Category Archives: Christian History

Articles having to do with the history of Christianity and faith.

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Spy, Assassin – REVIEW

By | | Christian History, Current Thought, Filmmaking, History, Philosophy and Critical Thinking, Theology, Uncategorized
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by John Jackman

Movies are not academic documentaries; they are storytelling and drama.  Filmmakers must always take some license to fit a complex story into two hours, and indeed is it hard not to add embellishments that make for better cinema: “Never let the facts get in the way of a good story” said Mark Twain.  Making a movie about a revered historical religious figure is a daunting challenge; someone will always be unhappy with the way you tell the story of their favorite religious leader.

I say this because I’ve done it; for my 2009 movie Wesley we struggled to compress just a few years of John Wesley’s complex story into two hours.  Many lauded the film, others hated it – often scholars who complained that their favorite hobby horse had been overlooked.  So I approach reviewing Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Spy, Assassin with some caution, particularly because I have strong opinions about Bonhoeffer, who I studied extensively in seminary, and whose writings profoundly affected my own theology.

The timing of the release of Bonhoeffer is part of the problem, though the filmmakers might have foreseen that.  Eric Metaxas’ book Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy (2011) has been lambasted by scholars, and has been used by the Christian Right to support violent action.  Metaxas himself has deepened the controversy by seeming to call for violent bloodshed to defend Donald Trump’s false claim that he won the 2020 election, and his advocacy of what sounds like a totalitarian takeover.

Recently, a large group of scholars and the descendants of the Bonhoeffer family publicly decried the misuse of Bonhoeffer’s name and thought to support Christian Nationalism (links at end of article).  They condemned Metaxas’ book and the new movie – though unfortunately none of them had been able to preview the movie at the time.  The similarity of titles was a mistake, and poor decisions by Angel Films in the early promotion (showing Bonhoeffer holding a pistol, or wearing an explosive vest for instance) made it seem that the movie was based on Metaxas’ book.  A special preview at the Museum of the Bible in Washington last month stirred that pot even more, since Eric Metaxas was the speaker and host.

Todd Komarnicki

The film’s writer and director Todd Komarnicki (the writer of Sully and producer of Elf) denied any association. Komarnicki recently told podcaster Tripp Fuller that the movie was not based on Metaxas’ work at all. He seemed offended by the idea, maintaining that the movie was his personal interpretation of Bonhoeffer.  “I’m not trying to say this is the definitive Bonhoeffer,” he said, “but rather, this is the man that I encountered in his writing, and how it touched me as an artist and as a Christian.”  But this is the problem: despite his extensive writings, Bonhoeffer is at times a tabula rasa on which readers can project their own opinions. And I am willing to bet that Komarnacki read the Metaxas book before doing other research.

The timing of the release is also interesting because it happens just after an election that some feel marks the beginning of the end of the great American Experiment.  A man who openly admires authoritarian rulers, who keeps a copy of Hitler’s speeches on his bedstand, has now been elected president for the second time – but this time with many traditional guard rails removed.  Hitler was also regarded by the right as a “savior sent by God” and many German churches were swayed to not only acquiesce to Hitler, but to regard him as God’s agent and hand.  Nazi Bibles were published with revisions, including a couple of extra commandments.  Now, all this is shown clearly in Komarnicki’s movie; and most people watching the movie will note the similarities to recent events. 

I went to see Bonhoeffer at a preview just before the official wide release.   I felt that I had to see the movie for myself before passing any judgment.  First, let me address Bonhoeffer just as a movie; then I will look at where Komarnicki fails to capture the complex subject of his film.

The movie is actually pretty well done, especially when compared to the normal “faith film” of the past.  Production values are excellent, the acting is generally quite good, and the direction is mostly good.  Jonas Dassler (Dietrich Bonhoeffer) is compelling in many scenes, though there are places where the acting and the writing seem clichéd.  The film uses a “flashback” structure (from Bonhoeffer in prison) to collapse the time, but in online reviews many people found this confusing – some because they didn’t know the story, and other because they did know the story and were confused by liberties taken.

