Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) is known for his leadership role in the Confessing Church, efforts on behalf of peace and justice, opposition to antisemitism, and writings on theology and ethics that have been influential far beyond his German Lutheran context. He was was hanged by the Nazis on April 6, 1945 in the Flossenburg concentration camp. In addition to the quotes below, you can check out our Dietrich Bonhoeffer video series and other Dietrich Bonhoeffer Resources.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer quotations:
In normal life we hardly realize how much more we receive than
we give; life can be rich only with such realization. source: Letters
and Papers from Prison
To be silent does not mean to be inactive; rather it means to breathe
in the will of God, to listen attentively and be ready to obey. Meditating on the Word
It is not necessary that we should discover new ideas in our meditation.
It is sufficient, and far more important, if the Word, as we read
and understand it, penetrates and dwells within us. Life Together
When we come to a clearer and more sober estimate of our own limitations
and responsibilities, that makes it possible more genuinely to love
our neighbor. Letters and Papers…
There is not a place to which the Christian can withdraw from the
world, whether it be outwardly or in the sphere of the inner life.
Any attempt to escape from the world must sooner or later be paid
for with a sinful surrender to the world. Ethics
You have granted me many blessings; let me also accept what is
hard from your hand. Prayers from Prison
The first call which every Christian experiences is the call to
abandon the attachments of this world. The Cost of Discipleship
Earthly possessions dazzle our eyes and delude us into thinking
that they can provide security and freedom from anxiety. Yet all
the time they are the very source of anxiety. The Cost of Discipleship
The first service that one owes to others in the fellowship consists
of listening to them. Just as love of God begins with listening
to his word, so the beginning of love for our brothers and sisters
is learning to listen to them. Life Together
From God we hear the word: “If you want my goodness to stay
with you then serve your neighbor, for that is where God comes to
you.” In the anthology, No Rusty Swords
Judging others makes us blind, whereas love is illuminating. By
judging others, we blind ourselves to our own evil and to the grace
which others are just as entitled to as ourselves. The Cost of
Discipleship
I can no longer condemn or hate a brother [or sister] for whom
I pray, no matter how much trouble he causes me. His face that hitherto
may have been strange and intolerable to me is transformed through
intercession into the countenance of a brother for whom Christ
died. Life Together
We have learned a bit too late in the day that action springs not
from thought but from a readiness for responsibility. Letters and
Papers from Prison
Which of us has really admitted that God’s goodness can also
lead us into conflict. in anthology, No Rusty Swords
Our enemies are those who harbor hostility against us, not those
against whom we cherish hostility… As a Christian I am called
to treat my enemy as a brother and to meet hostility with love.
My behavior is thus determined not by the way others treat me, but
by the treatment I receive from Jesus. The Cost of Discipleship
So long as we eat our bread together, we shall have sufficient
even for the least. Not until one person desires to keep his own
bread for himself does hunger ensue. Life Together
In a world where success is the measure and justification of all
things, the figure of him who was sentenced and crucified remains
a stranger. Ethics
For the working class world, Christ seems to be settled with the
church and middle class society. Christology
The future and the hope for the middle class church lies in the
renewal of its lifeblood, which is only possible if the church succeeds
in winning the working class. Sanctum Communio
The believer is neither a pessimist nor an optimist. To be either
is illusory. The believer sees reality not in a certain light but
as it is, and believes only in God and God’s power towards
all and over all that is seen. (in No Rusty Swords)
There remains an experience of incomparable value . . . to see the great events of world history from below; from the perspective
of the outcast, the suspects, the maltreated, the powerless, the
oppressed, the reviled ---- in short, from the perspective of those
who suffer . . . to look with new eyes on matters great and small. Letters and Papers from Prison
Christianity stands or falls with its revolutionary protest against
violence, arbitrariness and pride of power and with its plea for
the weak. Christians are doing too little to make these points clear
rather than too much. Christendom adjusts itself far too easily
to the worship of power. Christians should give more offense, shock
the world far more, than they are doing now. Christian should take
a stronger stand in favor of the weak rather than considering first
the possible right of the strong. Sermon on II Cor. 12:9
There is no way to peace along the way to safety. For peace must
be dared. It is the great venture. Address at Fano
The followers of Christ have been called to peace. . . . And they
must not only have peace but also make it. And to that end they
renounce all violence and tumult. In the cause of Christ nothing
is to be gained by such methods. . . . His disciples keep the peace
by choosing to endure suffering themselves rather than inflict it
on others. They maintain fellowship where others would break it off. They renounce hatred and wrong. In so doing they over-come
evil with good, and establish the peace of God in the midst of a
world of war and hate. The Cost of Discipleship
