Moral Courage in Crisis

My son loaned me the biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I knew of Bonhoeffer due to his book on discipleship. While I was aware of his death at the hands of the infamous Nazi regime I did not grasp his faith in God and how it led him to join the conspiracy to assassinate Adolph Hitler. As a person who claimed faith in Christ that might seem misguided. But when you learn the character and thought process of Bonhoeffer you begin to get your head around why he took the stance that he did in the face of unimaginable evil. It would be tempting for me to just be quietly opposed to the Nazi heresy but do my best to go unnoticed.

I respect Bonhoeffer's commitment to right and truth. Whatever he did was to be based upon whatever God was telling him to do. He would read the Scriptures to discern an answer to his prayer. While others either didn't understand his decision or disagreed with it once committed there was no turning back. Even before it was apparent to most Germans that Hitler was a nemesis to the country Bonhoeffer articulated the dangers with Hitler's antisemitism. Early on he recognized evil for evil's sake. While many Germans hailed Hitler was their "messiah" Bonhoeffer was able to see fraud & duplicity of the new regime. Isaiah 5:20 reads, "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter."

I have not finished the book but I know that Bonhoeffer died at the end of rope just weeks before the Allies liberated Germany. But he knew the risks. What is amazing to me knowing the stakes were high Bonhoeffer obeyed his conscience. There was no way he would stand by or join the army while Hitler slaughtered the Jews and anyone else who stood in his march for world dominance. With such a madman on the loose Bonhoeffer believed God had called him to join the conspiracy to assassinate the sadistic, psychopathic leader of the Third Reich. Most of us would shrink from this dangerous mission. Everyone must given an account to God. (Romans 14:12) But the question, "What would I have done?" keeps rolling over in my mind.

If presented in the modern context with such a dilemma what would I do? Evil exists in the world and will continue until Christ comes again. But what are God's people to do when an Adolph Hitler appears on the world stage? Do we simply run and hide? Do we hope and pray that everything will get better on its own? These thoughts and questions need to be asked. There are moments in history when people who call themselves Christians are required to work through these questions and reach the firm conviction to do the right thing.

Now when I think of Bonhoeffer the memorable moment when Mordecai challenged Esther comes to mind. "And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"