Historically, the script is pretty accurate for a film of this nature – but that’s quite a low standard!    Komarnicki takes many historical liberties that were not needed for condensing the story.  The film does show Bonhoeffer’s time at Union Seminary in New York and his friendships in Harlem with the Abyssinian Baptist Church.  This is mostly fictionized, however, and while it shows his exposure to American racism, it falls short in conveying the strong pacifist resistance to racism that Bonhoeffer witnessed, which was a huge shaping influence on his theology.

So here’s where the film goes astray: Bonhoeffer was a profound pacifist, and I have the feeling that (like many people), Komarnicki doesn’t adequately understand pacifism.  Bonhoeffer had been in touch with Mahatma Gandhi in the early 1930s, and learned more from the saints at Abbysinian Baptist Church (MLK didn’t invent peaceful resistance).  Adam Clayton Powell Sr. has been credited with teaching Bonhoeffer about love of enemies, resisting systems of injustice, Christ’s presence with the poor, and the idea of “cheap grace”. Like Gandhi, Bonhoeffer believed “There are many causes that I am prepared to die for, but no causes that I am prepared to kill for.”  In the movie, Bonhoeffer enthusiastically abandons that position, and the complex, carefully thought out theology he had espoused, and participates actively in the plot to kill Hitler. Komarnicki’s Bonhoeffer talks about the necessity to have “dirty hands,” an ethical concept that the real Bonhoeffer never used or referred to that I can find.  Miles Werntz writes in Christianity Today,

Rather than depicting a man of deep theological convictions and subtle intellect, Bonhoeffer tells the story of a man for whom moral convictions are a flexible and useful tool, a man whose actions are determined not by concerns for the church’s witness but by perceived historical necessity. It is the story of a Bonhoeffer willing to do anything—including disavow the teachings of Jesus as he understood them—to assassinate Adolf Hitler.

Christianity Today


Victoria Barnett, the editor of Bonhoeffer’s collected works, describes the movie “as a very romanticized ‘Christian hero’ fantasy.”

[Bonhoeffer’s] legacy is actually a very critical one of the failures of his church in Christianity. How would we read him if we were not looking for a hero story, but reading him for insight and guidance into how to be a good person in this world? It’s a fantasy. They’ve made lots of things up to actually contradict who he was and what he did.”

The Forward


But – didn’t Dietrich Bonhoeffer actively participate in the plot to kill Hitler?  That’s the popular view.  His brother-in-law Hans von Dohnanyi did.  But much of the popular myth of Bonhoeffer is imagination, people filling in blanks.  Scholars today point out that there is no evidence that Dietrich actually helped or actively participated in the plot.  He probably knew about it, but even that is speculation.  He was active in the resistance, and knew many people involved in the plot, but he certainly did not abandon his own theology, as he seems to in the movie.  Instead, he confirmed his continued belief in pacifism in letters from prison.  Bonhoeffer’s own actions of Christian resistance—spreading information to international contacts, and assisting with sending Jews to Switzerland—were consistent with his long-standing convictions.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Bonhoeffer: Preacher, Spy, Assassin does not seem to promote Christian nationalism (as some feared), and does indeed get many things right.  However, it fails to hit the mark in significant ways, in particular understanding how profound Bonhoeffer’s bravery was.  Like Jan Hus, he stood publicly and courageously against the might of empire, knowing that he would likely pay the ultimate price. He proclaimed truth in the face of fascism.  Miles Werntz, writing in Christianity Today, concludes:

What we needed was a film about a man concerned with how God might be calling the church to be steadfast amid the great temptation to mold our faith to our politics.

Christianity Today

Warren Throckmorton voices a slightly different perspective:

It is good that the movie is triggering discussion about how to respond to a totalitarian regime. We are now living in the shadow of that possibility. This is new ground for American Christians and we need to deal with it.

The Throckmorton Initiative


I would encourage church groups to see the movie, but to be forearmed with solid information and an awareness of the inaccuracies  — and use it as a springboard for conversation.  I can see some very fruitful discussions happening on difficult topics, especially in our current times.  I would also encourage Christians to read Bonhoeffer’s actual writings rather than third-party interpretations.  In our time, the Church needs to wrestle with his profound thought in a significant way.

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John Jackman is pastor of Trinity Moravian Church in Winston-Salem, NC and organizer of the Debt Jubilee Project.  He wrote and directed Wesley (2009) and Newton’s Grace (2013) as well as numerous documentaries.  He studied Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s writings under Dr. Charles Hargis at Moravian Theological Seminary.

