Simple Bonhoeffer / Kierkegaard Comparison

So, what do an introverted Danish Philosopher writing in 1848 and a martyred Lutheran pastor writing in 1937 have in common?

Apart from a passion for truth and bringing a misdirected church back towards a true understanding of Christianity, here are a few interesting similarities from comparing just 2 of their works; Training in Christianity by Soren Kierkegaard written in 1848 and The Cost of Discipleship written by Dietrich Bonhoeffer in 1937.

The Problem:

"Christendom has done away with Christianity without being quite aware of it." - Kierkegaard - Training in Christianity ( 1848 )

People have forgotten the sacrifice of Christ's life and death. There is no longer any crossroads, no genuine faith. People are not faced with the possibility of offense and having to make a decision to believe.

"Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our Church." Bonhoeffer - The Cost of Discipleship (1937)

People have forgotten the sacrifice of Christ's life and death and are resting solely on His favour and grace.

We are Contemporaries of Christ:

"His presence here on earth never becomes a bygone event, and never becomes more and more bygone." - Kierkegaard

"This contemporaneousness is the condition of faith and more closely defined, it is faith." - Kierkegaard p5

".. we understand that there is no other way of fulfilling [the word of Christ], but by faith in Jesus Christ alone. Thus the gift Jesus gave to his disciples is just as available for us now that he has left the world, because we know he is glorified, and because the Holy Spirit is with us." - Bonhoeffer p227

It is precisely our faith that put us in a contemporary context with Christ. And even though we may be completely different than Christians of previous generations, we are all contemporary with Christ.

This is a key fundamental point that supports much of the rest of the weight of both books. We must understand that we not in any way in a more difficult position to receiving the truth and the Gospel of Jesus Christ simply because of the amount of time that has passed since he came to earth.

The Call:

"Only the consciousness of sin can force one into this dreadful situation – the power of the other side being grace." p61 - Kierkegaard

"the old man and his sin are judged and condemned but out of this judgment a new man arises, who has died to the world and to sin." p232 - Bonhoeffer

Most choose the path of Christianity because of our recognition of our sin and Jesus' ability to forgive that sin. But then on the other side we discover God's grace and become forever changed.

The First Step:

The very first condition for becoming a Christian is to be absolutely introverted." - Kierkegaard

Kierkegaard also refers to this situation as "the possibility of offence" as the points in which we decide whether to believe in faith or to be offended by Jesus. Jesus' lowliness, lack of direct communication, and suffering are all causes for offence. ( or for faith )

"If we would follow Jesus we must take certain definite steps. The first step, which follows the call, cuts the disciple off from his previous existence. … The first step places the disciple in the situation where faith is possible. If he refuses to follow and stays behind, he does not learn how to believe." p66-67 - Bonhoeffer

Cheap Grace:

"Forgiveness of sins cannot be such that God by a single stroke, as it were, erases all guilt, abrogates all its consequences. ...... Only the person who grasps the fact that guilt is something completely different from and more terrible than the consequences of quilt , only he repents, only he is forgiven." p222 - Kierkegaard

"Cheap grace is not the kind of forgiveness of sin which frees us from the toils of sin. Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance."
p44 - Bonhoeffer

The problem of cheap grace described by both Authors is present throughout time. Cheap grace is a safe and easy doctrine because it does not demand any change on our part. Cheap grace is a direct result of either an "intellectual" or a "traditional" faith where the consequences of our guilt become our deliverance from sin.

The cost of discipleship:

"The admirer is not willing to make any sacrifices, to give up anything worldly, to reconstruct his life, to be what he admires or let his life express it" p230 - Kierkegaard

"A follower is or at least strives to be , what he admires" p227- Kierkegaard

"The life of discipleship can only be maintained so long as nothing is allowed to come between Christ and ourselves - neither the law, nor personal piety, nor even the world." p173 - Bonhoeffer

This "Single-minded Obedience" is a requirement for all areas of the Christian life including faith because faith and obedience are one.

Revolution:

"What Christ said about His kingdom not being of this world was not said with special reference to those times when He uttered this saying; it is an eternally valid utterance about the relation of Christ's kingdom to this world and so it is valid for every age. As soon as Christ's kingdom comes to terms with this world, Christianity is abolished." p190 - Bonhoeffer

"All he has said so far makes it impossible to regard him here as a revolutionary..." p126 - Kierkegaard

Jesus did not come to destroy the law but fulfill it. Similarly, he did not come to claim his reign over all the nations of the earth.

Other Similarities:

Kierkegaard spent several years studying to become a Lutheran pastor.
Bonhoeffer spent several years AS a Lutheran pastor.

Kierkegaard died at the age of 32, 7 years after writing Training in Christianity.
Bonhoeffer died at the age of 39, 8 years after writing The Cost of Discipleship.

Post Modernism Wake-Up Call

John Dewey captured very clearly the essence of Modernity in Reconstruction in Philosophy

1) "Modernity is no longer preoccupied with the supernatural, but rather delights in the natural, the this-wordly and the secular."

2) "There is a growing belief in the power of individual minds, guided by methods of observation, experience and reflection to attain the truths needed for the guidance of life."

