Bonhoeffer

I've been reading the new biography on Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas. Its really well done and reads like a thriller. Bonhoeffer has long been a hero of mine, and have been greatly influenced by his writings on discipleship and community.

One new thing that I learned was the influence that the black church in America had on his faith. It basically transformed his faith from mere intellectual assent into a vibrant dynamism. When he returned to Germany from the U.S., everyone noticed this difference in him.

It is amazing to me, that the faith of a persecuted minority, would ignite someone like Bonhoeffer , who would go on to lead a powerful counter movement of resistance to the most tyrannical power of the 20th Century.

God used the plight of african americans to transform a privileged German clergyman, who in turn would not silence the cries of his jewish brothers and sisters. I pray and hope that this kind of transformation can continue on in our day - that we might hear the cries of the persecuted, and this in turn will ignite within us a fire to end all injustice everywhere.