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LINKS

Letter from the Bonhoeffer Family:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SIKs7_yO3nbPFjRb4FV8wi-WKwghBvUP/view

Letter from Bonhoeffer Scholars:
https://bonhoeffersociety.org/2024/10/16/sign-our-petition-stop-misusing-dietrich-bonhoeffer-to-support-political-violence-and-christian-nationalism/

Lead Actors of Movie Condemn Christian Nationalism:
https://bonhoeffersociety.org/2024/11/04/statement-lead-actors-in-bonhoeffer-spy-pastor-assassin-speak-out-together-against-the-misuse-of-bonhoeffers-legacy/

There’s No Such Thing As A Bonhoeffer Moment – Victoria Barnett

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Recommended Reading:

Bonhoeffer the Assassin? Challenging the Myth, Recovering His Call to Peacemaking by Mark Thiessen Nation, Anthony G. Siegrist, Daniel P. Umbel (Baker Academic)

Dietrich Bonheoffer: A Biography by Eberhard Bethge (Fortress Press)

Dietrich Bonhoeffer: A Spoke in the Wheel by Renate Wind (Eeerdman)

Theologian of Resistance: The Life and Thought of Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Christiane Tietz (Fortress Press)

Strange Glory: A Life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. By Charles Marsh (Knopf Doubleday Publishing)

Bonhoeffer’s Black Jesus: Harlem Renaissance Theology and an Ethic of Resistance by Reggie Williams (Baylor University Press)

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Recommended Viewing:

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Pacifist, Nazi Resister a documentary by Martin Doblmeier.

Interpreting the Bible, Part 2

By | | Christian History, Current Thought, Philosophy and Critical Thinking, Theology
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Jesus is the Lens

In my last post, I mentioned Dr. Craig Atwood’s comment that for Moravians, “Jesus is the lens,” the lens through which we view and interpret all of the Bible and theology. For us, Jesus is the greatest revelation of the nature of God, and His words, actions, and sacrifice give us a better “window” into the heart of the Maker than any prophecy, any law, any Psalm.

The problem that is posed for the intellectually and spiritually honest person is that the Bibles is a very complex book: the Old Testament spans centuries, changes in culture, and circumstances of the Israelites. It incorporates Hebrew storytelling and verbal tradition, combines inspiring Psalms with tedious genealogies, and places profound visions of the Kingdom of God right next to the gritty violence and destruction of the ancient world.

Frankly, it is not actually possible to interpret every part of the Bible literally and pretend that sections don’t contradict one another. OK, it is apparently quite easy for some people, but they do this through an intellectually dishonest mental gymnastic that I can’t do. They are like the White Queen in Alice in Wonderland:

“Alice laughed: “There’s no use trying,” she said; “one can’t believe impossible things.”
“I daresay you haven’t had much practice,” said the Queen. “When I was younger, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

I believe that God gave use brains for a reason, and He expects us to use them. Believing silly things and pretending that self-contradictory things are compatible isn’t faith, it’s just foolishness. So how do we understand some of the difficult texts in the Old Testament that seem to order violence and cruelty, or which seem devoid of the compassion and mercy and grace so profoundly exhibited in Jesus’ actionas and life?

You can list for yourself some of the “clobber” verses currently being bandied about on hot-button issues. Though we ought to discuss them, they don’t actually serve as good examples for how to have the discussion, because the topics are fraught with such a deep level of emotion and burdened with ponderous baggage. So it’s better to select other problematical passages that aren’t the current “hot buttons” for discussion.

Take for example Deuteronomy 21:18-21:

If someone has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline him, his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town. They shall say to the elders, “This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a glutton and a drunkard.” Then all the men of his town are to stone him to death. You must purge the evil from among you. All Israel will hear of it and be afraid.

Now, I think most normal Christians today would have a serious problem with this Mitzvot. You would find agreement among the Taliban and some radical tribal Muslims in certain parts of the world, but I think most Muslims would be horrified at seriously applying this passage, as well.

