fact check website, I learned that these demonstrators were not technically Amish, but rather part of a different conservative sect called the Church of God.

I believe that Black Lives Matter is another potential example of a “goal-driven alliance” between antifascist Christians and secular-leaning liberals. After George Floyd was murdered by police in broad daylight, millions of white Americans (including many Christians) joined in and protested as a way to decry racist police violence and to declare the fact that Black Lives Matter. Even a contingent of a conservative, pseudo-Amish Christian sect–apolitical and disinclined to join in most political actions–joined in these BLM protests! In so doing, this group was not endorsing every element of the Black Lives Matter organization, nor were they declaring that they were necessarily tossing their hats into the political ring. Instead, these antifascist Christians were simply responding to a very visible act of injustice (which in itself was simply the most blatant example of a centuries-old system of injustice). They chose to leave the confines of their Christian community and align themselves with a just cause-that of demanding justice for George Floyd and other Black lives facing widespread police brutality.

Bonhoeffer writes, quoting Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount:

“’Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’ (Matt. 5:10). This verse does not speak about the righteousness of God, that is, about persecution for the sake of Jesus Christ; rather, it calls those blessed who are persecuted for a just cause…With this beatitude Jesus thoroughly rejects the false timidity of those Christians who evade any kind of suffering for a just, good, and true cause because they supposedly could have a clear conscience only if they were to suffer for the explicit confession of faith in Christ; he rejects in other words, the kind of narrow-mindedness that casts a cloud of suspicion on any suffering for the sake of a just cause and distances itself from it. Jesus cares for those who suffer for a just cause even if it is not exactly for the confession of his name; he brings them under his protection, takes responsibility for them, and addresses them with his claim.” [Ethics 346]

What Bonhoeffer is saying is that suffering for any just cause is valid and blessed by God, even if those who are suffering are not explicitly Christian, nor if the cause is solely about Jesus! While I would hope this is a pretty obvious reading of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, I know that many Christians do not actually live this out! After all, how many Christians in 1930s Germany decided not to stand in solidarity with persecuted Jews, Gypsies, communists, gays, the people with disabilities, and other “undesirables”, because to do so wasn’t a matter of defending “Christianity?” The answer is—most of them! Only a very few, the antifascist Christians in the mold of Bonhoeffer, chose to stand alongside these groups.

Similarly, in our day, I think Bonhoeffer would offer a biting rebuke of the conservative Christians who have been reluctant to stand alongside in support of the Black Lives Matter protests. To be sure, Bonhoeffer was neither a communist nor a socialist, and he levels some firm critiques of these social movements elsewhere in Ethics. However, I do not think he would not have accepted the standard right-wing argument that to state “Black Lives Matter” means one is somehow aligning oneself with Marxism, atheism, or any of the other values ascribed to certain BLM leaders. Such thinking Bonhoeffer calls “narrow-minded” and “timid”, a reflection of an impoverished, potentially fascistic worldview (recall from my first blog that being angrily opposed to any hint of Marxism or communism is one of the hallmarks of a fascist mindset). Indeed, I think he would say that true followers of Jesus belong right in the middle of this cause, rather than fleeing from it!

Am I being presumptuous in claiming that Bonhoeffer would support Black Lives Matter? I don’t think so. In 1930, Bonhoeffer spent a year at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. He became deeply connected to the African-American Church as he attended the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem. There his eyes were opened to the injustices suffered by Black Americans on a daily basis. Angered by the lynching of the “Scottsboro Boys”, a group of nine African-Americans who were lynched in Alabama after a false rape accusation, Bonhoeffer unsuccessfully tried to mobilize church leaders back in Europe to organize against the injustice. Bonhoeffer was so deeply moved by the Black Christians he encountered in the United States that he translated a number of traditional African-American Spirituals into German and brought the tunes back to the churches he led in Germany! (The mental picture of a bunch of conservative white Germans in the 1930s trying to sing some lively Black worship songs is a bit funny to be honest–but hey props to them for trying!).

All that to say–Bonhoeffer’s understanding of the systemic oppression that Black people faced in 1930s America was absolutely part of the backdrop that helped him choose to stand in the gap for Jews, communists, and other victims of fascism in Germany. If Bonhoeffer were to return to the United States today, he was undoubtedly be angered by the extent to which the Black community still faces prejudice, discrimination, and systemic racism. And based on his quote above he would have some pretty harsh remarks for the “narrow-minded” and “timid” Christians who choose to distance themselves from secular justice movements–because in so doing they are not just distancing themselves from the oppressed…they are distancing themselves from Jesus.

