In the last battle of a madcap week of Lent Madness, it's two spiritual giants facing off in the first round. Not fair to pit Dietrich Bonhoeffer against Athanasius so early in the Madness? Perhaps. But remember...life, like Lent Madness, is not fair.
Yesterday, Albert Schweitzer soundly defeated Lawrence 60% to 40% to advance to the Saintly Sixteen against Methodius.
As we will soon enter another 48 hours without voting, please remember these 10 tips to surviving Lent Madness Withdrawal. We know it's not easy and that LMW is real. But it all returns on Monday morning as Vida Dutton Scudder takes on F.D. Maurice. The first round concludes next Wednesday then it's on to the Saintly Sixteen starting Thursday. Hang on to your Lenten-themed-purple-bramble-infused hats!
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born in 1906 and was raised in a home that valued education. He earned a doctorate in theology in 1927 from the University of Berlin at the age of twenty-one. Bonhoeffer also studied at Union Theological Seminary in New York City from 1930 to1931. While in New York, he began attending the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, where he enjoyed both sound theological doctrine and rich examples of Christian life lived for the sake of the world. As the Nazi party was gaining notoriety and power in Germany, many of Bonhoeffer’s friends urged him to stay in the United States rather than return to Germany, but he opted to go home.
Upon his return to Germany, Bonhoeffer accepted a position as lecturer in systematic theology at the University of Berlin. He also began teaching confirmation classes for adolescent males in a Berlin slum. When Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933, Bonhoeffer became a leading spokesman for the center of Protestant resistance to the Nazis, the Confessing Church. He spoke out not just about Hitler’s dictatorship but also against his program of genocide and the Jewish Holocaust. Bonhoeffer helped organize the underground seminary of the Confessing Church.
In his book, The Cost of Discipleship, Bonhoeffer notes, “Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline. Communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ.”
In 1939, Bonhoeffer’s brother-in-law introduced him to a group planning to overthrow Hitler. Because of this affiliation, in April, 1943, just after becoming engaged to be married, Bonhoeffer was arrested and taken to prison. Later he was moved to a concentration camp at Flossenbürg. On April 9, 1945, just days before the American army would liberate Flossenbürg, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was hanged at the age of thirty-nine.
Pastor, theologian, poet, and courageous truth-teller: Bonhoeffer’s passion for living his faith fueled his political stance and cost him his life. Through his prolific writings, he continues to serve as a prophetic and inspiring voice for the Church.
Collect for Dietrich Bohoeffer
Gracious God, in every age you have sent men and women who have given their lives in witness to your love and truth. Inspire us with the memory of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, whose faithfulness led to the way of the cross, and give us courage to bear full witness with our lives to your Son’s victory over sin and death, for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Athanasius
Athanasius was Bishop of Alexandria in the late third and early fourth centuries. He is remembered as a fierce defender of Christian orthodoxy, most especially in campaigning against the nontrinitarian Arian heresy that was widespread in Egypt during his episcopate.
Athanasius attended the Council of Nicaea in 325 as the secretary to his bishop, Alexander. One of Alexander’s priests, Arius, had begun spreading doctrinal views different from his bishop. After debate, the council promulgated a creed, which proclaimed that Jesus was coeternal with God the Father and begotten, not made, from the same substance. Shortly after the close of the council, Alexander died, and Athanasius was chosen as Bishop of Alexandria, despite the opposition of heretical factions in Alexandria.
Athanasius faced the brunt of the reprisals from the factions that had opposed his defense of Nicene Christianity, and he was deposed as bishop and exiled five times during his seventeen-year episcopate. During his exile he went as far afield as Trier in present-day Germany, to Rome, out into the Egyptian desert, and to his father’s tomb. He ran afoul of four Roman emperors in his defense of Christian orthodoxy. For his persistent witness and stubbornness in defense of orthodoxy, Athanasius acquired the moniker Athanasius Contra Mundum–Athanasius against the world.
In his most famous work, De Incarnatione, Athanasius argues how God the Word, by the incarnation, inspires, restores, and perfects the image of humanity out of a desire that all people should be in union with God the Father. What may seem to many like a mere point of doctrine was, for Athanasius, at the core of the gospel itself: that God desires the reconciliation of all humanity unto himself, and that reconciliation is made possible through the incarnation, in the person of Jesus Christ.
For his passionate defense of Christian orthodoxy, and the life-giving nature of his writings and proclamation of the gospel, Athanasius is remembered around the Christian world.
