Category Archives: Europe

Columba — June 9

Europe, Forerunners (33-1226)

Bible connection

Praise the Lord from the earth,
    you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,
lightning and hail, snow and clouds,
    stormy winds that do his bidding,
you mountains and all hills,
    fruit trees and all cedars,
wild animals and all cattle,
    small creatures and flying birds,
kings of the earth and all nations,
    you princes and all rulers on earth,
young men and women,
    old men and children.

Let them praise the name of the Lord,
    for his name alone is exalted;
    his splendor is above the earth and the heavens. — Psalm 148:7-13

All about Columba (521-597)

Columba (also Colmcille) still appeals to our imaginations almost fifteen hundred years after his death. He is credited with bringing Christianity to Scotland. He was not only a great leader, he had a big imagination that resulted in an outbreak of Celtic art we still admire. He also had a big voice and might have sang his own version of today’s psalm, since the Celtic church had a deep respect of God’s presence in creation and Columba, no doubt, met the Lord on his many daring sea voyages and missionary journeys.

He was born in Ireland, on December 7, 521 A.D. to Fedhlimidh and Eithne in Donegal (Northern Ireland). He was of “royal blood,” and might have become High King of Ireland had he not devoted his life to the church.

As a young man, Columba joined the monastery at Moville, and was ordained a deacon by the famous and influential Finnian. After studying with a bard called Gemman, Columba was ordained a priest, and then became bishop in Clonfad. Columba entered the monastery of Mobhi Clarainech and trained with the others who became “the twelve apostles of Ireland.” When disease forced the disbanding of that monastery, Columba went north and founded the church of Derry.

Tradition has it that after founding several other monasteries, Columba copied Finnian’s psalter (or was it a precious copy of the Latin Vulgate? — 6th century history was not fastidiously collected). He did this without the permission of Finnian, and thus devalued the book and broke with common decency. When Finnian took the matter to High King Dermott for judgment, Dermott judged in favor of Finnian, stating “to every cow its calf; to every book its copy” (the first copyright law!). Columba refused to hand over the copy, claiming that his converts deserved the scripture. King Dermott forced the issue militarily. Columba’s family and clan defeated Dermott at the battle of Cooldrevny in 561.

Tradition further holds that Molaisi of Devenish, Columba’s spiritual father, ordered Columba to bring the same number of souls to Christ that he had caused to die as penance.

For his theft and the deaths it caused, a penitent Columba exiled himself from Ireland. He settled at the first place where his homeland could no longer be seen across the sea. With twelve companions he started a new life, founding a monastery on the island of Iona in the year 563. They lived as Celtic monks in a community of separate cells. But Columba and his companions combined their contemplative life with extraordinary missionary activity.

Among his many accomplishments, Columba was a splendid sailor. He sailed among the islands of Scotland and traveled deep inland, making converts and founding churches. In Ireland, it is said, he had already founded a hundred churches. In Scotland he is credited with converting the Picts, including a journey to witness to the King during which he thwarted the Loch Ness monster (see more below).

Columba and the Loch Ness monster, found in British Library

Of all the Celtic saints in Scotland, Columba’s life is the best documented, because manuscripts of the Life of Columba, written by Adamnan, one of his early successors as abbot of Iona, have survived.

Columba was a poet as well as a man of action. Some of his poems in both Latin and Gaelic have come down to us, and they reveal him to be very sensitive to the beauty of his surroundings, as well as, in Adamnan’s phrase, “gladdened in his inmost heart by the joy of the Holy Spirit.”

He died on June 9 in the year 597.

More

Rod’s Columba the Creative Sufferer [link]

Dramatic video about Columba on Iona [link]

Columba (and others) and the Book of Kells [Part 1 link] [Part 2 link]

What do we do with this?

Columba might have been king if he had not been serious about Jesus. He might have been a powerful church man in Ireland if he hadn’t put himself on the wrong side of the law and started a war!

Maybe you wish you had never followed Jesus. Maybe you wish you had not done the wrong things you did. Maybe Jesus can use you anyway, starting on whatever little island you find yourself today, despite the desires and enemies that threaten to dominate your life. Consider what would happen if your future were in God’s hands (since it is).

Hudson Taylor — June 3

Asia, Europe, The Modern Era (1227-1936)

Bible connection

Don’t you know that those who serve in the temple get their food from the temple, and that those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.

