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.
2 comments:
One correction: Kierkegaard died at age 42, not 32.
He did turn 43 though:-) [5/5 1813 - 11/11 1855]
Post a Comment