Collect for Athanasius
Uphold your Church, O God of truth, as you upheld your servant Athanasius, to maintain and proclaim boldly the catholic faith against all opposition, trusting solely in the grace of your eternal Word, who took upon himself our humanity that we might share his divinity; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
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207 comments on “Dietrich Bonhoeffer vs. Athanasius”
My mother grew up in Saint Athanasius Parish in Philadelphia. It took me a very long time to learn how to say that word instead of copping out with Saint A's like most people did. When I saw the match up, I knew it was St. A until I read the biographies. I LOVE Lent Madness! I love learning about two holy people each day. I say the Collect out loud. There are so many match ups that are difficult. Today is one of them. So....St. Athanasius still gets my vote, in memory of my mother who has been gone for seven years. My heart is a Trinitarian heart so I love that too. He is an underdog So I can vote for Bonhoeffer next round.
I voted for Bonhoeffer because he tried to do something to resist the Nazi & stood up against Hitler.
The Creed of St. Athanasius can be found in the BCP, and while its much too long to recite every Sunday, its interesting to know why it was written.
In week 22 of EfM currently -- part of the common reading being the essential character of the two Dogmas of Triune Deity and the fully human, fully divine Word of the incarnation.
I'll vote for Athanasius, especially having learned that the Creed given his name is a pseudopigrapha composed in Latin, in Western Europe a few centuries later. I could not vote for whoever wrote those anathemas in that Creed. Bonhoeffer will just have to wait. (or, since I've been adept at voting against the grain -- Athanasius will).
This has been the hardest one yet. I finally had to go with Athanasius - when I was studying for ordination exams, I wrote the creed of St. Athanasius over and over by hand....both are heroes for me.
Figuring I have future opportunities to vote for Bonhoffer, I supported Athanasius today because he suffered greatly for defending the Christian orthodoxy we can thankfully take for granted today. Would I stand my ground against all he encountered?
I muse in wonder if its a hidden or purposeful pun that both Saints go up against Aryanism/Arianism today.
That being said, I had to go with Athanasius, without him there probably wouldn't be saints because it was through his dedication and council that Christianity survived through it's infancy with the views of mercy that resonant to the current day. I had to go with the subtle voice today.
Brilliant!! Aryanism and Arianism--I wish I'd thought of that!! Hahaha!
Just to clarify on Bonhoeffer, the plan was to "assassinate" Hitler which would "overthrow" him obviously. Bonhoeffer has always been a hero for me but today Athanasius gets my vote for his fidelity to keeping the gospel for future generations.
DB is my hero and we read his name at Grace Medford every All Saint's Sunday!
What a whitewash of Athanasius. I wonder how many people died due to his codifying the unimaginable into a rigid framework, resulting an a hypoxic atmosphere that replaces faith with a laundry list of 'correct' beliefs. We've been suffering ever since. And few have suffered more than Bonhoeffer, whom Athanasius would no doubt have considered a heretic.
I like it, David!
Well said, David!
With these difficult match ups, I remind myself that it's okay, they're all saints-they'll understand. My vote goes for Bonhoeffer because he inspires me to be brave and resilient when the world around me seems to have gone off the rails. I also share an appreciation for African American Gospel.
I read "The Cost of Discipleship" in college, not in a course, but because a friend gave it to me and said, "You must read this!" Another gave me "A Diary of a Young Girl," by Anne Frank and said the same thing. That was in 1952. How protected we Americans were from what had gone on in Nazi Germany. That someone with his courage and his conviction spoke out and took action, risking his life in doing so, still astounds me. I vote for Dietrich and hope he goes all the way to the Golden Halo.
I have always been troubled by this notion of cheap grace- grace is and what we do with the reality of it transforms our lives, but it seems to me grace just is.
While I love my church, my Bible and my creed ... none of which we would have without the sacrifice and tireless efforts of the early saints, I struggle with words like strict adherence to doctrine and orthodoxy ... knowing that all too quickly the persecuted used that doctrine to become the persecutors. I feel no such qualms when I look at Mr. Bonhoeffer ... only sadness that he died so young and so close to rescue.
Alas, poor Athanasuis! Perhaps I should have voted for him, since, Church Nerd that I am, I actually won a round of "Stump the Vestry" one evening, because I had actually discovered his creed, tucked away in the back corners of the BCP! But my fondness for Dietrich Bonhoeffer is too deep and long held, and so I voted for him.
This was an easy choice, in that Athanasius is the only Episcopalian in the pair.
To fight for truth... against the populist thinking of the day... wins the day for me. In an age full of shallow populist thinking, and little depth, the courage of an Athanasius sounds a distant, but important, bell.
I intended to vote for Athanasius, but ended up casting my vote for Bonhoeffer instead. In the light of today's political atmosphere, I thought he might be good inspiration to reflect upon. I do love me some early church fathers though! Tough one for me today.
Lenten Madness is not fair. Bonhoeffer is the man for today.
So many good, well thought out statements here. I will go with Bonhoefferfor all the reasons stated above. The plight of all those sent to die in Nazi concentration camps has always taken my breath away. It has challenged me to live out my beliefs, though how I really would have acted if faced with the horrible prospect of Nazi concentration torture, I cannot say. Bonhoeffer showed such calm assurance in his faith during those times, that I am just overwhelmed. Bonhoeffer for the Golden Halo!
Bonhoeffer, and anyone who stands up to the oppressors of their times, is my kind of Saint.
Bonhoeffer could have safely remained in the US but chose to return to his homeland to do what he could to fight the coming horrors. Rather like Jesus in the garden wanting to have the cup taken away but going on to meet his destiny. That's what Dietrich did too. May we all have that kind of courage!
When I was in high school and newly serious about Christian faith, someone handed me Bonhoeffer's "Cost of Discipleship." Over 40 years later, I still have that heavily underlined copy full of marginal notes. But what has stayed with me even more are his explorations into new ways of imagining and living Christian faith in "Letters and Papers from Prison." There is the searing honesty of his poem, "Who am I?" http://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2014/09/bonhoeffers-who-am-i/; his imagining of a "this-worldly Christianity" that would engage the realities of life fully as the place where Christ is to be found, and, for me, above all, the insight that "God is the Beyond in the midst of life." If Athanasius helped establish and preserve the doctrine of the Incarnation, Bonhoeffer re-framed it for the 20th and 21st centuries.
Wow, thanks, Jack!
Great write up, David. This was another match up that I hated, but went for Athanasius. The struggle against heresy should be so strong today. And yes, he must have been an Episcopalian - so many words.
"Love"!
I voted for Athanasius because he believed in the power of reincarnation, and the faith of humanity
Do you mean "Incarnation" rather than "reincarnation"?
Thank you for voting Sarah.
Without Athanasius we'd be confounding the Persons and/or dividing the Substance all over the place. In fact, both heresies are alive and kicking.
Understanding "cheap grace" and striving to live according to it's clear-cut meaning enables me to "try harder" when I recite the Nicene Creed during Holy Communion and the Baptismal Covenant. Bonhoeffer refined this when he visited and then served at Harlem's Abyssinian Baptist Church and then made the choice to return to Germany during the rise of Hitler's regime...he could have remained in America. When the guards came to lead him to the scaffold to be hanged, Bonhoeffer's last words were: "This is the end for me...the beginning of life." Blog on !
Tough call for me today but had to go with Bonhoeffer. I admire his courage and strength in his beliefs in the face of the Beast.
I vote for Dietrich B because his writings inspired me. I have never read Athanasius' writings.
I votes for Bonhoeffer because like Jesus he gave his life for the gospel and the life of God's people.
Tough choice today. But Bonhoeffer's joining a group to "overthrow" Hitler was in fact to assassinate him, not something that I would agree with. I've read much of his writings and do appreciate them, though. However, Athanasius wins the day for me. His support of trinitarian orthodoxy was critical for his time and for the future of the church. And his "Life of St. Antony" is one of my favorite spiritual classics.
Frustrating that this makes the fourth day that I've left a comment and elected to receive new posts by email and nothing happens! Perhaps a change from WordPress is in order?
I've left many comments that have not elicited responses. I chalked it up to my words not being terrible noteworthy, not a fault of WordPress.
That's not my problem. I don't care if folks reply to my comments at all. It is that I always tick the box "Notify me of new posts by email" but it is not working. I'd like to receive all comments by email. Something is broken with WordPress. I've tried this numerous times over the course of the past ten days. Nothing.
Spam blocker, perhaps?
Nope. Wish it was!
I tried this the other day. I received an email (I believe in my junk mail) asking me to confirm this choice. That appears to be what makes it work. Also, the comment emails may show up in your junk mail.
Whether the pun was accidental or purposeful, it is impressive. Thank you for pointing that out!
I second that emotion. I remember learning Bonhoeffer's story as a kid in church some 40-plus years ago, and I have always considered him to be one of the true saints of our age. It's Bonhoeffer all the way for me.
Thanks, Jack.
Quoting Martin Niemöller, Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “In Germany they came first for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up.” Just exactly when do we act against someone like Adolf Hitler who was in league with Satan himself! In any case, Bonhoeffer play only a minor role in Die Schwarze Kapelle and was only peripherally involved in the assassination attempt. He was executed anyway, along with dozens of other people!
One of my favorite quotes. This my most difficult choice but I have to go with Bonhoeffer who was a blessed example of what that quote stood for.