Category: Religion & Philosophy

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!

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.

Bonhoeffer’s Antifascist Theology – Part I. Introductions

“Seldom has a generation been as uninterested as ours in any kind of ethical theory or program…this does not come from any ethical indifference in our times, but rather the reverse, from the pressure of a reality filled with concrete, ethical problems such as we have never had before in the history of the West…Today we have villains and saints against, in fully public view. The gray on gray of a sultry, rainy day has turned into the black cloud and bright lightning flash of a thunderstorm. The contours are sharply drawn. Reality is laid bare. Shakespeare’s characters are among us. The villain and the saint have little or nothing to do with ethical programs. They arise from primeval depths, and with their appearance tear open the demonic and divine abyss out of which they come, allowing us brief glimpses of their suspected secrets…” Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Ethics, 1943.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer-the pastor who tried to kill Hitler

Dietrich Bonhoeffer is a legendary figure in Christian circles. Born in 1906, Bonhoeffer was one of only a very few German Christians who dared to speak out against the Nazi regime. Despite his pacifist leanings, Bonhoeffer eventually took part in a secret conspiracy to kill Hitler and install a new government. The conspiracy failed, and Bonhoeffer was sent to a concentration camp and hung for treason at just 39 years of age. Perhaps because of his prophetic voice, his writings, including The Cost of Discipleship and Life Together, have been global bestsellers for decades. [In recent years, Dietrich Bonhoeffer has been a lodestar for American conservatives eager to see themselves as Bonhoeffer-esque culture fighters warring against what they see as the tyranny of American liberalism. Eric Metaxas, a die-hard Trump supporter and notable evangelical who recently was caught on video sucker-punching an unarmed protester, wrote a biography about Bonhoeffer that further lionized him (despite being rife with historical inaccuracies).]

Bonhoeffer, Getty Images

Growing up as a young evangelical, I also loved Bonhoeffer’s writings, particularly The Cost of Discipleship, which centers on the Sermon on the Mount–the passage where Jesus says blessed are the poor, love your enemies, you can’t serve God & money, and other famous lines. As a bookish, ethnically German Christian myself, I have always felt a certain affinity to Bonhoeffer. However, the one part I couldn’t understand was to reconcile his wholehearted commitment to the Sermon on the Mount with his attempt to assassinate Hitler–is killing any man, even Hitler, really congruent with Jesus’ command to “love your enemies?” I’d often wondered how Bonhoeffer would answer that, but didn’t put forth significant effort to discover the answer.

That changed recently, when I was looking for a book to read and came upon Bonhoeffer’s Ethics, a massive 500+ page work examining Christian ethical theory that concludes unfinished–Bonhoeffer was arrested in the middle of writing it. A book that I expected to be dry and philosophical felt urgent and of the utmost importance: these were the thoughts of a man written while he was secretly planning to overthrow his own government! I realized: what Bonhoeffer had written was not a mere theory of Christian ethics, but the start of a comprehensive and rigorous antifascist theology–perhaps the first one ever written.

Of course, Bonhoeffer didn’t use the term “antifascist theology,” as it’s a term I came up with on my own–if you Google the phrase “antifascist theology”, only two results currently come up! In fact, one could argue, why use the phrase ‘antifascist theology,’ isn’t that confusing a political theory with a religious theory? But I firmly believe that a religious orthodoxy (set of beliefs) that has no physical orthopraxy (set of actual practices) is meaningless and toothless, the musing of an intellectual in ivory towers. That is not who Bonhoeffer was. The theology of a man who gave his life to fight German fascism can only be interpreted as an inherently antifascist theology–for it is exactly this theology that led Bonhoeffer to his daring course of action. As the foreword to Ethics puts it, “Understanding Bonhoeffer requires moving from disembodied principles to the concrete situation: confronting the life-destroying warmonger and the murderer of the Jews who had to be stopped.” (p. 16)

Fascism Defined

To define antifascist theology, one must first define fascism. “Fascism” comes from the Latin word “fasces”, which describe a bundle of sticks tied together with an axe—symbolizing the unifying power of the State to simultaneously bind society together and punish evildoers. Fasces have been a symbol of State power for 2000 years, ever since the Roman Empire ruled over most of Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The symbol of the fasces have been incorporated into many different cultures, such as at the Lincoln Memorial (below).