To summarize, if one is bearing witness to Jesus in a society that increasingly bears the marks of fascism, one should expect to find oneself in some unexpected alliances. This is not a bad thing, nor does it mean that one’s Christian witness has somehow been diluted. In fact, it means the exact opposite! Now, this doesn’t mean there isn’t nuance, or gray areas. But by and large the automatic Christian response to injustice should be to stand alongside those who are experiencing it, and to advocate for justice. That’s what Bonhoeffer did, and it’s what we should do today.

Our friend Hanna, my wife Liz (8 months pregnant), and myself at a Black Lives Matter rally in Carlisle, PA on 9/26/20. We were cursed at, called terrorists, and one man pointed his fingers at us like a gun and pretended to shoot each of us. But all that is nothing compared to what our Black brothers and sisters face on a daily basis, and it was an honor to proclaim that Black lives are made in the image of God. I pray that other Christians would have the courage to stand against injustice even when it’s not an explicitly Christian cause!

Random Hot Takes

My brain and body are absolutely exhausted with our wonderful newborn baby (born last week! Praise God! What a whirlwind haha). But it doesn’t mean I haven’t had random thoughts and ideas. However rather than post them on Facebook (which could lead to blowback, anger, and people getting offended, which I don’t have energy to deal with right now), I’m just going to post them here. They are pretty stream of consciousness and not necessarily related to one another, so take it all with a grain of salt 🙂