So here’s the question, using Jesus as the “lens:”

How do we interpret this passage in light of Jesus’ Parable of the Prodigal Son, where he clearly draws a picture of a defiant son, a glutton and a drunkard who gambles away his father’s fortune? Jesus goes to great lengths to make clear that the father receives him back with grace and forgiveness even before the son has a chance to say anything; the father certainly has not been waiting at the edge of town with a bunch of friends with rocks. The parable teaches us of the patience of the Heavenly Father, who waits for us with bountiful compassion rather than stones and condemnation.

How you answer this question is very revealing of how honest you are willing to be about conflicting passages in the Bible, and how much you understand of the grace-filled message of Christ.

How you answer this question is very revealing of just how honest you are willing to be about conflicting passages in the Bible, and how much you understand of the grace-filled message of Christ.

For myself, I answer this question by first acknowledging honestly that there is a conflict between the command in Deuteronomy and the mercy exhibited by Christ. Pretending that there is no conflict here is simply a fib. And in understanding the teachings of Jesus, I simply must side with the “Jesus version” of God rather than the “tribal justice” version represented in the Deuteronomy passage.

So, does this mean that I am simply throwing out Deuteronomy? No. In this case, I may just be realizing that the rule was handed down in a different time, when these were a persecuted tribal people wandering in the desert, and such rules may have been necessary for their time and for the primitive level of spiritual understanding that they had.

When it’s a tossup between a passage in Deuteronomy or Leviticus and the clear teachings of Jesus, I’ll go with the teachings of Jesus every time. I don’t have to have a perfect explanation about why the Deuteronomy passage was necessary, or even if it was what God intended or only what the Israelites understood at the time.

Incidentally, the email correspondent whose initial query prompted these posts thought that there was no problem with applying the Deuteronomy passage literally, and stoning the disobedient son. In fact, he said “I think God is just and His instructions are the most loving way to solve the issue.” Just kill the kid.  A response so utterly devoid of compassion left me breathless and saddened, and it seemed pretty much time to terminate the discussion. However, we should understand that there are folks out there whose view of God is so warped that they truly see no problem here: and this is just the mentality that resulted in the burning of John Hus at the stake.

Those of us who come from a tradition of those who were persecuted, whose books were burned, have a problem today with Puritans who are so convinced of their own self-righteousness that they see no problem eliminating the rights of others, or even putting them to death, in the name of their vengeful God. But this is not the God that I meet in Jesus Christ, and I fear that these folks do not understand that they have so inverted good and evil that, like the scribes in Mark 3, say “He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.”

Maybe we’ll revisit this topic in future posts!

Interpreting the Bible, Part 1

By | | Christian History, Current Thought, Philosophy and Critical Thinking, Theology
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Recently, I received what I hoped was a serious inquiry asking “What Moravian Church doctrine/logic do you use to set the parameters for what biblical theology is accepted and what is up for debate?”

Unfortunately, like many others the inquiry was not honest but merely a fishing expedition for a “hot button” argument. But the question itself is a very important one, and I thought I would use it as the starting point for a post here. Because really the question is “How do we responsibly decide how to apply or interpret passages from the Bible that seem contradictory to the teachings of Jesus.” The Rev. Dr. Craig Atwood (Associate Professor of Moravian Theology and Ministry at Moravian Theological Seminary and Director of the Center for Moravian Studies) weighed in on the conversation and I will share some of his input.

NOTE: As it happens, our Faith and Order Commission has recently published a document that addresses this very question,and it is now available on the web. Look for GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION on this page:
http://moravianseminary.edu/faithorder/statements.html

For the Moravian Church as a whole, there is not a simple and pre-packaged response that completely answers the question in a doctrinal or set way. We are a “non-doctrinal” church and are historically suspicious of institutional doctrine, which in many denominations is the result of a fairly complex process of institutional reasoning, compromise, and reaction which is then presented as being nearly equal with the Scriptures when enforced. This is exactly the process that has produced terrible division and suffering in the Christian Church through much of history.

When a public figure (either a religious leader or politician) begins a statement with “The Bible says….” It is almost a sure bet that what follows is NOT actually in the Bible but is a composite of several cherry-picked verses strung together with an elaborate and sometimes questionable structure of interpretation.