However, the political ideology of fascism is a more recent development, one that arose alongside imperialism, capitalism, and the modern nation-state beginning in the 1800s. While political scientists disagree over the precise definition of fascism, historian Stanley G. Payne focuses on three concepts:

  1. The “fascist negations”: anti-liberalism, anti-communism, and anti-conservatism; [Translation—fascism is strongly opposed to any “softening” of society brought on by liberalism, and firmly opposed to any state-run economic engines such as those brought by communism. Yet interestingly, fascists are also in tension with traditional conservatives, who are seen as being too weak to do the “dirty work” that is actually needed to improve society…sounding familiar yet?]
  2. “Fascist goals”: the creation of a nationalist dictatorship to regulate economic structure and to transform social relations within a modern, self-determined culture, and the expansion of the nation into an empire; and
  3. “Fascist style”: a political aesthetic of romantic symbolism, mass mobilization, a positive view of violence, and promotion of masculinity, youth, and charismatic authoritarian leadership.
In 1939, 20,000 Americans flocked to Madison Square Garden for a pro-Nazi rally that combined fascist themes with more traditional forms of American patriotism. Source.

Besides Germany, a number of other societies have become ruled by fascists over the past two centuries. Italy, Spain, and Greece come to mind, and many nations still have strong far-right groups that regularly try to agitate society and recruit new members into their movements. From the Brownshirts and the Hitler Youth, to skinheads and neo-Nazis, to the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, all of these proto-fascists are linked by their desire for the State to rise up and demolish any liberal/Jewish/“Deep State” political enemies.

To lay all my cards out on the table, I think there are some troubling fascistic tendencies rising up in the United States. In looking at the three concepts I listed above that define fascism, I have witnessed all three elements become more and more widespread in American society over the past 20 years. It used to be that everyone knew the Nazis were the bad guys; but now I see grandmas on Facebook actively spreading anti-Semitic propaganda, I see fathers teaching their children to hate all Marxists, and I see politicians excited about killing liberals in the streets (“pre-emptively” of course). And unfortunately, just like in 1930s Germany, many Bible-believing Christians are the very ones supporting these fascist tendencies, often by using Scripture taken out of context–although to be honest I haven’t see them even bother to do that very often!

Now, whether America is about to collapse into some kind of fascist dictatorship, I do not know. What I do know is that for years far-right individuals have been quickly buying up guns, joining militias, and proclaiming that America is close to being destroyed by nefarious forces who must be defeated at any costs…it seems hard to imagine a scenario where this all just magically ends without more violence than we’ve already seen so far. For most of us though, the struggle remains primarily a war of ideas, not a war in the streets. It is thus incumbent for all of us to make sure that we have a rigorous ethical and theological foundation with which to fight the growing tide of fascism. Hence: the need for an antifascist theology.

Antifascist Theology Defined

With fascism thus explained, I will define antifascist theology as an systemic explanation of the true nature of God and implications for Christians living in a fascist society. While good theology is always able to be translated into different cultures and contexts, there is something particularly challenging about fascism that tends to draw Christians in – unless there is a counterbalancing force warning them of it. Bonhoeffer’s work of Ethics seeks to do exactly that. And in the same way as one cannot fully understand the teachings of Jesus without understanding the socio-political environment in which he lived, we cannot fully understand Bonhoeffer without recognizing his status as a German man writing during the time of German fascism.

So as we dive deeper into Bonhoeffer’s antifascist theology, let’s not sugar-coat things. With a disastrous economy wracking Germany, and the perceived cultural threat of progressive city-dwellers, Jews, communists, atheists, and cultural elites, the rise of fascism in 1930s Germany can be seen as a reactionary attempt to “Make Germany Great Again.” Thus perhaps it’s sad but not surprising that the vast majority of German Christians enthusiastically supported fascism. For Bonhoeffer to oppose the majority of his fellow Christians was bold indeed. While he used a lot of coded language in his writing (in order to avoid being persecuted for his political views), Bonhoeffers’ attacks against fascism are quite clear.

For those of us in America today who see similar signs of fascism in our churches, communities, and national politics, Bonhoeffer’s antifascist theology will give us some tools and a framework through which we can fight back. Stay tuned for future posts in which I will explicitly lay out the main pieces of his antifascist theology.

Members of the Proud Boys, one of many proto-fascist groups that have gained increased traction in American society in recent years.

To be continued…

This concludes Park I of this series. Future parts will dive into the specifics of Bonhoeffer’s Antifascist Theology as described in his work Ethics, and the implications therein for our own world. To make sure you are appraised of future parts, please make sure you have subscribed your email address to get blog updates.