1. What should a Christian do when a key part of their faith is undermined by a law of their country that they are supposed to follow?

2. Christian moral action
Learning objective:
To know key facts about the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer;
To understand his view on duty to God and the state.
Key Words
Discipleship
Solidarity
Costly grace
Passion

3. What should a Christian do when a key part of their faith is undermined by a law of their country that they are supposed to follow?
This was the situation faced by Dietrich Bonhoeffer when he lived in Nazi Germany.
He was a German pastor, theologian, anti-Nazi dissident, and key founding member of the Confessing Church.
Lived from 4 February 1906 – 9 April 1945
He wrote the book The Cost of Discipleship.
He was known for his staunch resistance to the Nazi dictatorship
He was arrested in April 1943 by the Gestapo and imprisoned at Tegel prison for one and a half years. Later he was transferred to a Nazi concentration camp
After being associated with the plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, he was quickly tried, along with other accused plotters, including former members of the Abwehr (the German Military Intelligence Office), and then executed by hanging on 9 April 1945 as the Nazi regime was collapsing.

4. Read your sheet of quotes. Summarise them in your own words.
Nazi ideology gained strong influence over the church
Christianity is not just a set of beliefs but obedience to Jesus
Christian discipleship is about something you do (following Jesus) and can be costly as it is more important than anything else
We should not even think things through too much before acting; ‘single-minded obedience’ is called for. Reason and conscience could stand in the way of this.

5. Why did Bonhoeffer see his duty to God as far outweighing his duty to the state?

6. If Bonhoeffer were alive today and living in this country, which groups of people might he seek to associate with and speak up for in solidarity? Solidarity = an altruistic commitment to stand alongside and be with those less fortunate, the oppressed, those who suffer

7. Should Bonhoeffer have practiced civil disobedience?
Read Romans
What does Saint Paul teach here?
Read page 427 of the blue book. Complete the apply your knowledge activity at the top of p.428

8. Homework
Read the blue book p and add to your notes. Complete the activity in the purple ‘apply your knowledge’ box.