This is never more evident that in the public sphere today. When a public figure (either a religious leader or politician) begins a statement with “The Bible says….” It is almost a sure bet that what follows is NOT actually in the Bible but is a composite of several cherry-picked verses strung together with an elaborate and sometimes questionable structure of interpretation. The Rube Goldberg structure and mechanizations that connect the cherry-picked verses always seems very suspicious to me. When recently Franklin Graham held a news conference to pronounce that the “Bible says that life begins at conception,” I came close to apoplexy, because it just isn’t true – and thirty years ago evangelical Christians were adamant that the Roman Catholic position on conception was completely unscriptural. I still have old issues of Christianity Today to prove it. In fact, most people today are unaware that the current Catholic position on the “beginning of life” only dates from 1869, prior to which there was a complex Augustinian theory of “ensoulment” at quickening, but that’s all another story!

In many ways the Moravians (back to the Unitas Fratrum of the 15th century) are the first “Red-Letter Christians” because we have always held the actual words of Christ as reported in the Gospels to be of the highest authority and concentration. Dr. Atwood puts it succinctly that “Jesus is the lens.” We must understand all of Scripture through the revelation of the Word of God, which (gasp) is not the book we call the Bible; the Bible itself says that Jesus Christ is the Logos, the Word of God. To believe in the Word is to believe in the person of Christ.

Some of the folks in the early Unity agreed among themselves to live according to the Beatitudes, a difficult thing in a violent world, and referred to themselves as “Brethren of the Law.” We currently have an intentional Christian community, Anthony’s Plot, which is seeking to hold to the same very difficult standard.

Moravians have always viewed the divisions between denominations as an evidence of human sinfulness, and take seriously the words of Christ in John 13:35 “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” We regard hostile argumentation that divides relationships over “non-essential” issues as being a violation of this principle, and believe that each individual must make up their own mind about issues that are not made clear – by which we mean MANIFESTLY clear – in the Bible. As you might imagine, we have had never-ceasing internal struggles about what is “essential” and what is “non-essential.”

Historically, Luke of Prague differentiated between that which was ESSENTIAL to salvation (the love and grace of God, the life and sacrifice of Jesus), that which was MINISTERIAL to salvation (Scriptures, sacraments) and that which as ACCIDENTAL to salvation (Language, style of music, etc.). Later the motto that we use today was elaborated by Peter Meldenius and adopted by Moravian Bishop John Amos Comenius: “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty, in all things love.” This is very similar to an expression used by some other denominations, “we speak where the Bible speaks, and are silent where the Bible is silent.”

I have often oversimplified this (some of our theologians and historians would argue detail but would agree with the underlying thought) by asking “what are the areas that ALL Christians through history have agreed upon?” As a shorthand answer, this very small list could be regarded as the likely “essentials..” We hold up the simplest creed “Jesus is Lord” as the basic one, and while we use the Apostle’s Creed and the Nicene Creed, we use the Eastern version of the Nicene Creed previous to the filioque dispute. The things that we disagree about thus sort of automatically migrate to the “non-essentials” bin unless we can establish with clarity that the Lord Himself taught it specifically and clearly.

Dr. Atwood says that he does not find the Meldenius motto to be very helpful because people think that the “non-essentials” are unimportant or arbitrary. He is right about this; and that is why when I teach about this motto I always include teaching about Luke of Prague’s version, which is actually a bit more helpful. Dr. Atwood feels that a better understanding of the core beliefs of the Moravian Church are collected in statement called The Ground of the Unity, which is available online HERE.

We speak where the Bible speaks, and are silent where the Bible is silent.

In today’s politicization of religion, I believe that the many Scriptural commands (OT and Jesus’ parables) regarding care of the poor and the downtrodden, and God’s wish for justice have been swept aside by political agenda and ignored or reinterpreted when the meaning is manifestly and plainly clear; and obscure passages that support a particular political agenda are used as weapons. Most of the current discussion spends huge energy and time on things that are NOT made clear or which are minor issues in the Scriptures. Again, if a statement begins “the Bible says…” and what follows is a Rube Goldberg contraption of cherry-picked verses connected with questionable interpretation, then it’s not going to be a Moravian essential!

