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”
Both of these men are heroes to me, but I choose Athanasius for going first and setting an example for Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
Both of these choices are heroes of the faith, so I had a tough choice. Like Chris, I'm choosing Athanasius because he's a forerunner of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, whose voice is much needed in the current political climate. I too hope that Dietrich moves forward to claim the Golden Halo.
Several years ago, I read Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas. Up to that point, I didn't know much about Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Since then, I've had a soft spot in my heart for him. I hope Bonhoeffer wins the Golden Halo. He deserves it.
Both are so inspiring-- I went with DB, though. I wonder if at the end of Lent Madness the SEC would be able to compile a "for further reading (and viewing and listening)" list based on the suggestions in the comments and blog posts. It might really help with LMW, too.
My closest friend in graduate school had taken the monastic name of Dietrich in honor of Bonhoeffer. He introduced me to Bonhoeffer, who is an inspiration. And while Athanasius was a great defender of orthodoxy, that seems less vital than Bonhoeffer's ministry and resistance. So, while I almost always vote for the earlier saint in such matchups, my vote honors both Bonhoeffer's witness, and the memory of my dear friend Brother Dietrich.
I have to go with Bonhoeffer, a modern day saint and martyr for the faith. I had relatives that fought on both sides of WWII, cousins vs cousins. I am proud that someone like Bonhoeffer was able to stand up to the evil that was happening at that time. Faith put into practice. We need more modern day examples like him to strengthen the church.
I went with Athanasius, as he made Bonhoeffer's faith and writings possible.
I will always vote for St. Athanasius, the who defended and upheld of our True Faith, even when what seemed like the entire world was against him.
I have such a hard time relating to the early saints because I do not have any concept of the life and cultures they lived in. Dietrich lived in history I can relate to, terrible as it was.
He lived at a most evil time and died for the truth of the Gospel.
So he gets my vote
I peeked at the results so far and saw that Bonhoeffer, (a true man of God if there ever was one, and one to emulate for sure,) is far ahead, so I cast my vote for Athanasius. Every day of the week I repeat one creed or another, but both affirm that which Athanasius fought so hard for. In a way, it fits in with my favorite verse Psalm 19:14. It is the words of my mouth that precede my actions. The words matter.
Another difficult match-up.
Bonhoeffer was martyred in what today would be considered his youth, even if 39 was considered middle-aged in the 1940s. He was martyred by a Nazi system that was a unique and unparalleled manifestation of absolute evil.
Athanasius' contribution was to ensure the survival of Christianity down the centuries. While both Judaism and Islam were able to combine radical monotheism with a meaningful belief in a compassionate God, Christian attempts at radical monotheism have failed, leading either to a God so transcendent as to be uncaring or a god so immanent as to be not much of anything. The Christian notion of God-as-Trinity has given us a belief in a God who is Love at the core of God's very nature. For the promotion of this notion (and for rescuing Christianity from becoming an historical footnote), we can thank Athanasius.
Because Bonhoeffer did not have the opportunity to write a systematic theology. Different groups of Christians find different books by Bonhoeffer more appealing than others. (1) Conservative Christians, who have problems with the notion of grace in any event, like the Bonhoeffer of "The Cost of Discipleship", with his warnings about "cheap grace". (2) "Progressives" looking for a minimalist Christianity warm to the Bonhoeffer of the "Letters and Papers from Prison" with his musings about "religionless Christianity" and "a world come of age". (3) Those of us who like to explore the ongoing relevance of ancient Christian practices relate well to the Bonhoeffer of "Life Together". Truly, there's a Bonhoeffer for almost everyone.
Of course, Bonhoeffer has laboured under the handicap of his two recent biographies, the boring one by Eric Metaxas and the gossipy one by Charles Marsh, but nevertheless I assumed, before voting, that Bonhoeffer was the front-runner on this one.
