Cost of discipleship

One of the victims of the terrible Nazi regime in Germany was Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Protestant minister and theology professor whose writings have been widely acclaimed. Perhaps the most influential were his Letters and Papers from Prison published after his death, and one of his earlier books whose English translation is entitled The Cost of Discipleship. He was going against the common Protestant teaching of "cheap grace". Discipleship, he said, requires total commitment and one must be willing to pay the price.

That idea of course is not new. Jesus himself taught it: "If anyone come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me." To the Rich Young Man Jesus said, "If you will be perfect, go sell all your possessions and give the proceeds to the poor ... Then come and follow me".

It was in his writings from prison that Bonhoeffer coined a phrase that has since become famous. Referring to the unique role of Jesus as Savior of Mankind, he called Jesus "the man for others."

By changing its meaning, that phrase has since been used to describe what good Christians should be: men and women for others.

Bonhoeffer’s idea of discipleship was lofty and his intentions were sublime. Unfortunately the means he used were open to question. Seeing that the Nazi regime was evil (especially its anti-Semitism) Bonhoeffer joined a plot to kill Adolf Hitler. The plot failed. Bonhoeffer was arrested and hanged.

Catholic writers (including at least one nun) have praised Bonhoeffer for "having paid the cost of ciscipleship." Some have even gone so far as to declare him a martyr.

But would Jesus have approved of murder as one of the ways of becoming his disciple? Jesus had said, "If anyone strikes you in one cheek, offer him the other." Jesus could have destroyed his enemies. Instead he deliberately submitted to them and accepted death on the cross. Is it possible that this Jesus could also say, "Kill your enemies"?

As for martyrdom, the Christian martyrs suffered torture and death in witness to their faith that Jesus is the Savior of mankind and the Son of God. To be hanged for attempted murder is to be punished for the crime. It is not a way of witnessing to the truth of the Christian Faith.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer deserves praise for his doctrine on the cost of discipleship. And he must be admired for his courage. But we cannot approve of his choice of murder as a means for ending the Nazi regime.

Mahatma Gandhi was not a Christian. But his passive non-violent resistance to British tyranny was more in keeping with Christian principles than is the plot to assassinate a tyrant. Also, Gandhi’s non-violent opposition was far more effective. It eventually succeeded in toppling the mighty British empire.