But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me, for I would rather die than allow anyone to deprive me of this boast. For when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me. — 1 Corinthians 9:13-17

All about Hudson Taylor (1832-1905)

In 1853 a small boat left Liverpool with Hudson Taylor on board, a gaunt and wild-eyed 21-year-old missionary. He was headed for a country that was just coming into the European/American Christian consciousness: China. By the time Taylor died a half-century later, China was viewed as the most fertile and challenging mission field of all and thousands volunteered annually to serve there.

Taylor was born to a Methodist couple fascinated by the “Far East” who had prayed for their newborn, “Grant that he may work for you in China.” Years later, a teenage Hudson experienced a spiritual birth during an intense time of prayer in which, as he later put it, life stretched out “before Him with unspeakable awe and unspeakable joy.” He felt called to China. He spent the next years in frantic preparation, learning the rudiments of medicine, studying Mandarin, and immersing himself ever deeper into the Bible and prayer.

His ship arrived in Shanghai, one of five “treaty ports” China had opened to foreigners following its first Opium War with England. Almost immediately Taylor made a radical decision (as least for Protestant missionaries of the day): he decided to dress in Chinese clothes and grow a pigtail (as Chinese men did). His fellow Protestants were either incredulous or critical.

Taylor, for his part, was not happy with most missionaries he saw; he believed they were “worldly” and spent too much time with English businessmen and diplomats who needed their services as translators. Instead, Taylor wanted the Christian faith taken to the interior of China. So within months of arriving, and the native language still a challenge, Taylor, along with Joseph Edkins, set off for the interior, setting sail down the Huangpu River distributing Chinese Bibles and tracts.

When the Chinese Evangelization Society, which had sponsored Taylor, proved incapable of paying its missionaries in 1857, Taylor resigned and became an independent missionary; trusting God to meet his needs. In 1861, he became seriously ill (probably with hepatitis) and was forced to return to England to recover. In England, the restless Taylor continued translating the Bible into Chinese (a work he’d begun in China), studied to become a midwife, and recruited more missionaries. Troubled that people in England seemed to have little interest in China, he wrote China: Its Spiritual Need and Claims. In one passage, he scolded, “Can all the Christians in England sit still with folded arms while these multitudes [in China] are perishing—perishing for lack of knowledge—for lack of that knowledge which England possesses so richly?”

Taylor became convinced that a special organization was needed to evangelize the interior of China. He made plans to recruit 24 missionaries: two for each of the 11 unreached inland provinces and two for Mongolia. It was a visionary plan that would have left veteran recruiters breathless: it would increase the number of China missionaries by 25 percent. He was wracked with doubt about the dangers his plan presented. But at the same time he despaired for the millions of Chinese who were dying without the hope of the gospel. While walking along the beach on day, his gloom lifted:

“There the Lord conquered my unbelief, and I surrendered myself to God for this service. I told him that all responsibility as to the issues and consequences must rest with him; that as his servant it was mine to obey and to follow him.”

His new mission, which he called the China Inland Mission (CIM), had a number of distinctive features, including this: its missionaries would have no guaranteed salaries nor could they appeal for funds; they would simply trust God to supply their needs; furthermore, its missionaries would adopt Chinese dress and then press the gospel into the China interior. Within a year of his breakthrough, Taylor, his wife and four children, and 16 young missionaries sailed from London to join five others already in China working under Taylor’s direction.

Taylor continued to make enormous demands upon himself. He was accused of being a tyrant and people left for other missions. Yet by 1876, with 52 missionaries, CIM constituted one-fifth of the missionary force in China. Because there continued to be so many Chinese to reach, Taylor instituted another radical policy: he sent unmarried women into the interior, a move criticized by many veterans. But Taylor’s boldness knew no bounds. In 1881, he asked God for another 70 missionaries by the close of 1884: he got 76. In late 1886, Taylor prayed for another 100 within a year: by November 1887, he announced 102 candidates had been accepted for service.

His leadership style and high ideals created enormous strains between the London and China councils of the CIM. London thought Taylor autocratic; Taylor said he was only doing what he thought was best for the work, and then demanded more commitment from others:

“China is not to be won for Christ by quiet, ease-loving men and women,” …“The stamp of men and women we need is such as will put Jesus, China, [and] souls first and foremost in everything and at every time—even life itself must be secondary.”

Taylor’s grueling work pace, despite poor health, ended up with a breakdown in 1900. He also lost his wife and four of his eight children by living like the Chinese. Between his work ethic and his absolute trust in God (despite never soliciting funds, his CIM grew and prospered), he inspired thousands to forsake the comforts of the West to bring the Christian message to the vast and unknown interior of China. Though mission work in China was interrupted by the communist takeover in 1949, the CIM continues to this day under the name Overseas Missionary Fellowship (International).