On the ground that there probably wouldn't even be a Christianity without Athanasius, I voted for Athanasius. (But this was a tough match-up in a first round full of tough match-ups.)
Grammar correction: Please read the first sentence of the fourth paragraph as "Because Bonhoeffer did not have the opportunity to write a systematic theology, different groups of Christians find different books by Bonhoeffer more appealing than others."
Athanasius looks a bit like a Gloomy Gus to me. Love the creed, but Dietrich is one of those rare modern Christians that acts like one. Kierkegaard would have approved.
This was very difficult! Without Athanasius Bonhoeffer would not have had the faith he died for. But I finally voted for Bonhoeffer who seems to have "channeled " the faithful and courageous spirit of Athanasius in the 20th century.
What a difficult decision. Both are worthy of a golden halo. Expecting Athanasius to be behind, he won my vote.
Our modern world gives us so few persons of abiding faith who are willing to risk all for the truth. Bonhoeffer is such a person.
I voted for Athanasius because he just never gave up.
My mum wanted to vote for Bonhoeffer because he lived out his faith with such love, and in such a short time, but Mum said I could choose.
Bonhoeffer has no faith to stand on without Athanasius. "A" always comes before "B".
I have Athanasius penciled in as my personal choice for the Golden Halo this year, but I knew he would be a very long shot having observed LM voters tendencies. This Doctor of the Church is arguably the most important theologian in the history of Christianity. Any of us who believe what we say in the Nicene Creed owe something to Athanasius. He stood up to the imperial powers of his day and suffered for it. He befriended the earliest monks and advocated for forms of counter-cultural resistance to Constantinian state religion. In a time and place when heresies are rampant within Christianity (I'm thinking of both liberal and conservative American Christianity in particular), we need Athanasius's model. Of course, we also need Bonhoeffer's model. The Cost of Discipleship and On the Incarnation are both essential Christian reading.
Abigail: Hard choices here. Good for you in your reasoning to support Athanasius. I think of him too when we all say the Creed together. I went with Dietrich Bonhoeffer because he could have remained in safety, and chose to return to Germany, knowing that he would be at risk. That is another way of never giving up. 🙂
Bonhoeffer, thought provoking theological writing and at the last he had to endure imprisonment and death but for most of his life he was a spoiled "kid", dependent on his parents and other family members, even his friends. He almost required his friends and students to admire him. So I guess in voting for Athanasius, I was voting against Bonhoeffer, een though I am a staunch Lutheran.
As "spoiled" as Bonhoeffer may have been ( he grew up in a family of non-practicing "Lutherans), none the less he was drawn to theology and ultimately to true faith. We will never know what he may have devloped into as a "confessing" Christian, since his life was cut short by an evil regime. I always find it interesting that God is a God of paradox, often using the least of us (the spoiled included) to have a profound impact on the world. God seems to prefer using flawed human beings to have a major impact in the world. In the untimely death of Bonhoeffer, God chose this flawed human being to have a profound affect on Christian faith.
I probably should have voted for Athanasius: after all, without his persistence we would probably all be groaning and marveling to find ourselves Arian. And his "Life of Antony" is a key writing for the history of monasticism. But I had to go with Dietrich, that wonderful theologian, ethicist, ecumenist, reformer of the church, lover of music and martyr, who dared to stand in the name of Christ and at the cost of his life against the most horrible and monstrous tyranny and aberration of our own day.
The Golden Halo would be well worn by both of these Christian brothers.
This was a tough matchup- I could have voted for either saint under different conditions. But Bonhoeffer takes the day. His witness inspires and uplifts, an example of triumph over the tragedy of Nazi era Germany.
Athanasius -- I'll just say it right here--no Athanasius then there would be no Bonhoeffer. So I have to lean towards the former theologian. On the other hand, a difficult match up ---remember, although Bonhoeffer didn't write the Barman Declaration, there was the heresy of German theology at his time that bears some similarities to the heresies of Athanasius's time. Much to consider here.