  1. PARENTAL LEAVE. With one week of paid parental leave under my belt (I get a full month, Liz gets three–thank you InterVarsity!), I just want to say how incredibly ridiculous it is that the United States does not have any federally guaranteed paid parental leave for mothers (not to mention both parents). There are only 2 other countries on the entire planet besides the US that don’t offer any leave for mothers (Suriname and Papau New Guinea). Even comparatively poorer nations like Libya, Iran, Colombia, Ghana, and North Korea offer multiple weeks of leave! If we don’t want mothers to choose abortion, why isn’t our government doing something about this? It should have bipartisan support! And even Ivanka Trump supposedly was going to push for a plan for this. But of course Congressional Republicans seem to hate whenever government money goes to anyone that’s not a rich man or a corporation. And if Joe Biden becomes president, you can bet that they’ll automatically oppose any and every pro-family spending bill he puts forward for the sake of the “national debt”.
  2. DIAPERS. I was honestly worried about changing diapers of a newborn, as it’s not something I ever witnessed or did growing up. But while it’s a little stinky, it’s honestly not that bad at all. Which reminds me of a fact I read about Donald Trump: on multiple occasions he has bragged that he never once changed a diaper, despite having 5 children–I guess his wives or servants always changed them??… To me I think that says a lot about who he is and his character. Unwilling to be a servant, not a team player with his wives, and a hefty dose of pride. He also thus embodies toxic masculinity instead of healthy masculinity (I could go on and on about that topic, but that’s for another day).
  3. FREEDOM. In America, every citizen has the freedom/right to lie, commit adultery, be mean, curse people out, manipulate, be selfish, be greedy, hate others, take advantage of others, and generally do whatever we want. In certain cases (though not all) it is even legal to commit violence, kill, slander, and incite insurrection. Yet while an American has the right and freedom to do all of those things, in the Kingdom of God, Christians don’t have the right to do ANY them! Instead we are servants of Jesus, and only have the right to do the things he calls us to–which don’t include anything in that list. Thus it makes me sad when I see people who claim to be Christians get all up in arms about their “right” to do things like spread lies, share slander, or endorse violence. In an American sense, yes they have that right, but if they claim to be Christian then they ought not do any of those things, nor expect others to do so on their behalf.
  4. KILL vs. DIE. A big difference between true Christians and most other people is this: most people are willing and eager to kill for the sake of their core values (protecting their personal property, expanding their empire, etc), but usually not to die for them. For a true Christian, it is (supposed to be) precisely the opposite. We are called to be willing to die for Jesus daily, but to never kill for him. Whenever you see Christians more passionate about killing and dominating others than they are about suffering and serving, be sure that you are probably not in the presence of the Kingdom of God.
  5. ABORTION. This is a controversial topic, but I’m going to humbly put it forward. It’s a freaking baby. At the 12-week ultrasound our “Baby Yoda” was already kicking his feet, dancing around, and looking like a baby. It didn’t look like a fish or chicken or anything like that. Thus I’ve mentioned this in a previous blog, but I personally think certain progressive circles need to put a damper on the “abortion is wonderful!”-type rhetoric, which is admittedly rare but I have seen it. Anyone who’s had a birth, or God forbid a miscarriage, knows that there is something special about pregnancy and birth, and we should not be so flippant about that. Babies are not parasites invading a woman’s body; in fact there is something amazing and empowering about a woman who is able to carry a fetus to term and be a functioning, working adult at the same time (men can’t do that). NOW–that said, I think that abortion being legal, safe, and rare is the way to go, and that Democratic policies are actually the ones PROVEN to lead to a decrease in the abortion rate, while Republican policies are PROVEN to increase them (again, see blog). And of course there’s tons of gray areas like rape, incest, health of mother, etc. Thus my point is not about the actual policies, but about the rhetoric that is used. However since I’m not the person who actually has given birth or had an abortion, that’s all I’ll say on that topic for now.
  6. QANON & POST-ELECTION VIOLENCE. Despite recent social media crackdowns, Qanon is once again gaining in support and traction in American society. There will be Qanon believing members of Congress elected this November (it’s inevitable), who will then be in a position to begin The Storm–the part of Qanon where Donald Trump declares martial law, executes all his political enemies, and begins a new rule where all Jews, elites, and liberals are crushed. If Qanon is false, it is spreading a horrific worldview to millions of Americans, most of whom own guns and are ready to kill anyone who stands in their way. And if Qanon is true, we are just weeks away from Donald Trump declaring himself Supreme Leader and ending American democracy. Either way, it’s something to be aware of. As a Christian who takes Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount both seriously and literally, I know I cannot intentionally take another life. But with Qanon out there (and related militia movements like the Oathkeepers, 3 Percenters, KKK, Proud Boys, and myriad others), it is a bit scary to contemplate what might go down after November 3rd. Last month at a Black Lives Matter demonstration a middle-aged white man slowly drove by my wife and me and pointed his fingers like a gun at each of us, and mimed pulling the trigger. Typical toxic masculinity posturing? Probably. But knowing that he definitely owns a gun at home is a bit scary. We saw a different guy drive by, a neighbor with a loud pickup truck who proudly owns guns and supports Donald Trump, angrily filming the demonstrators. Did he see that we were there? Is our house on the kill list for after the election? LOL we’ll find out!

Anyway, those are just a few random hot takes after not a whole lot of sleep! Please take it with a grain of salt; reach out if you have any questions.

Beware Jonathan Cahn and his event “The Return”

Hey friends, I need to write today to bring awareness and discernment about two Christian events that are happening in Washington DC this Saturday, September 26th. One I am mostly fine with, but the other I am quite concerned about. The first is Franklin Graham’s “Prayer March 2020,” which is a prayer gathering at the National Mall. I don’t have any major problems with this event and think that– all else being equal– more people praying is always a good thing. (I do have some significant disagreements with the ways that Franklin Graham has become blatantly partisan in his approach to faith and religion, in contrast to his father Billy Graham, but that’s a topic for another day).

However, the second event happening this weekend, which is being organized separately but has been approved of by Franklin Graham, is an event called “The Return” led by a pastor called Jonathan Cahn. “The Return” will be held both in person and simulcast to tens of thousands of homes and churches in the US. I am sure that many parts of this event will be fine, but I have major problems with Cahn’s leadership of this event. A Jewish convert to Christianity who often is given the title “Rabbi,” Jonathan Cahn has made numerous false prophecies over the past years, even one of which should be enough to permanently disqualify him from future leadership in Christian circles (see Deut. 18:20-22). Despite that, like many others before him, he has simply moved on and continued to publish NYT-bestselling books with new prophecies when the old ones didn’t come true. The question one must ask is: does the truth matter? If it does, then we must be very wary about trusting someone like Jonathan Cahn, who has promoted and written many, many untruths.

Some of Cahn’s recent books

What are these false prophecies?