A great example would be the Scofield Bible, which teaches a complex interpretive theology of dispensationalism, a relatively new idea, which seems to me to be “finding a button and sewing a vest onto it.” Unfortunately, this century-old complex theology drives a lot of belief today (“Left Behind,” etc.) even though it would have seemed utterly foreign and wrong to the apostles. However, a large proportion of American Christendom sees Scripture through this interpretive glass, and is historically illiterate about Apostolic practices and understanding – as they are about how many other current common beliefs developed in the Middle Ages.

A particular example is our approach to Holy Communion, which is an ideal example since it has divided so many denominations. The Scriptures do not explain what communion means, or speak explicitly about exact practice. However, Jesus commands us to share in the experience without elaborating on it. So the Moravian Church permits individuals to make up their own mind about the understanding of communion (transubstantiation, consubstantiation, memorial) and leaves that to the individual believer – the only requirement being that no individual condemn another’s understanding of the meal. We have never taught transubstantiation or that it is a mere memorial meal. We have developed a particular traditional practice of serving communion which is somewhat unique (wafers and grape juice in individual cups, the pastor brings the elements out into the pews and serves each person individually, but then all partake together). The service is made up of hymns that are thematic for the service, and the pastor says the words of institution from the Scriptures without elaboration or explanation. All practices of serving are permissible (intinction, the use of wine in a common chalice and a loaf of bread, etc.).

Similarly, Jesus commands us to baptize but does not explain it further. Therefore, we also baptize in all forms without elaboration as to what it means or discrimination as to how it is done – the one exception being that baptism involves entry into the congregation, and a covenant on the part of the congregation to love and support the person being baptized, so baptism must be in the presence of the congregation. It is not seen as a “christening” that is done in a home or privately. We accept infant baptism in part because it was a widespread practice already; it could be argued that the Baptists are right about the form of baptism since we do not accept the medieval theology that drove the original development of infant baptism, and all the examples in the Bible are clearly immersion of adults. However, we accept all forms of baptism so long as they are not used as statements to denigrate other forms; and Moravians now see infant baptism as a sign of the New Covenant, and a recognition that the spiritual life does not begin at age 13 or some other arbitrary point.

NEXT: An example of interpretation using Jesus as the “Lens.”

Book Review: “Crazy For God:”

By | | Christian History, Current Thought, Philosophy and Critical Thinking, Theology, Uncategorized
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Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back

by Frank Schaeffer

Paperback: 448 pages
Publisher: Da Capo Press; 1st Da Capo Press Pbk. Ed edition (September 30, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0306817500ISBN-13: 978-0306817502

Frank Schaeffer is the son of conservative theologian Francis Schaeffer (How Shall We Then Live?, The God Who Is There) regarded by many as the intellectual defender of fundamentalism in the 70’s and 80’s.  Francis Schaeffer’s ideas, combined with the films of his son Frank, helped spark the rise of the Christian Right in the United States and were strongly influenced by him. Among them are Operation Rescue founder Randall Terry, Focus on the Family’s James Dobson, the 700 Club’s Pat Robertson, Prison Fellowship’s Charles Colson, columnist Cal Thomas, preacher and author Tim LaHaye, and Liberty University and Moral Majority founder Jerry Falwell .

Frank, almost by accident, stumbled into the world of Christian filmmaking, producing the film series How Should We Then Live? The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture (1976) with his father and Whatever Happened to the Human Race? (1979).  Father and son became obsessed with the anti-abortion movement, and Frank in particular was sucked into the big-money world of Christian broadcasting and worked hard to create the hyper-politicized Christian Right.

But Schaeffer ended up in a genuine moral and spiritual crisis in the mid-eighties when he realized that the money-driven right wing machine he had been a part of forming was out of control and had little to do with true spiritual life.  He left the movement and had to rebuild his life from scratch.  In 1990 he joined the Greek Orthodox Church, and  today “embraces paradox and mystery.”

The book is part autobiography, part tribute to his parents, and part a political commentary on the movement he abandoned.  He is uncommonly blunt in his behind-the-scenes storytelling about Dobson, Falwell, and Robertson.  Many conservative Christians will find this book to be either very disturbing or a betrayal; more moderate Christians will learn more about how the Religious Right came to be the pervasive and disturbing political influence that it is today.  Having had some contact with this world over the years, I have little doubt that Schaeffer’s most cynical and negative stories are quite close to reality.