More

Four-minute YouTube bio [link]

Chinese pilgrimage to Barnsley, birthplace of Hudson Taylor [link]

What do we do with this?

What do you think of Taylor’s passion for evangelism? In some ways he was strikingly anticolonial. In some ways he was self-destructively obsessive. What do you do with that? What do you think God thinks of Hudson Taylor?

The Lord’s mission also ended in Jesus’ “untimely” death. Do you think we are called to imitate him in some way?

Are you aware of a people group who need to hear the truth about Jesus? Are you called to do anything about that?

Mechthild of Magdeburg — May 28

Europe, The Modern Era (1227-1936)
Sculptor: Peter Paul Metz, 1896. Church of Gordian and Epimachus, Merazhofen, Germany

Bible connection

It is necessary to boast; nothing is to be gained by it, but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord.  I know a person in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows.  And I know that such a person—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows —  was caught up into paradise and heard things that are not to be told, that no mortal is permitted to repeat.  On behalf of such a one I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses. But if I wish to boast, I will not be a fool, for I will be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think better of me than what is seen in me or heard from me,  even considering the exceptional character of the revelations.  — 2 Corinthians 12:1-7

All about Mechthild of Magdeburg (c. 1208-c. 1282/94)

Mechthild is the author of The Flowing Light of the Godhead. She is one of the best-known  beguines. For most of her adulthood, she lived in a communal house in Magdeburg (now in Germany). Women became beguines because they had the same aspirations that contributed to the founding of the Franciscans and Dominicans in the same era: the desire to return to the ideals of early Christianity and imitate more closely the lives of the apostles, to be unworldly while living in the world. Beguines were usually under the direction of a parish priest, but because of their similarities  to the Franciscan and Dominican communities, they often associated with them. They were regularly criticized for being loosely overseen and, as mysticism arose among them, were accused of being unorthodox.

In composing her book, Mechthild felt constrained to answer two questions. What gives a woman with no formal education, no special training in theology, and no place in an approved religious order the right to speak to on theological matters and sharply criticize the clergy? What’s more, by whose authority did she write, or why should she expect to be taken seriously?

The few facts we have of Mechthild’s life come from her own works and subsequent introductions to them. Her familiarity  with the literature of the German court places her from a noble lineage at some low or medium level. She says at age twelve she was “greeted” by the Holy Spirit. An infilling continued daily for over three decades. About 1230, as a twentysomething, she left home for a beguinage in Magdeburg. About 1250, in her forties, she revealed to her spiritual director, Heinrich of Halle, the spiritual favors she had been granted. He commanded her to write her book “out of God’s heart and mouth.” For the next ten years she completed five books. During the next ten years, she decided she was not finished and completed two more.

She finished the seventh book at the Cistercian community at Helfta, under the guidance  of its second abbess, Gertrud of Hackeborn. She retreated there about 1270. She became feeble and blind and needed to dictate the final chapters.

A manuscript of Flowering Light was discovered in 1861 in which the Low German vernacular of Mechthild (“low” means northern Germany) had been translated into the High German of Bavaria. Until then the main versions of her work derived from Latin translations by Dominicans in Halle sometime before 1298. In comparing the texts, scholars discovered the Latin translators toned down her criticism of the clergy and some of her erotic imagery. The later manuscript clarified some of her language which was obscure to people who were not Low German speakers from the 13th century.

Mechthild’s work has no antecedents or descendants. Most “revelations” of her time just reported what happened to the mystic. Mechthild uses her revelations as starting points for reflection. She uses every form of writing available in her time to express what the greetings mean:

  • Religious forms: the vision, hymn, sermon, spiritual instruction and tract, prayer, liturgy, litany, and prophecy.
  • Courtly forms: love poetry, allegorical dialogue, dialogue between lovers, the messenger’s song, and the exchange (Wechsel).
  • Other forms: autobiography, drama, epigrammatic poetry and wisdom literature, anecdote, letter, parody, nursery rhyme and polemics.

Love is the force that compels Mechthild to write. She is not coming up with a system of theology.

Quotes:

Prayer is naught else but a yearning of soul … it draws down the great God into the little heart; it drives the hungry soul up to the plenitude of God; it brings together these two lovers, God and the soul, in a wondrous place where they speak much of love.

The soul is made of love and must ever strive to return to love. Therefore, it can never find rest nor happiness in other things. It must lose itself in love. By its very nature it must seek God, who is love.

The day of my spiritual awakening was the day I saw and knew I saw all things in God and God in all things.

