Radical Integrity
I went to a couple thrift stores last week looking for any book by Terryl Givens or Tad R. Callister. I didn't find what I was looking for, but came home with a stack of books, anyway. Among them was a book called “Radical Integrity: The Story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer” by Michael Van Dyke. It was relatively short (205 pages) and I read it in two days. And I haven't been able to stop thinking about it.
The book was published by Barbour Publishing, Inc., a Christian publisher and member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA). At the bottom of the Copyright Page at the very beginning of the book, they write: Our mission is to publish and distribute inspirational products offering exceptional value and biblical encouragement to the masses.
I eagerly took this book home because I knew only that Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a protestant theologian and pastor who was involved in the German Resistance in Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 40s, which tried and failed twice to assassinate Hitler, and was eventually imprisoned and executed by the Nazi regime, but I knew very little else about him or the details of what happened. I was also interested to hear his story from a Christian perspective.
This will not be an exhaustive review or summary, just a sharing of some impressions and thoughts.
The book was well-written and easy to understand. It dealt with deep theological and philosophical concepts but made them accessible to anyone. It also provided good historical information and context.
Early in his career, before the Nazis seized power, Bonhoeffer recognized and lamented what was happening to the Christian churches in Germany. He felt the Word of God applied to every aspect of life, but the church was becoming irrelevant to German society because its leaders and members were not speaking out when they saw things happening that were contrary to the Word. And because they chose to play it safe, to not risk unwanted attention or persecution, the church had been relegated to the sidelines – an afterthought behind political and secular ideas and philosophies.
Most of the churches eventually submitted to the control of the Nazi Regime and became the Reich Church. Bonhoeffer and others resisted this and formed what they called the Confessing Church, which refused to swear allegiance oaths to Adolph Hitler. The reason for this was simple – as Christians, their allegiance could only ever be to Almighty God and to His Son Jesus Christ.
One of Bonhoeffer's later ideas, born from his personal experience and what he personally witnessed in his own time, is that one can be _religious _without being Christian. This is what happened how Christianity in Nazi Germany was twisted and corrupted into something that was not Christian at all.
As evidenced in how he lived his life, especially under the harsh conditions of imprisonment, Bonhoeffer tried to be a disciple of Jesus Christ not just in word and deed, but on a deeply personal level – in very soul.
I would like to read and learn more about Dietrich Bonhoeffer, but after reading this short volume I feel he is a kindred spirit. I can relate to him on many levels. A deep thinker, concerned about his understanding of and relationship to God as well as his his fellow man. Deeply troubled by the injustice and inhumanity running rampant in the world. And feeling the need to do something about it.
A well-traveled man, he had the opportunity to flee his country to safety. He had friends in England and America. But his conscience would not allow him to stay away from home while his people were suffering. He had hope that the Nazi regime would eventually be overthrown, and how could he be a credible leader in helping to rebuild his country if he had not suffered with them – if he did not personally experience what they experienced during those dark times?
The name of the book is an apt one. Dietrich Bonhoeffer demonstrated radical integrity during a time when many of his countrymen compromised theirs hoping to save themselves or their loved ones from persecution and harm. But one wonders what might have happened had more been willing to resist, regardless of the consequences.
Bonhoeffer understood that the way of the Christian was never guaranteed to be an easy one. Jesus Christ said his kingdom is not of this world. Anyone who chooses to consistently stand up in defense of His Word can expect to face opposition in some way or another, maybe even to the point of losing their lives. Christianity was never meant to be comfortable.
Reading this book has forced me to confront my own hesitation to share what I believe and speak out when I see things happening in my community, my country, and the world that are contrary to the teachings and example of Jesus Christ. I hesitate because I'm afraid of what might happen to me or my loved ones. But I shouldn't be afraid. Jesus has overcome the world.
One day in prison, Dietrich Bonhoeffer sat in his cell and composed the following poem entitled “Stations on the Road to Freedom”.
Discipline
If you set out to seek freedom, then learn above all discipline of soul and senses, so that your passions and your limbs might not lead you confusedly hither and yon. Chaste be your spirit and body, subject to your own will, and obedient to seek out the goal that they have been given. No one discovers the secret of freedom but through self-control.
Action
Dare to do what is just, not what fancy may call for; Lose no time with what may be, but boldly grasp what is real. The world of thought is escape; freedom comes only through action. Step out beyond anxious waiting and into the storm of events, carried only by God's command and by your own faith; then will freedom exultantly cry out to welcome your spirit.
Suffering
Wondrous transformation! Your strong and active hands are tied now. Powerless, alone, you see the end of your action. Still, you take a deep breath and lay your struggle for justice, quietly and in faith, into a mightier hand. Just for one blissful moment, you tasted the sweetness of freedom, then you handed it over to God, that he might make it whole.
Death
Come now, highest moment on the road to freedom eternal. Death, put down the ponderous chains and demolish the walls of our mortal bodies, the walls of our blinded souls, that we might finally see what mortals have kept us from seeing. Freedom, how long we have sought you through discipline, action, and suffering. Dying, now we behold your face in the countenance of God.
(From Radical Integrity, p. 189-190, published by Barbour Publishing, Inc. Used by permission.)
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