I’ll attempt to list some of the major untruths that Jonathan Cahn has promoted. To start with, Cahn claims that the United States has a unique covenantal relationship with Yahweh in the exact same way that ancient Israel had 3000 years ago. Building upon that false premise, Cahn claims that many hidden prophecies that he discovered in the Bible about ancient Israel are also true about the United States. Thus in 2015, Cahn became well-known in evangelical circles for proclaiming both in his books as well as on national TV programs that God was about to unleash a series of fierce judgments upon America as part of a 7-year cycle of judgment. Cahn proclaimed that September 2015 was the month of “the Blood Moon,” and it was supposed to be a time of major economic and geological catastrophe for the United States. Cahn also pointed to the birth of a couple of cows that had “7” birthmarks as further evidence of his claim that the judgment was nigh. At the time, right-wing Christian leaders such as Pat Robertson, Glenn Beck, Jim Bakker, John Hagee, Rick Wiles, Eric Metaxas, Sid Roth, James Dobson, Michelle Bachman and many others were swept into Cahn’s apocalyptic message and excitedly promoted his books and talks on their platforms. Most frustratingly for me was seeing a number of Christians I knew personally fall under Cahn’s spell; I even heard of one person who panicked upon hearing Cahn’s teachings and sold a bunch of investments in the stock market, fearing that the end was nigh.  

The cows that Cahn saw as a predictor of the End Times

Of course, when nothing major happened in September 2015 (the stock market actually went up, and there were no other catastrophic events), Cahn “insisted that the August 18 [2015] stock market selloff came close enough, and that a minor earthquake off the Mexican coast was also a sign that God is punishing the U.S…Cahn then claimed that if something — anything — bad happens between now and September of next year [2016], that will prove that his prophecy was right all along!” [Source] Of course, nothing majorly disastrous happened in that time period.

In addition to these predictions, Cahn also claimed that Trump’s election, September 11, the Monica Lewinsky scandal, the killing of Osama Bin Laden, and Hurricane Harvey were ALL foretold in the Bible. (They weren’t). Further false predictions include his prophecy that a hurricane would hit Washington DC as part of “God’s judgment” for the legalization of gay marriage. (It didn’t).

Cahn’s errors aren’t just in biblical analysis and prophecy. He also makes basic errors about dates and facts. For example, he claims that his September 26 event “The Return,” is occurring 40 days before the November 3rd election. As anyone with a calendar knows, that’s only 38 days before the November 3rd election. Moreover, his claim that his event will happen 400 years after the sailing of the Mayflower, is only correct if one uses the old-fashioned Julian calendar, instead of our modern-day Gregorian calendar. [Source]. Clearly, Cahn is just fishing for any “proof” he can find to support his prophecies and ministry, no matter how tenuous or fake.

Jonathan Cahn, in a recent Youtube video advertising “The Return”

One could go on and on and on about all the false prophecies and bad theology that Jonathan Cahn puts forth, as this person and this person both do, but I want to reiterate: even just ONE major false prophecy should be a huge red flag that casts doubt on Cahn’s leadership, ministry, pastoring, and platform (Deut 18:20-22). Moreover, to my knowledge Cahn has never once repented or apologized for his public errors, and instead has sent cease-and-desist letters to people who challenge his work! Cahn’s teachings are reminiscent of the 1st and 2nd Century Gnostic heretics, who claimed that there was some “secret” knowledge that God was only revealing to a few people. Cahn claims to be the recipient of divine “downloads” that allow him to mysteriously cherry-pick random verses from the Bible and connect them to current events that he happens to have strong opinions about. In his American-centric, eisegetical approach to Scripture, Cahn is essentially playing the role of a fortune teller, making a number of fairly vague prophecies, some of which can be proven false, but others of which he can reinterpret as having came true in order to keep the money rolling in from events and book sales.