3) "The future rather than the past dominates the imagination. The Golden Age lies ahead of us not behind us." And "Man is capable, if he will exercise the required courage, intelligence and effort, of shaping his own fate."

4) "The patient and experimental study of nature, bearing fruit in inventions which control nature and subdue her forces to social use, is the method by which progress is made."

Much has been written about the demise of modernity, but I am confident that each of us can easily list off people we know of, hear about, or work with everyday, still firmly standing on Dewey's system of modern progress.

When I thought about it a little further I came to think that the people that seem most firmly confident in the precepts of modernity are our leaders. Business leaders, political leaders, and often even our spiritual leaders have their faith completely camped in all the hopes that modernity promised.

If this is true, what does it say about a post-modern era? Can people living in an era still being "ruled" by ideals of modernity, truly be living in a post modern age?

As a simple example, does the rebuilding effort in New Orleans fit better into the concept of a post modern society, or one that is committed, right or wrong, to all that Modernity stands for?

Maybe we are living in a dream world where post-modern thinking dominates our thoughts, but we wake up to reality every morning where we go back to feeding the corporate machine's relentless demands of bigger, faster, cheaper, better.

Quotes and references from "Truth is stranger than it used to be" by J. Richard Middleton and Brian J. Walsh 1995

Truckin'

Part 1

“Whatcha haulin'?” Daisy tried to sound somewhat interested as she poured another fifty cent coffee for the latest driver to pull into the Over Easy Diner. The morning rush was busier than normal, but she still made for plenty of time for superficial chatter while waiting on the current loser at the grill.

“Don't know.” Dave Bird paused for a brief moment as if considering whether that should bother him or possibly whether he should have even said that. “Don't really care.”, he said mostly to answer his own thoughts. Normally Dave Bird didn't mind a little mindless conservation at a rest stop to help break up the endless hours of solitude on the road. Sure, the stereo was one thing, he loved his Blues albums, but some real live human interaction was essential to keeping one's sanity over the long haul.

This day he wasn't feeling exactly feeling his usual friendly self however. The questions that normally made him feel like a vital cog in the gear of the American Economy, just made him feel stupid and unimportant this particular morning. He knew he really did care, he just hated to sound like a dunce, instead choosing to sound like he deliberately wanted nothing to do with the load he pulling.

“Probably something pretty special though.” Dave slipped back into careless conversation as the waitress plopped some extra creamer containers onto his table. “Boss said to get it right away. Dropped everything else already scheduled. Said these guys were paying double time.”

“You sure it's legit?” Daisy couldn't help herself. Curiosity was always her downfall.

"Boss says it's legit. So its gotta be legit.”

“Well, where ya headed?”

“Alaska.” Dave blurted out right before remembering that even though his boss didn't give him any information on this load, he did tell Dave not to talk to anyone about the trip. A couple clean cut men drinking coffee at another table were looking at him right up until he noticed them and then they went back to examining their coffee and discussing something that the rest of the diner couldn't understand because they seemed to talk in one word sentences like a word association psychotherapy session.

Part 2

“Morning General. What's a Five Star like you doing in a place like this?!!”

“Hey. Are your guys almost ready? I hear the hardware is going to be here tomorrow. Those Russian rockets gotta be ready to light up any time.”

“We're ready.”

“Good. The chief wants to run the drill by end of day tomorrow. Check everything again to be sure it's ready.”

Next Morning, Dave arrives pulling trailer of unknown contents. Arrives at an outpost in the remote forest of Northern Alaska. He is met by a very strange mix of Russian scientists and high ranking US military type with a lot of shiny decorations.

“Just unhook it over there.” the general had told Dave pointing beside a couple fancy mobile homes where the scientists seemed to by scurrying.

“Sure.”

“You get many channels up here?” Dave asked, eyes glancing towards the satellite dishes on the trailer tops. Dave wondered why someone would need to drive to Alaska to watch Jeopardy.“No.” was all the response he heard, but something told him that dish was more important to this man than even the most addicted Jeopardy watcher.

Part 3

Later that evening in one of the trailers - “That's right Mr President, it's all set. We launch at oh-one-hundred. Those poor beggars won't know what hit 'em.”

“Don't worry general, that's what we've got the press team for. At the press conference in the morning, Security of Defense will explain EXACTLY where these nukes came from. There won't be any doubt in the American mind.

“Nukes, sir? American?”

“That's right Sherm. You agreed we needed to take this fight to the next level.”

“But Mr. President. I really don't think we can justify a nuclear strike on Iran. Think about what the repercussions of an unprovoked strike will be!”

“Sherm. Listen to me. I'm only going to tell you this once. Tonight at oh-one-hundred, 4 Russian made nuclear warheads are seen over Alaska coming from Iran and headed towards major US cities. These warheads will fortunately miss the densest populations by several miles, but will never the less constitute an unmistakable justification for our counter strike.”

“Oh no.”

“Listen General. You do your job and launch those rockets and I'll do the rest. Yes, we'll have some casualties, but you and I both know that nothing strengthens the resolve of the voter like fear and revenge. Once we show the America and our allies who's behind this unthinkable attack on our sovereignty, we will have no choice but to completely destroy the meddlesome middle-east.”

“That should keep us busy for the next four years at least!”

“That's the plan Sherm. That's the plan.”