The book Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer was actually quite enjoyable to read. I will start this off by saying that I had heard Bonhoeffer’s name before, but I didn’t realize the impact he had on the Christian community. It truly is amazing that his words that were written decades ago still have relevance to today and can change someone’s life. Bonhoeffer brought up some points throughout his book that hit me at my core. Ideas I have wondered about were finally answered when I read this book. So, I would say that reading this book in this time of my life was a bit of a blessing. One of the first things that sparked my interest was a quote that was included from Martin Luther. Which read: “The Kingdom is to be in the midst of your enemies. And he who will not suffer this does not want to be of the Kingdom of Christ; he wants to be among friends, to sit among roses and lilies, not with the bad people but the devout people. O you blasphemers and betrayers of Christ! If Christ had done that what you are doing who would ever have been spared?” …show more content…
For the past year I haven’t been around people who I didn’t know, or consider my friends. It brings about a valid point, that if Christ had been one to hang around those who were His friends, no one would have been saved. Even the fact that Bonhoeffer talks about how the people that are in persecution react upon seeing a brother is important. While yes, we tend to stay around people who are our friends, we take for granted that we are able to talk to a brother in Christ in the open. In the areas that have persecution, those brethren take immense joy in only being able to see each other for a couple of minutes. They take the joy in the fact they share with each other what Christ is teaching them. Yet, for those of whom this is an everyday occurrence, it’s a mundane act and taken
I believe the most important concept that I gained from reading the book was to remain faithful, in good times and in bad. Walking blindly can be very terrifying, but God always has a plan for each and every one of us. At times, the plan remains unseen, and that should not deter or slow me on the path that my heart is yearning
...dage and Freedom. The way Tom broke both of these parts down in his way impressive. The chapter itself was very good but the two charts that I mentioned really caught my attention most of all. The chart of Judaism, Christianity, designed by Coffman. This was place strategically by Tom in a very good place in his explanation of this part of his book. Another example of a good gathering of your resources and placing them in good spots. The last two chapters are like the rest put together. Overall, this was a well-written book. It was easy to read and to understand. The more I read the book and didn’t put it down. It took me two days to read and the only reason I put it down between the days was that I fell asleep with it in my hands. When I see Tom, again I will personally thank him for writing this. I will also tell him that I got a lot out of it. Good Book!
I can relate this book to my life in many ways; it was easier for me to relate to this book because were both 18 year old girls who want to live life the right way. Also I don’t want to live life trying to be like everyone else, so this was really encouraging to me. A part that helped me was the part about confidence and how important that is. Its important to have confidence in your faith because say you get in a situation you can protect your faith and stand up for what you believe. Another part that I can really apply to my life was how when people were talking about her she didn’t even beg to know. Personally whenever I hear that someone was talking about me, I really want to know what they said! This helped me to learn that why fill my brain with negativity sinful gossip, because that’s not what Jesus would do.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born on February 4th 1906, as a son of a professor of psychiatry and neurology at the University of Berlin. Throughout his early life he was an outstanding student, and when he finally reached the age of 25 he became a lecturer in systematic theology at the University Berlin. Something that is very striking is that when Hitler came to power in 1933, Bonhoeffer became a leading spokesman for the Confessing Church, the center of Protestant resistance to the Nazis. He organized and for a shot amount of time he led the underground seminary of the Confessing Church. His book Life Together describes the life of the Christian community in that seminary, and his book The Cost Of Discipleship attacks what he calls "cheap grace," meaning that grace used as an excuse for moral laxity.
The human experience is what connects people to one another. What we experience defines who we are and who we become. It also defines how we interact with others. The amazing thing is that not only do the events that bring joy, peace and happiness connect us but also those that bring anxiety, fear and despair. This brings to light the fact that God somehow in his sovereignty uses all things for the good of those who love Him. These ideas are brought to light in Jerry Sittser’s book, A Grace Disguised which is his personal journey of loss and the insight and experience that was gained in the face of great tragedy. In his book, Sittser discusses various insights he has gained, such as how Christian’s view sorrow, how families recover when someone they love develops a mental disorder, and the Christian view on suffering and forgiveness. I believe that the author has written a book that has many universal truths that can be applied to anyone’s life and they have the ability to bring healing to many. His ideas can also aid professionals who work with the mentally ill in becoming more compassionate.
Bonhoeffer, Dietrich, ed. Readings in Christian Ethics: A Historical Sourcebook. Edited by J. Philip Wogaman and Douglas M. Strong. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996.
There are times when people are hurting and feel like giving up, but then they think of their family and they keep trying. In the novel “Night” by Elie Wiesel, Elie the narrator and protagonist is at a concentration camp. Although he lost his mother and sisters the first day, he still has his father with him. As the story goes on, readers learn of the hard experiences he goes through and what is going on his mind the whole time. He struggles with his faith and belief in God and he learns what it means to live not just for himself, but also for the one’s who love him. By examining the novel Night, we can see that family is the key to survival, which is important because those who do not have family often end up not surviving because they don’t have someone to push them and someone to live for besides themselves.
Bonhoeffer’s life embodies many elements he describes theologically about the Christian life in Life Together. This is initially seen in his life when he felt he had to make a choice; Christianity or Germanism. As with many of us, the choice to live completely for Christ is not always our first choice. With Bonhoeffer, however, this choice would lead to his identity. He believed that a Christian Community makes it possible for us to live the Christian life in the world. As we travel this life together, we will encounter many types of people; believers and unbelievers. Which means as Christians we are our brothers’ keepers and
Poverty and homelessness are often, intertwined with the idea of gross mentality. illness and innate evil. In urban areas all across the United States, just like that of Seattle. in Sherman Alexie’s New Yorker piece, What You Pawn I Will Redeem, the downtrodden. are stereotyped as vicious addicts who would rob a child of its last penny if it meant a bottle of whiskey.
“Often fear of one evil leads us into a worse”(Despreaux). Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux is saying that fear consumes oneself and often times results in a worse fate. William Golding shares a similar viewpoint in his novel Lord of the Flies. A group of boys devastatingly land on a deserted island. Ralph and his friend Piggy form a group. Slowly, they become increasingly fearful. Then a boy named Jack rebels and forms his own tribe with a few boys such as Roger and Bill. Many things such as their environment, personalities and their own minds contribute to their change. Eventually, many of the boys revert to their inherently evil nature and become savage and only two boys remain civilized. The boys deal with many trials, including each other, and true colors show. In the end they are being rescued, but too much is lost. Their innocence is forever lost along with the lives Simon, a peaceful boy, and an intelligent boy, Piggy. Throughout the novel, Golding uses symbolism and characterization to show that savagery and evil are a direct effect of fear.
"[Christ] feeds and gathers at once, and this gathering of souls is as sweetly refreshing and delightsome to our blessed Lord Jesus, as the plucking of the sweetest flower is to a man walking in a garden. And there is nothing more acceptable and welcome to him, than a seeking sinner....So long as our Lord Jesus has a church and ordinances in it, so he will continue to gather [his people], and he is not idle, but is still gathering; though at some times, and in some places, this may be more sensible and abundant than ordinary"(Durham).
My favorite part of the book was the chapter on “Ethics.” I believe my moral compass will guide me in the work place, amongst many other places. For example; the ENTJ, is said to be driven by success. If I do get into a corporate position or become a politician, I’m sure there will be bribes and offers that require me to compromise my beliefs for a move up “the ladder.” As a believing Christian I’ll be sure to look out for possible avenues of temptation although; I’m sure I won’t make such dreadful mistakes, the information I’ve gained from my research makes me want to be all the more
Himes, B. (2011). Discipleship as theological praxis: Dietrich Bonhoeffer as a resource for educational ministry. Christian Education Journal, 8(2), 263-277.
...incredible beautiful things he creates for us, we can either take advantage of those things or we can share them with people that might not understand this or see it in there lives. The last thing i learned was that life can show the worst things, such as death, or destruction to your life. The lose of a job or anything bad that might happen, we can blame it on God or we can pray to him to help you work through hard times like those. In chapter 4 it talked it about how God was going to still be faithful to them and the kingdom will still be restored and brought back to power. We need to be faithful to God even though something bad could happen. Lamentations teaches us about the hard times if we don’t repent and things can build up. There is a lot of grief in the book but if you trust in God the his plan go and follow and that whats most important.
...eality is, that it will probably never go away until Jesus returns, so we must do what Jude tells us, we must guard out faith, and build ourselves up praying in the Holy Spirit. Reading the Word of God, will enable us to oppose false doctrine that is being taught today, because it will make us aware of the truth, the truth that Jude and Peter already had a revelation on.