All that said, why does it matter if a man who’s made numerous false prophecies is organizing a national event this weekend? Here are a few dangers:

First, in many ways, Jonathan Cahn’s work is like the Qanon cult, which I have written about previously in this post and this post. Like Qanon (but as of now, unrelated to it), Cahn has slowly been gathering a large number of followers, donors, and partners around him to promote his particular notion of apocalyptic Christian nationalism. And also like Qanon promoters, Cahn and his fellow believers are skilled in utilizing new platforms such as Youtube to attract new followers by making more and more prophecies while retroactively “proving” past prophecies–it is likely that many people who will attend “The Return” this weekend have never read one of Cahn’s books, but instead encountered him through TV, online, or through a friend. In the same ways that Qanon has been splitting churches, families, and friendships, I have personally witnessed Jonathan Cahn’s teachings spark divisions in at least two churches so far. I have hesitated to speak out, not knowing if it was a big enough deal. I now see that it is.

Secondly, a large number of “mainstream” evangelical Christian politicians, ministries, and organizations will be present for “The Return” this weekend. The most prominent ones I see are Ben Carson, James Dobson, Michelle Bachman, Tony Perkins, and Pat Robertson, but there will be many, many others (you can see a list of “The Return’s” speakers and sponsors here and here). If these people are completely unaware of Jonathan Cahn’s inaccurate prophecies, then we should really question their ability to discern truth from lies–in what other ways have they been deceived? Should we still trust their guidance on other political, cultural, and religious issues? But on the flip side, if these people and groups are aware of Cahn’s false prophecies, then it means that either they’ve decided the personal and financial gain is worth partnering with a false teacher, OR they actually agree with his lies. I’m not sure which of these scenarios is worse.

Just a handful of the speakers at Jonathan Cahn’s event, click the image to see more

Third, it’s clear that, unlike Franklin Graham’s ostensibly non-partisan prayer march this weekend (which explicitly forbids political signs on its website), “The Return” will be explicitly partisan and all about getting more Christians to vote for “God’s candidate”- Donald Trump, who they believe is the only human being keeping America from falling into God’s judgment. Frank Amedia, one of the speakers at “The Return”, prophesied that Saturday’s event would be “a pivot point for this election.” Harry Jackson had a similar message, saying, “We either make this turn all the way fully into the purposes of God​, or the whirlwind takes us out.” As important as the 2020 election may be, all of these messages are about promoting fear, trying to scare Christians into voting for Donald Trump lest America be destroyed by God’s anger. The truth is: God is neither Democrat nor Republican, and he’s not even an American for that matter! God is not going to send fiery brimstone if we don’t elect the right person to be our savior.

Lastly, and perhaps most worryingly, events like “The Return” continue to promote the idea that Christian revival comes through the election of political leaders, not through the power of the Holy Spirit. Mark Gonzales, a Republican political operative and featured speaker at “The Return”, had a very bold statement regarding the outcome of the Nov. 3 election. He explicitly said: “Revival is NOT coming through the prayer closet; revival’s coming through the ballot box!” [emphasis added.] I won’t mince words: this statement feels very close to blasphemy, and would be utterly inappropriate regardless of which side of the political spectrum it comes from. Revival comes from God alone, and while we can and should be active in political affairs, there is very little connection between a nation’s political direction and whether or not revival happens. If you doubt me, then just look at nations like China, Iran, or Nigeria, where Christianity is absolutely exploding right now despite facing heavy persecution.

Conclusion- how then shall we live?

The widespread fear that losing an election will somehow will usher in the End Times and spell the death knell of Christianity in America illustrates once again just how incredibly impoverished many Christians’ theological and biblical understanding of politics is. The solution to theological and biblical impoverishment, of course, is good theology and good biblical study. I am very blessed to have learned from many wise books, mentors, and teachers over the years, and I can share a few book recommendations below, but the truth about a Christian approach to politics is very simple if you read the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John) and Acts with a simple, plain view of Scripture in mind. In summary:

Jesus’ Kingdom is “not of this world,” and is radically different than any worldly kingdom- including America! Jesus demands His followers forsake violence, greed, grudges, self-interest, and power and instead seek to uplift the poor, the downtrodden, the marginalized, and the least of these, boldly carrying the good news of the Gospel to the ends of the earth no matter what persecution may come. In the early Church we see gender and racial equality start to flourish, while poverty is (temporarily) abolished: all because followers of Jesus loved each other enough to sacrifice the things they held dearest, and to enact communal rhythms and policies that promoted God’s justice instead of human self-interest.

