Opus 2014-177: A Pox upon Your Theology

Okay, enough theology for awhile.  If you are a believer and don’t have an interest in getting into topics like this rest assured that you are not alone.  They can be a load and wear you out.  Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote,

“It’s true these theological problems are always occupying my mind, but there are times when I am just content to live the life of faith without worrying about its problems.” page 225

I don’t think you can avoid serious matters forever but even this famous Christian martyr had times when he would just relax and let things work themselves out.  It is okay to say, “I don’t know.”  It is acceptable to say, “I don’t understand.” 

Maybe someday.  Maybe tomorrow.

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich.  Letters and Papers from Prison.  New York:  The Macmillan Company, 1953.

homo unius libri

Opus 2013-274: Conspiracy and Complacency

Most of us are aware of how incompetent the government is to do things.  We look at all the scandals and fraud.  We worry about conspiracies.  The problem is bigger than that.  I remember hearing from several sources over the years a statement something to the effect, “Don’t attribute to conspiracy what is probably just incompetence.”  You get the picture.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer said something along the same lines.  Bonhoeffer was a Christian pastor who was arrested and martyred by Hitler’s Nazi regime.  His most famous book is The Cost of Discipleship.  In another book that is a collection of his letters he wrote about this topic.

“Folly is a more dangerous enemy to the good than malice.  You can protest against malice, you can unmask it or prevent it by force....  There is no defense against folly.  ...it is never amenable to reason....  Thus the fool, as compared with the scoundrel, is invariably self complacent....   We shall never again try to reason with the fool, for it is both useless and dangerous.”  p. 22

The people in the progressive movement are here to help us.  It is possible that Obama actually thinks his ideas are new, fresh and workable.  Teachers really want to help.  They are generally people of good will. Too often they are fools.

That doesn’t solve the problem and doesn’t make it any easier to live but it might help understand what we are fighting against.  On the freeway you can often spot the drunk far ahead and find a way to avoid them.  It is almost impossible to avoid the fool who suddenly feels a need to send a text message.

Deal with it.  One day at a time.

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich.  Letters and Papers from Prison.  New York:  The Macmillan Company, 1953.

homo unius libri

Opus 2011-149, Book Reviews: Letters and Papers from Prison

Today I finished Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Letters and Papers from Prison.  I will move on like I am leaving an old friend.  It has taken me a long time to get through it, not because it was boring but because I only seem to find time to read on weekends.  In addition to that it is ideally designed for devotional reading because it has many relatively short writings.

This is a book I would fully recommend.  He is writing as he is incarcerated in a Nazi prison.  It gives him a different perspective than those of us who complain about the little pricks of life.  He knew what bondage was about.  In spite of that he comes across as amazingly free and joyful.

I will probably refer back to this book from time to time.  I have taken notes as I read.  I expect to continue thinking about his ideas.  It is a book I would like to read again but at the rate I am going it may not happen in this life.

Get a copy.  Enjoy.  Be inspired by one of the Giants.

homo unius libri

Opus 2011-56, Infant Baptism

Dietrich Bonhoeffer had some comments on infant baptism that I found interesting.  He comes from a tradition that practices this as a sacrament.

“The New Testament lays down no law about infant baptism, and it is in fact a gift of grace that has been granted to the Church.  Hence it can be a striking testimony of faith for the parish.  But to force oneself to proceed with it without feeling the compulsion of faith is certainly not biblical.  Regarded purely as a demonstration, infant baptism cannot be justified.”  Letters and Papers from Prison, p. 150.

I come from a tradition that tends to dedicate infants rather than baptize.  It is more of a statement of the parents commitment than a sacrament bestowed on the child.  This statement helped me see into the hearts and minds of others.  I welcome the concession that it is not demanded by the Bible.  I can see it as a testimony to the parish, but then so is a dedication.

This is one of those areas I am willing to disagree without getting hot under the collar.

homo unius libri

Opus 42, New Book: Letters and Papers...

I am beginning to read a book I have had for years, Letters and Papers from Prison by Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  I am about 30 pages in and will be throwing parts of it at you.  In a normal work week I will only be able to do any reading on week ends so don’t expect a book review soon.

Bonhoeffer was a martyr to Nazi Germany.  He was safe in America in 1939 and returned to Germany fully aware that it could lead to his death.  It did.  This book is set in the context of Nazi tyranny.  Although we are still a long way from those extremes it is strange how what he has to say echoes what is happening in our government today.  In the context of hope and change I offer this quote from Nazi Germany:

“What matters in the long run is whether our rulers hope to gain more from the folly of men, or from their independence of judgement and their shrewdness of mind.”

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich.  Letters and Papers from Prison.  New York:  The Macmillan Company,1953, p. 24.

Does it apply?  You be the judge.