Bonhoeffer: The Controversy
If you have picked up a recent biography of Bonhoeffer, it was likely Eric Metaxas’ 2009 biography, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy, which has sold over a million copies. Despite the similarity in names, the 2024 film is not based on Metaxas’ biography; however, they have been criticized together by Bonhoeffer scholars and Bonhoeffer family members who accuse both works of historical inaccuracies and irresponsible portrayals of Bonhoeffer’s life and legacy. Particularly, family members are concerned that this new movie will be a call to right-wing political violence, which they say Bonhoeffer—a pacifist—would not have advocated.
Part of this criticism is fair: there are historical inaccuracies in the 2024 film, such as Bonhoeffer’s involvement in Operation 7 and the extent of his involvement in the attempt to assassinate Hitler (scholars debate whether Bonhoeffer was actively involved or simply knew about the plot). However, accuracy of events alone is not the key to a responsible portrayal of Bonhoeffer. It is just as (if not more) important to understand what motivated Bonhoeffer and what animated his whole life: YHWH, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In a poem he wrote during his imprisonment at the end of his life entitled “Who Am I?”, Bonhoeffer gives his ultimate answer to his own definition: “Whoever I am, Thou knowest, O God, I am thine!” (Emphasis added.)
Bonhoeffer: The Man of God
Understanding Bonhoeffer primarily as a serious Christian—and not primarily as an assassin, prophet, pastor, or even martyr—also addresses the other point of criticism: that this film misuses Bonhoeffer’s legacy to incite political violence. Bonhoeffer spent much of his life trying to answer the question, what does it mean to follow God? In The Cost of Discipleship, he stressed that no one receives God’s saving and sanctifying grace without receiving God. Discipleship does not exist separate from Jesus Christ and the cross, and any “grace” that we receive apart from faith is no grace at all, but only self-deception. When we are called to follow, we are called to follow a particular person: Jesus Christ. “Grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate” is cheap grace; true grace—costly grace—gives “the only true life.”1
Bonhoeffer knew that the thing that differentiates Christianity from other religions is not its moral code; Christians are not the only “good people” in the world, nor are they the only ones who have the courage to stand up to evil and fight for justice, peace, and love. Rather, the thing that differentiates Christianity is the person of Jesus Christ—through him alone we have hope. Bonhoeffer states, “Jesus is the only significance. Beside Jesus nothing has any significance. He alone matters.”2 When we are called to follow Christ, everything in our lives and ourselves is transformed. Our call to discipleship is God’s grace, and this grace allows us to do things we couldn’t have done before.3 As Bonhoeffer says in the film, “Every act of courage carries a cost,” and the cost is real—but the treasure is beyond price (Matthew 13:44-46, NIV).
Bonhoeffer: The Call
While Bonhoeffer is a call to action, it is neither the call that its critics feared, nor is it exactly the call that we need. Despite the critics’ claims, Bonhoeffer does not lean heavily towards the Right. Its call is one for compassion and justice, especially towards those suffering the effects of anti-Semitism. But the call that is needed in every generation, including ours, is not a call to compassion. It is not a call to peace or justice. It is not a call to support any one earthly leader, pastor, party, or movement. The call we need is the call: Follow me. Not just for “outsiders,” Christ calls us all continually. Bonhoeffer states that true grace—costly grace—is “the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ.”4 Christ alone gives hope, justice, and peace. If we want real change in the world, we must first be changed. If we are truly changed (and being changed), we will be the change in the world—but we can’t give what we don’t have.
However, Bonhoeffer may not lead the average viewer to this conclusion. Sermons account for several scenes in the film, but none of them discuss Scripture, preferring instead to discuss the political context. Bonhoeffer’s emphasis on political intrigue and dubious moral actions leaves the viewer with the impression that Bonhoeffer himself was just the first, loudest voice to protest the systemic racism in 1930s Germany—and that any moral person in the same position could have done the same. This makes Bonhoeffer’s final return to Germany—when he knew that such a return would almost certainly lead to imprisonment and possibly death—seem like the ill-considered whim of an arrogant young pastor. Without enough emphasis on Bonhoeffer’s internal, spiritual life, “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… Rather than depicting a man of deep theological convictions and subtle intellect.”5
Ultimately, the most responsible way to understand and employ Bonhoeffer’s legacy is to begin (or continue) seriously asking the same questions that he did: What does it mean to follow Christ? What is true faith? What is the church? How can I respond to God’s call? Each of us will have a different way of asking (and answering) these questions. Perhaps some will read Life Together or The Cost of Discipleship, while others will take these questions as journal or discussion prompts. Still others may simply rewatch the movie while asking how Bonhoeffer’s actions reflected Christ. Regardless of your approach, it is important to ask these questions, think through the implications, and verify your opinions. As we see in politics of whatever time, ideas and worldviews have consequences. For the sake of our parents, ourselves, and our children, it is vital to pursue, embrace, and respond to the Truth.
By Elizabeth Ji