Thus for a Christian, politics (meaning the way a “polis“, or city-state, is organized) matters a lot! But NOT for the reasons that Jonathan Cahn thinks it does. Politics matters not to forestall some whacky prophecy of doom, but instead because it is one of the key ways that God’s love and justice can be promoted in the world. If cities and nations are organized by God’s values of love, justice, and righteousness, then the shalom /flourishing of that place will expand (Jer. 29). But if cities and nations are instead organized by values of bitterness, fear, anger, oppression, and violence, then the shalom of that place will shrink.

I know which place I want to live in. How about you?

PS: Below are just a few of the books that most impacted me as I learned about a Jesus-centered approach to Politics. In addition, stay posted to this blog as I share more about Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s approach to politics, particularly in the context of a fascist state. You can read parts 1 and 2 by clicking on “September”.

The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power Is Destroying the Church: Boyd, Gregory A.: 9780310267317: Amazon.com: Books

Jesus for President: Politics for Ordinary Radicals: Claiborne, Shane, Haw, Chris: 9780310278429: Amazon.com: Books
Prophetic Lament: A Call for Justice in Troubled Times: Rah, Soong-Chan, McNeil, Brenda Salter: 9780830836949: Amazon.com: Books

Bonhoeffer’s Antifascist Theology – Part II. Collaborators

 Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many.” Mark 13:5-6.

In my previous post, I introduced the core concepts of fascism and introduced Dietrich Bonhoeffer, one of the only German Christians to oppose Nazism both intellectually and in practice. (If you have not yet read Part I, click here) In Part II, we will explore the various groups of Christians who are deceived by the ideals of fascism. In Ethics, Bonhoeffer describes three general categories of those who fall under fascism’s sway.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer on a weekend getaway with confirmands of Zion’s Church congregation (1932, Wikipedia)

1. Centrist Christians

As fascism rises many Christians choose the path of “moderation”, as if by simply being a bit “nicer,” society could be magically healed. I label these people “Centrist Christians.” In our day, people like this often say we just need more “civility,” or simply need a balance between the two extremes. While of course there can be wisdom in moderation, there is something grossly inappropriate in imagining that simply “being nice” is a universal solution when there are irreconcilable divisions and injustices in society. Some things are good, and some things are bad–and to pretend that any solution is to be found somewhere between those two sides is to ultimately choose the side of whichever group has more power. Bonhoeffer writes:

“The failure of ‘reasonable’ people is appalling; they cannot manage to see either the abyss of evil or the abyss of holiness. With the best intentions they believe that, with a little reason, they can pull back together a structure that has come apart at the joins. In their defective vision they want to be fair to both sides, and so they are crushed between the colliding forces without having accomplished anything at all. Bitterly disappointed that the world is so unreasonable, they see themselves condemned to ineffectiveness. They withdraw in resignation or fall helpless captive to the stronger party.”  -Ethics, 78

In his final sentence, Bonhoeffer prefigures the other two groups who fall into fascism’s sway: the Cloistered Christians who withdraw, and the Fascist Christians who fall captive to the stronger party.

2. Cloistered Christians

Other people choose to withdraw from the fight against fascism, and instead focus on their own personal holiness. Such a response to fascism may be called “The Benedict Option,” a term popularized by Rod Dreher who argues that Christians should give up hope of making a public impact in America, and instead retreat to their own private spheres in society, education, and politics. While there is a certain logic in withdrawing from the empire, in so doing these people are ceding the battleground and refusing to faithfully partake in “responsible action”, which is a key phrase for Bonhoeffer and one that I will expand upon later in this series. Bonhoeffer writes:

“Such people [who withdraw from society] neither steal, nor murder, nor commit adultery, but do good according to their abilities. But in voluntarily renouncing public life, these people know exactly how to observe the permitted boundaries that shield them from conflict. They must close their eyes and ears to the injustice around them. Only at the cost of self-deception can they keep their private blamelessness clean from the stains of responsible action in the world.” – Ethics, 80

In fact, Bonhoeffer is quite clear that there is no such thing as actually withdrawing from society in such a way as to keep one’s hands clean. Ultimately, you are either complicit with evil, or you are hard at work fighting it. Later in Ethics, he addresses the idea of “communal guilt,” and points out that in a society there is no such thing as a wholly individual action: every action, good or evil, has an effect on others around them (which is why corporate confession and repentance is so important for Christians to practice). Bonhoeffer writes:

“The quite personal sin of each individual is acknowledged here as a source of poison for the community. Even the most secret sin of the individual soils and destroys the body of Christ. Murder, envy, strife, war…I cannot pacify myself by saying that my part in all these is slight and hardly noticeable. There is no calculating here….I am guilty of cowardly silence when I should have spoken, I am guilty of untruthfulness and hypocrisy in the fact of threatening violence; I am guilty of disowning without mercy the poorest of my neighbors; I am guilty of disloyalty and falling away from Christ…these many individuals are joined together in the collective “I” of the church. The church confesses and acknowledges its guilt in and through them…the church was mute when it should have cried out, because the blood of the innocent cried out to heaven…The church confesses that it has misused the name of Christ by being ashamed of it before the world and by not resisting strongly enough the misuse of that name for evil ends. The church has looked on while injustice and violence have been done, under the cover of the name of Christ.  Ethics,  136-8

If you can sense the heartbreak Bonhoeffer has in this passage, it’s because he knows he’s fallen short himself in the past. In 1939, a few years before he wrote this section in Ethics, Bonhoeffer had a chance to flee and return to the United States, where he had studied previously. But almost immediately upon arriving he realized that he had made a mistake and quickly returned to Germany. He wrote to theologian Reinhold Niebuhr:

“I have come to the conclusion that I made a mistake in coming to America. I must live through this difficult period in our national history with the people of Germany. I will have no right to participate in the reconstruction of Christian life in Germany after the war if I do not share the trials of this time with my people … Christians in Germany will have to face the terrible alternative of either willing the defeat of their nation in order that Christian civilization may survive. or willing the victory of their nation and thereby destroying civilization. I know which of these alternatives I must choose, but I cannot make that choice from security.”[31]

Upon returning to Germany, Bonhoeffer became even more radically involved in the antifascist movement, and would be arrested within four years. But there is one more group of Christians we must talk about.

3. Fascist Christians

Adolf Hitler, Abbot Albanus Schachleiter and Reich Bishop Ludwig Mueller, 1934 (Alamy)

In Bonhoeffer’s day, similar to our own, a majority Christians become totally enamored with their fascist leaders and the basic tenets of fascism (listed in my previous blog). To these Fascist Christians, truth doesn’t matter; all that matters is that the “Christian leader” is successful, that he is a “winner” while everyone else is a “loser”. In fascism the ideals of strength, virility, masculinity, and violence are elevated; while Jesus’ ideals of bearing one’s cross, enduring suffering, and identifying with the least members of society are denigrated as weak, liberal, and effeminate. Bonhoeffer writes:

“Where the figure of a successful person becomes especially prominent, the majority fall into idolizing success. They become blind to right and wrong, truth and lie, decency and malice. They see only the deed, the success. Ethical and intellectual capacity for judgment grow dull before the sheen of success and before the desire somehow to share in it. People even fail to perceive that guilt is scarred over in success, because guilt is no longer recognized as such. Success per se is the good. This attitude is only genuine and excusable while one is intoxicated by events. After sobriety returns it can be maintained only at the cost of deep inner hypocrisy, with conscious self-deception. This leads to an inner depravity, from which recovery is difficult.”  Ethics, 89

It is perhaps too easy to pick out evangelical Christians in our day who have fallen under the sway of this type of mentality. Some, like Jerry Falwell Jr. and Mark Driscoll, come to mind as those who actually got caught so publicly exposed by their sin that they were forced to resign from their positions. But there are so many others who believe that winning at any cost is more important than actually maintaining their character and witness. [And even those who are temporarily forced out are almost guaranteed to return to the limelight one day—after all, failed End Time predictions and sexual sins haven’t kept Jim Bakker, Paula White, Jonathan Cahn, Kenneth Copeland, and other unrepentant leaders from returning to the limelight, so why would some consensual cuckolding and emotional abuse permanently keep Falwell and Driscoll from returning to public ministry?]. I could go on and on about how this type of success-oriented, hyper-masculine corruption of Christianity is completely contrary to Jesus’ teachings in the Sermon on the Mount, but hopefully that fact is obvious enough to even the casual reader of the Bible.

I doubt even Bonhoeffer fully knew quite how deadly this type of Christian Fascism would ultimately become in his own country. But he knew enough to know that it was opposed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and thus must be opposed by Christians at every level possible. I invite you to continue to join me as we further explore Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s antifascist theology.