Stupidity is sufficient unto itself. Wisdom can never learn enough.

From suffering I have learned this: that whoever is sore wounded by love will never be made whole unless she embraces the very same love which wounded her.

More

The Flowing Light of the Godhead online. This version also available in print. [Goodreads]

Poems collected by the Poetry Foundation [link]

A meditation on her sayings [YouTube]

YouTube purveyor of esoterica spends 30 minutes on Mechthild to good end:

What do we do with this?

Use her poem as your prayer:

I cannot dance, O Lord,

Unless You lead me.
If You wish me to leap joyfully,
Let me see You dance and sing—
Then I will leap into Love—
And from Love into Knowledge,
And from Knowledge into the Harvest,

The sweetest Fruit beyond human sense.

There I will stay with You, whirling.

Consider how brave Mechthild was to leave her family and join a radical community. Consider how she felt the need to keep her spiritual life a secret for so long. Consider how she followed the command of her confessor and applied herself to writing her book. Consider how she broke with tradition and found her own voice, even when her kindred spirits came under criticism. Especially if you are a woman, enjoy the story of someone who got through a thick glass ceiling.

Bede — May 26

Europe, Forerunners (33-1226),
The Venerable Bede writing. Detail from a 12th century codex

Bible connection

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. — Hebrews 11:13

All about the Venerable Bede (c. 673-735)

“The Venerable Bede” died on this day in 735. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest Anglo-Saxon scholars. When he was seven, Bede was sent to Benedict Biscop at the monastery of St. Peter at Wearmouth, Northumbria, for his education; when he was nine he moved a short distance to the sister house in Jarrow, where he would live out the rest of his days. Bede became a deacon at age 19 and priest at 30.

Page from Ecclesiastical History

Eventually, Bede was the first native of the British Isles to be named by the Pope as Doctor of the Church (in 1899). His most famous work, which is a key source for understanding early British history and the arrival of Christianity, is Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum or The Ecclesiastical History of the English People which was completed in 731 AD. It is the first work of history in which the AD system of dating is used.

Much of Bede’s observations and writings were focused on the natural world. His scholarship is notably advanced because of his ability to weave together fragments into coherent works with very limited resources.

Here is a bit from his most famous work:

The present life of man, O king, seems to me, in comparison of that time which is unknown to us, like to the swift flight of a sparrow through the room wherein you sit at supper in winter, with your commanders and ministers, and a good fire in the midst, whilst the storms of rain and snow prevail abroad; the sparrow, I say, flying in at one door, and immediately out at another, whilst he is within, is safe from the wintry storm; but after a short space of fair weather, he immediately vanishes out of your sight, into the dark winter from which he had emerged. So this life of man appears for a short space, but of what went before, or what is to follow, we are utterly ignorant. If, therefore, this new doctrine contains something more certain, it seems justly to deserve to be followed.

Try on this quote:

Better a stupid and unlettered brother who, working the good things he knows, merits life in Heaven than one who though being distinguished for his learning in the Scriptures, or even holding the place of a doctor, lacks the bread of love.

This is also a good image:

Jesus opened the tavern of heaven and poured out the wine of the Holy Ghost.

Bede’s work was so famous and respected that it earned him an honorific addition to his name. The title Venerabilis [Venerable] was associated with the name of Bede within two generations after his death. There is no proof for the legend that an unskilled monk composing an epitaph on Bede was at a loss to complete the line: Hac sunt in fossa Bedae . . . . ossa (in this grave are Bede…bones) and then found the next morning that angels had filled the gap with the word venerabilis [venerable]. The title is used by Alcuin (a Northumbrian teacher who became the lead scholar in Charlemagne’s court), Amalarius of Metz and Paul the Deacon within years of his death. The important Council of Aachen in 835 describes him as venerabilis [venerable] et modernis temporibus doctor admirabilis Beda [venerable and admirable doctor of our time, Bede].

More 

Want to read Bede’s groundbreaking book? [link]

More from English people who love him? [link] 

Additions from Orthodox Wiki: [link]

This Channel 4 story takes less than 2 minutes:

What do we do with this?

Bede was a writer and researcher. He was a preserver of good things and true things. If you are a writer, too, take your art seriously and tell the truth. Maybe you should write a little history of your church, your team, or of a person you admire. Or write your spiritual autobiography! Bede’s work has made a difference for 1300 years!

Why highlight Anglo-Saxon church history? The main reasons: it is inspiring and influences U.S. Christianity. The history of how other religions develop is interesting, too. If you would like to know about how first-century Buddhist texts recently discovered in Afghanistan have impacted how present day Buddhists see their history, here is an article [link]. There are the “Bedes” of Buddhism to appreciate.  For instance, someone collected the earliest record of Buddhist oral tradition: the Pāli Canon, but they are unknown. We have a name associated with other foundational collections. The Edicts of Ashoka from the 3rd century B.C., especially those mentioning the Buddha’s birthplace and Dhamma texts, provide the earliest written evidence of Buddhism. The Edicts are a collection of more than thirty inscriptions on pillars, boulders, and cave walls, made by Emperor Ashoka of the Mauryan Empire during his reign, from 268 BCE to 232 BCE. They were dispersed throughout the areas of modern-day India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan and Pakistan.  

Georges Cuvier – May 13

Europe, The Modern Era (1227-1936)

Bible Connection

My child, if you accept my words
and treasure up my commandments within you,
making your ear attentive to wisdom
and inclining your heart to understanding,
if you indeed cry out for insight
and raise your voice for understanding,
if you seek it like silver
and search for it as for hidden treasures—
then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
he is a shield to those who walk blamelessly,
guarding the paths of justice
and preserving the way of his faithful ones. — Proverbs 2:1-8

All about Georges Cuvier (1769-1832)

Georges Cuvier (Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, Baron Cuvier) was a Christian who became one of the premier scientists of his time. He established comparative anatomy and paleontology as sciences. As most people of his time, he started with the assumption that God created the world and all creatures/species  bore the mark of his intention. Unlike most people of his time, he compared living animals with fossils and became the first to suggest certain animals had become extinct.

The bust of Georges Cuvier in the Gallery of Palaeontology and Comparative Anatomy of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris.

Cuvier is well-known for proposing “catastrophism,” the idea that Earth’s history has been shaped by sudden, catastrophic events. As a result of these events, he surmised, many species became extinct and new species emerged after each world-shaping event. He rejected the new idea of organic evolution, and continued to view species as fixed and unchanging, each one having a specific purpose and function. While Cuvier rejected evolution, his work on extinctions and comparative anatomy influenced later scientists, including Charles Darwin, who built upon his ideas. Darwin wrote to William Ogle in 1832, “Linnaeus and Cuvier have been my two gods, though in very different ways, but they were mere school-boys to old Aristotle.”

Georges Cuvier was born in Montbéliard, a French-speaking community in the Jura Mountains, near Switzerland, which was part of the Duchy of Württemberg at the time. During his lifetime, the Duchy was abolished. His parents were devout Lutherans and he remained one for his entire life. He attended the Karlsschule Academy in Stuttgart, Germany, where he learned to dissect animals and developed his interest in natural history. After graduation, he became a tutor for a noble family in Normandy, France. There he met the Abbot Teissier, an agronomist and member of the former Royal Academy of Science. Teissier shared with Cuvier his research on mollusks and, impressed by his encyclopedic knowledge, introduced him to his friends in Paris, where Cuvier settled in 1795 to embark on a brilliant career.

Cuvier was already well-known when, in 1812, he published his opus Recherches sur les Ossements Fossiles des Quadrupèdes (Researches on the Fossil Bones of Quadrupeds). He advanced a principle of “subordination of organs” (the organs of a living being affect each other and cooperate to bring about the same action through reciprocal reaction), and he established a new classification for vertebrates. These principles enabled him to reconstruct complete skeletons from bones and fossils, thus proving the existence of fauna so far unknown.

Cuvier invented the science of paleontology. He defended his theory of  cataclycisme (catastrophist scenario) in his Discours sur la Révolution du Globe (Discourse on the Revolutionary Upheaval on the Surface of the Earth) and opposed actualisme, a theory according to which the laws that determined past geological phenomena are identical to those that determine present phenomena.

British geologists made Cuvier an ally in connecting catastrophism to the Bible’s story of Noah and the flood. But there is little indication in Cuvier’s writings that this was part of his science.  Cuvier treated the Bible both as a book with divine authority and as a source of information about nature and history. In doing so, he distanced himself both from scholars finding natural laws in the Bible and from neologists making up theology to match the latest data. For Cuvier the Augustinian principle of “accommodation,” which pre-dates historical criticism, sufficed to keep scripture and geology relatively separate, as his interpretation of texts on the flood and on Old Testament chronology indicate. The accommodation principle suggests God adjusts revelation to fit human understanding and limitations. So theological, scientific or historical understanding are all provisional. God uses language for revelation but the revelation is beyond language and limited human capacity.

Cuvier distanced himself from a speculative geology based solely on Bible texts. For him, the Bible could be consulted for elements of natural history, such as the features of the earth, of organisms and of ancient civilizations. But any responsible use was limited by an awareness of the accommodated nature of the texts. He was working on stronger, empirical alternatives built on the standard belief that God’s work revealed in nature agrees with the revelation in scripture. Cuvier’s use of Bible texts, or of metaphysical ideas in general, is characterized by an insistence that any matter under consideration can stand on its own empirical feet. This means Cuvier is not a “scriptural geologist.” The general idea of geological catastrophes may have been inspired by the story of the Flood, and the definition of biological species by the story of Creation, but the hypotheses stand on their own merit.  (See “Georges Cuvier and the Use of Scripture in Geology” by Jitse M. van der Meer).

Georges Cuvier became a baron in 1818 and Chancellor of his university in 1820. He was President of the State Council and Director of Religious Affairs, and held many other positions and titles. He became one of the most powerful and decorated men of his era.

After he approached Napoleon for the organization of the Lutheran Church in Paris, it  was established in 1806 at the Oratoire des Billettes. In 1824, he was placed in charge of the Faculty of Protestant Theology and in 1828 was appointed director of non-Roman Catholic religions under King Charles X. He encouraged the creation of numerous pastoral positions, especially in the Montbéliard region. His daughter Clémentine devoted much of her time to Protestant charities.

Balzac’s quotation about the man he considered equal to Napoleon is well-known “Cuvier is married to the globe.”

Quotes

Why has not anyone seen that fossils alone gave birth to a theory about the formation of the earth, that without them, no one would have ever dreamed that there were successive epochs in the formation of the globe. — Discourse on the Revolutionary Upheavals on the Surface of the Earth

To spread healthy ideas among even the lowest classes of people, to remove men from the influence of prejudice and passion, to make reason the arbiter and supreme guide of public opinion; that is the essential goal of the sciences; that is how science will contribute to the advancement of civilization, and that is what deserves protection of governments who want to insure the stability of their power. — Historical Report on Advance in natural Sciences

Genius and science have burst the limits of space, and few observations, explained by just reasoning, have unveiled the mechanism of the universe. Would it not also be glorious for man to burst the limits of time, and, by a few observations, to ascertain the history of this world, and the series of events which preceded the birth of the human race? — Essay on the Theory of the Earth

More

Bio from the Virtual Museum of Protestantism.

Bio from the University of California Museum of Paleontology. [link]

This video shows the development of Cuvier’s assertions about extinction in  eight minutes. [link] 

November 30 is Remembrance Day for Lost Species due to human-caused catastrophe.

Noted paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould  (1941-2002) posited “punctuated equilibrium” as a more accurate view of species development. His views were reminiscent of Cuvier’s catastrophism. “Creationists” use Gould’s argument to make paleontological sense of Noah and the flood, and they have websites [link].

This video mentions Cuvier as part of a history of science lesson leading to Darwin. It is an interesting thirteen minutes! :

What do we do with this?

Would Georges Cuvier pass muster on a roll call of orthodox Evangelicals today? That remains to be seen. He was not an overt proponent for much more than his scientific discoveries. His faith was public, a given, but not something he intended to defend, scientifically. Faith influenced everything he thought and did, but he did not try to make everything fit under its Lordship, so to speak. Is he a lukewarm believer? Do you think he belongs in our historical examples of faith? Do you belong there?

Cuvier is less well known, these days, but in his own time he was very famous. He was involved in church, in politics, and was deeply involved in the scientific revolution impacting every area of thought. When he was 20 the French Revolution began. He was connected to Napoleon who became Emperor when he was 35. He rose to prominence during the Bourbon restoration, when he was made a baron. He died two years into the July Monarchy. His faith and his science survived all the turmoil. May your love and truth do the same.

Nikolaus Zinzendorf  — May 9

Europe, The Modern Era (1227-1936)

Bible connection

Read Isaiah 58

Free those who are wrongly imprisoned;
lighten the burden of those who work for you.
Let the oppressed go free,
and remove the chains that bind people.
 Share your food with the hungry,
and give shelter to the homeless.
Give clothes to those who need them,
and do not hide from relatives who need your help.

All about Nicolaus Zinzendorf (1700-1760)

Nicholas Ludwig, Count Zinzendorf, was born in Dresden in 1700. He was deeply involved in the Pietist movement in Germany, which emphasized personal devotion and the emotional component of life in Christ. This was in contrast to the state Lutheran Church of the day, which had grown to symbolize a largely intellectual faith centered on belief in specific doctrines. Zinzendorf believed in “heart religion,” a personal salvation built on an individual’s spiritual relationship with Christ.

In 2000, German Moravians created a trail of sculptures commemorating the 300th birthday of Zinzendorf. This one features the Count with children, whom he believed modeled the kind of faith we are to have. The gray figures behind represent the rigidness of those leading the old church. Photo taken in Großhennersdorf, Herrnhut, Germany.

Zinzendorf was born into one of the most noble families of Europe. His father died when he was an infant, and he was raised by his Pietist pioneer grandmother, Henrietta Catherina, Baroness von Gersdorff, at her castle Gros Hennersdorf. There are many stories about his deep childhood faith. As a young man he struggled with his desire to study for the ministry and the expectation that he would fulfill his hereditary role as a Count. As a teenager at Halle Academy, he and several other young nobles formed a secret society, The Order of the Grain of Mustard Seed. The stated purpose of this order was that the members would use their position and influence to spread the Gospel. As an adult, Zinzendorf later reactivated this adolescent society, and many influential leaders of Europe ended up joining it. Their number included the King of Denmark, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Archbishop of Paris.

Zinzendorf was one of the most controversial figures of the early eighteenth century. The crowned heads of Europe and religious leaders of both Europe and America all knew him or knew of him — and either loved him or hated him.

Although born to an aristocratic family, Zinzendorf decided to use his wealth to shelter a group of Christian radicals: the Unitas Fratrum (The Latinized form of the Czech jednota bratrská/society of brethren). This name was was assumed by the branch of the Hussites known as the Bohemian Brethren and their successors, the Moravian Brethren.  During his lifetime, Europe was a tumultuous place. It was unsafe to leave the established state churches. But many people took the risk and amazing things resulted. In 1722 a small band of Jesus-followers who chose not to be part of the state church crossed the border from Moravia to settle in a town they built on Zinzendorf’s estate. They called it  Herrnhut, or “the Lord’s Watch.”

During its first five years of existence the settlement showed few signs of spiritual power. By the beginning of 1727 the community of about three hundred people was wracked by dissension and bickering. So the village was an unlikely site for a revival! Zinzendorf and others, however, covenanted to prayer and labor for the Holy Spirit to move among them. Largely due to Zinzendorf’s leadership in daily Bible studies, the group came to formulate a unique document, known as the Brotherly Agreement, which set forth basic tenets of Christian behavior. Residents of Herrnhut were required to sign a pledge to abide by these Biblical principals. There followed an intense and powerful experience of renewal, often described as the “Moravian Pentecost.”

On May 12, 1727 during a communion service, the entire congregation felt a powerful presence of the Holy Spirit, and felt their previous differences swept away. This experience began the Moravian renewal which led to remarkable ministry. Christians were aglow with new life and power, dissension vanished and unbelievers were converted. Looking back to that day and the four amazing months that followed, Zinzendorf later recalled: “The whole place represented truly a visible habitation of God among men.”

A spirit of prayer was immediately evident in the fellowship and continued throughout that “golden summer of 1727,” as the Moravians came to designate the period. On August 27 of that year twenty-four men and twenty-four women covenanted to spend one hour each day in scheduled prayer. Some others enlisted in the “hourly intercession.” For over a hundred years members of the Moravian Church maintained this continual prayer. “At home and abroad, on land and sea, this prayer watch ascended unceasingly to the Lord,” stated historian A. J. Lewis.

In 1731, while attending the coronation of Christian VI in Copenhagen, the young Count met a converted slave from the West Indies, Anthony Ulrich. Anthony’s tale of his people’s plight moved Zinzendorf, who brought him back to Herrnhut. As a result, two young men, Leonard Dober and David Nitchmann, were sent to St. Thomas to live among the slaves and share the good news about Jesus. This was the first organized Protestant mission work, which quickly expanded to Africa, North America, Russia, and other parts of the world. By 1791, sixty-five years after starting their hourly intercession, the small Moravian community had placed 300 missionaries from Greenland to South Africa, literally from one end of the earth to the other.

Members of the Mo­ra­vi­an Church helped populate the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania. They are known as an historic Peace Church, as are the Brethren in Christ and Mennonites.

More 

All sorts of goodness at Zinzendorf.com. You need to work at this old website to reveal its treasures.

Zinzendorf in America

Zinzendorf the hymn writer [people singing one at Herrnhut]

Christian History 1) bio, 2) Magazine: Zinzendorf and the Moravians

The early Moravians were accused of sexual impropriety. The criticism may have been appropriate, at times. Here’s an investigation: Wound Worship, “Enthusiasts” and “Sodomites”: A History of Radical Moravians (2019)

1982 movie:

What do we do with this?

Pray: May the Church truly be a visible habitation of God.

The Pietists wanted heart religion. They used Bible study, prayer and intentional community to grow it. They shared resources and went on mission to show it. What do you want? What yearning in your spirit meets the passion of God’s Spirit? Are you still open to a Herrnhut in your future?

Julian of Norwich — May 8

Europe, The Modern Era (1227-1936)
Statue of Julian of Norwich, Norwich Cathedral, by David Holgate FSDC (2010)

Bible connection

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. — Ephesians 3:14-19

All about Julian of Norwich (1342-c.1416)

Julian of Norwich is known to us almost exclusively through her book, Revelations of Divine Love, which is widely acknowledged as one of the great classics on the spiritual life in Christ. Many think she is the first woman to write a book in English which has survived.

We do not know Julian’s actual name. Her name is taken from St. Julian’s Church in Norwich where she lived as an anchoress for most of her life. We know from the medieval literary work, The Book of Margery Kempe, that Julian was known as a spiritual counselor. People would come to her cell in Norwich to seek advice. Considering that, at the time, the citizens of Norwich suffered from plague and poverty, as well as a famine, she must have counseled a lot of people in pain. Yet, her writings are suffused with hope and trust in God’s goodness.

Julian’s Revelations of Divine Love is based on a series of sixteen visions she received on May 8, 1373. Julian laid on what she thought was her deathbed and suddenly she saw Christ bleeding in front of her. She received insight into his sufferings and his love for us.

Julian’s message is one of hope and trust in God, whose compassionate love is always given to us. In this all-gracious God there is no element of wrath. The wrath —

all that is contrary to peace and love — is in us and not in God. God’s saving work in Jesus of Nazareth and in the gift of God’s Spirit, is to slake our wrath in the power of his merciful and compassionate love.

Julian did not perceive God as blaming or judging us, but as enfolding us in love. Famously, Julian used women’s experience of motherhood to explore how God loves us, referring to Jesus as our Mother.

Revelations of Divine Love comes to us in two versions; the first (the short text) was written shortly after the revelations were given to Julian; the second (the long text) was written twenty years later. The long text is greatly expanded to include her meditations on what she had been shown. Today, only seventeenth century copies of earlier manuscripts of the long text, and fragments from the fifteenth century survive.

Julian recounts she was thirty and a half years old when she received her visions and this is how we know she was born in 1342. (An editor to one of the surviving manuscripts speaks of her as a “devout woman, who is a recluse at Norwich, and still alive, A.D. 1413”). There is further evidence to be found in a contemporary will that she was alive in 1416, and that she had a maid who lived in a room next to the cell. Apart from that, we know nothing else about Julian’s life. However, reading Revelations of Divine Love, reveals an intelligent, sensitive and very down-to-earth woman who maintains her trust in God’s goodness while addressing doubt, fear and deep theological questions.

St Julian's Church, Norwich, 2009.jpg
The building where she lived

Interest in Julian’s writings has grown over recent decades More and more people have discovered the significance of her book. Her lyrical language and positive image of God speak to her present-day readers. Her work is well-respected by theologians, historians and literary scholars, and there are now dozens of translations of her Revelations, together with countless commentaries. Modern poets and writers as diverse as T.S. Eliot, Denise Levertov, and Iris Murdoch reference Julian in their writings.

Julian’s Shrine, off Rouen Rd. in Norwich (above), is visited by pilgrims from all over the world.

Quotes

If there is anywhere on earth a lover of God who is always kept safe, I know nothing of it, for it was not shown to me. But this was shown: that in falling and rising again we are always kept in that same precious love.

And all shall be well. And all shall be well. And all manner of things shall be exceeding well.

God, of thy goodness, give me Thyself;
for Thou art enough for me,
and I can ask for nothing less
that can be full honor to Thee.
And if I ask anything that is less,
ever Shall I be in want,
for only in Thee have I all.

Our Savior is our true Mother in whom we are endlessly born and out of whom we shall never come.

Truth sees God, and wisdom contemplates God, and from these two comes a third, a holy and wonderful delight in God, who is love.

More

Revelations of Divine Love [audio book]

The series of “praying with” books from the 80’s and 90’s are nice tools for getting in touch with spiritual guides from the past. Here is one for Julian [Goodreads].

Robert Fruehwirth’s book The Drawing of This Love puts Julian into action [Goodreads]. Here’s more teaching from this expert [lecture].

Julian was not alone. