The Bonhoeffer dilemma: Sanctification as the increasing awareness of moral chaos

Abstract

Dietrich Bonhoeffer's pursuit of a sanctified life took a significant detour from the way in which he thought it would proceed. In seeking ‘good’ moral choices in the crucible of Nazi Germany, Bonhoeffer experienced a profound sense of what we now would recognise as moral injury, which proves to be a powerful and reflexive lens with which to examine his understanding of sanctification. Initially embracing pacifism as a fundamental pillar of Christian life, Bonhoeffer eventually became convinced that there are no pure or ‘right’ moral choices, only competing ‘wrong’ ones. He later wrote from prison that to be like Christ, and to come closer to holiness, was not to seek to avoid guilt, but to take on guilt for the sake of others. This recontextualisation of the idea of sanctification through the lens of Christ's substitutionary guilt suggests that for the responsible actor moral injury may be inevitable.

The interface between liturgy and moral decision-making in defiance of cognitive distortions that underlie corruption

“…with an emphasis on everyday life, 7 which brings people back to reality and daily liturgy. We are always bound to life, certainly including the moral decisions to be made there (Powers 2020:161, Bonhoeffer 2009:169 and Van Gelder 2007.…”