Schaeffer’s narrative is brutally honest about his own weaknesses, his father’s struggle with bipolar illness, and the hypocrisy of the Christian broadcasting market where too much money and warped celebrity worship create a world disconnected from most people’s experience and reality.

On a personal level, I connected deeply to Schaeffer’s description of dealing with the mood swings of his father and their impact on the family (my father was bipolar) and also to the strange world of religious celebrity. Crazy for God is an unflinchingly honest, if imperfect, book.  Schaeffer himself would not say that he is an objective witness in any way; but his story is worth reading and worth understanding as we wrestle with the damage the movement he left has done to our society and to the Church of Christ itself.

Saint Patrick & David Nitschmann

By | | Christian History, Theology
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A perfect topic to start this long-postponed blog!

Today is Saint Patrick’s Day and they’ve dumped green dye in the Chicago River, corned beef and cabbage is the planned supper in many homes, and today everyone is Irish!  But few people spare a thought for the real person behind the day, who probably died on March 17, 461 A.D.

The Real Patrick

The real Saint Patrick didn’t chase the snakes out (there never were any) and wasn’t actually Irish — he was born in Roman Britain and at age 16 was captured by Celtic pirates to be a slave.  For many years he was a shepherd, and spent a large amount of time alone in the wilderness tending the sheep — and praying.  According to his writings, a voice—which he believed to be God’s—spoke to him in a dream, telling him it was time to leave Ireland.

Patrick walked nearly 200 miles from County Mayo  to the Irish coast, where he found a boatman willing to take him back to Britain. After his escape, Patrick experienced a second revelation—this time a dream telling him to return to Ireland as a missionary — in other words, to voluntarily go and minister among his former captors!  Talk about guts. Patrick began religious training, study that took over 15 years. But after his ordination as a priest, he followed his calling and was sent to Ireland with a dual mission: to minister to Christians already living there and bring the Gospel to the Irish.

Non-Violent Evangelism

What he did is remarkable for several reasons: he used a completely different model than the heirarchical Roman Church had used, and he accomplished his mission entirely without bloodshed — there are no Irish martyrs in this process.  His model was to move into an area and build relationships, talking with the people and ministering to their needs.  He spent time building relationships, especially with the leaders but also with the ordinary people, freely answering their questions about faith — and ultimately asking them to follow Christ as well.  This gentle and non-violent approach contrasted dramatically with the quasi-military approach that Rome had used in many other circumstances:  conquer the land and tell the people what to believe.

There is no doubt that Patrick’s sheer courage won many over:  he faced down the very tribal leader who had previously enslaved him.  Armed only with his faith, he stood against violent Celtic tribes and armed Druids with dramatic defiance — including lighting a forbidden bonfire on Slane hill — that defied logic but won hearts.

Two Brave Young Men

Thirteen centuries later, two young men left the village of Herrnhut in Germany to take the Gospel to the slaves of St. Thomas.  Leonard Dober and David Nitschmann probably knew nothing of the details of the story of Patrick, but in a quiet and revolutionary way they followed the same model.  Dober and Nitschmann did not go armed with money and might, but with gentleness, love, and a concept of servantship.  They fully expected that they would have to sell themselves into slavery on the island to have any sort of relationship with the slaves.  That didn’t happen, but it came close.  They lived and worked among the slaves, building relationships, ministering to needs as they arose, caring for the sick.

Other missionaries came to join Nitschmann; Dober had to return to Herrnhut to serve as Chief Elder of the Moravian community.  They built relationships with many of the slaves, but had limited success until several of the missionaries were arrested on trumped-up charges.  It was only after the slaves of St. Thomas saw that the slave masters treated the missionaries as badly as they did the slaves, and that the missionaries had the courage to stand against such abuse, that the missionary effort began to truly bear fruit.

This work on St. Thomas is generally regarded at the first missionary work to be organized by a Protestant denomination.  It’s very success, and the continued success of Moravian efforts around the world, lay in building relationships, demonstrating compassion, and winning hearts one at a time — much like Saint Patrick so many years before.

Today’s Christian Dominionists, who apparently believe in imposing their version of morality through theocratic laws, could take a lesson from Patrick and from David Nitschmann.  You don’t change hearts through force — either of arms or of law — you win them over by love and service.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick