Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Life Together As Christians Under The Word Of God

What does Christian community really mean? Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Faith in Community by Dietrich Bonhoeffer gives insight into what Christians relationships were designed to be like. The main theme Bonhoeffer explores is Christ in the Christian community under the Word of God. Bonhoeffer explains God’s gift of community by arguing the following: “It is grace, nothing but grace, that we are allowed to live in community with Christian brethren” (Bonhoeffer, 1978, p. 20). In addition the author adds, “Christian community is like the Christian’s sanctification. It is a gift of God, which we cannot claim. Only God knows the real state of our fellowship, of our sanctification” (p. 30). Overall Life Together is biblically

Thompson presents a very convicting treatise on the significance of relationships in the Christian witness. This book causes the reader to examine their own relationships, as well as their lifestyle, in order to evaluate the degree of the reflection of Christ in their incarnational witness. Through his systematic process of self-examination and relational observation, combined with intercessory prayer and discipleship ministry, Thompson offers a simple, yet profound method of using personal relationships to share the gospel of Christ with family, friends, coworkers, and complete strangers. He expounds on the principle that mankind is a relational being, created to fellowship with God and other humans, to develop his approach to personal evangelism and, equally important, follow-up

Central to Christian theology and ethics are conversations surrounding pragmatism and idealism, moderation and extremism, and universal vs particular experience and principles. Reinhold Niebuhr and James Cone are both influential figures whose work has left a lasting impact on Christian thought and social discourse. Both theologians navigate these methodological differences through their distinct theologies. Niebuhr’s Christian realism, shaped by his engagement with theology and keen insights into human nature, emphasizes the tension between moral ideals and political realities. Cone, on the other hand, is a Black liberation theologian, who challenges traditional paradigms and centers the experiences of marginalized communities in his theological

While the following essay will focus on this discussion of the essence of Christianity, it is important to note that Schleiermacher recognises that there is the possibility, and reality, of

This book was assigned as a requirement of my English Writing I class at Bryan College. This prompted me to believe that this book has been vetted by the university and is a credible source. This book is a collection of writings written with a Christian point of view, published by Baker Academic, a publisher who publishes primary and secondary textbook geared towards Christian learning. This essay is excerpted from Colson’s and Pearcy’s book How Now Shall We Live? published by Tyndale House Publishing, a publisher of all forms of Christian literature.

From this passage, Bonhoeffer states that our brothers and sisters in Christ reflect the voice of God. He explains that if people do not know listen to their brother and sister in Christ then it means you are not listening to God. God works and reflects on his children-That means all his children. Overall, in what I learned from Bonhoeffer based on this passage is to listen to our brothers and sister in Christ. As Christians, we believe that is to our self and do not listen to the people around us. Personally, I believe as a leader of an important area in my church is very important for me to listen to my fellow brothers and sister in Christ. I also believe that my team (who are children of Christ) should listen to me because if they do not listen to me then that means they are not listening to God.

I was asked to read “A Christian Manifesto” by Francis A. Schaeffer and what follows is my take on the book. I will share a summary of what I have taken from the book, as well as explain the applications from the knowledge attained from reading the book.

Living in Christian community is a necessity for the everyday life of a Christian. Without community, the Christian has no one else to “sharpen” them, no one else to understand the everyday struggle of living in the world, sharing the Gospel, but not partaking in the sinful ways of the world. In “Life Together”, Dietrich Bonhoeffer explores Christian community, and presents not only the benefits of Christian community, but also the toxins that can destroy the community. Living in Christian community brings incomparable joy and community in and through Jesus Christ, but can be easily lost due to humanistic ideals, or “dreams”.

Bonhoeffer and King: Their legacies and Import for Christian Social Thought, ed. by W. Jenkins and J. M. McBride (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2010)

On February 4, 1908 in Belarus, Germany, two children were born to Karl and Paula Hase Bonhoeffer, and one of them would impact the world. Karl was an esteemed German psychologist, and Paula came from an honorable and wealthy family. And on February 4, Dietrich and his twin Sabine entered the world as the sixth and seventh child of the Bonhoeffer family. Little did his parents know that one day, Dietrich would become a pastor, lead a paradigm shift in Christian thinking, assist in attempt to assassinate a dictator, and give his life for everything he believed in.

When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one man to dissolve the social bonds by which an entire people is restricted from the truth. He holds this truth to be self-evident, that all men are to be judged as equal, that they are led by their creator through certain unalienable aspects of humanity, that among these are life, sin, and the pursuit of the gospel.

The next big connection is the idea of community. Community was discussed in numerous readings, but the first section in Religion for Atheists by Alain de Botton titled Community is one of the best ones. Christianity is based around community and bringing people together. One of the main points of this section is to explain how Christians try to convey a sense of community to their followers and show the benefits of being in a community in the modern world where loneliness is the main feeling. Bernardin included that in his text of the Catholic church community is like a family. In The Gift of Peace, people alienate themselves from family because of hurt and anger. However the power of reconciliation is important and beautiful. Bernardin experienced that for Steve Cook and himself. The fourth and final concept is that of the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God was discussed extremely well in an article in our syllabus titled What is ‘The Kingdom of God’? by Father Richard P. McBrien. The idea of the Kingdom of God is not so much a place, but a way of life for people to live. McBrien explains that wherever people love each other, help each other, forgive each other, and live in a peaceful community; the Kingdom of

So much of society seems to live his/her life on a sort of self-serving autopilot mode. Rarely does one stop to think how or why he/she is making certain decisions or how these decisions can affect his/her life in the future. Often times, it is not until one has a “string of bad luck” or something tragic happens in one’s life, when he/she will turn to Jesus for help “getting them through this problem” only to return to one’s self-centered ways once his/her life has returned to normal. Living life with a Christian worldview is not something that one can take off a shelf and use when needed and allow it to collect dust on that shelf the rest of the time. This paper will discuss the many parts that make

In a world that does not know the Gospel anymore, we must indulge in it, and love our fellow community though they may not share similar values, but find balancing in still remaining in our own values. Though many of times we find ourselves in opposition of the majority of the world, we must exude Christ love onto others as He does to us unconditionally. The author addresses ways in which we are able to live out our faith and still find a place within our community though they may not share similar values.

The following paper presents a brief reconstruction of Nietzsche’s idea of community and its reception by Tönnies, Plessner and Schmitt. Although lacking in conceptual consistency, Nietzsche’s interpretation of community is a critical counterpart not only to its Christian variation but also to the attempts of its politicization. Although Tönnies’ idea of community is influenced by the Birth of Tragedy, he overlooks its key elements presented in Nietzsche’s later works. In his Limits of Society, Plessner provides an alternative to Tönnies’ theory while also criticizing both the Nietzschean and the Marxist interpretation of community. Still, several crucial points of his theory (such as the importance of masks and playfulness in social interaction)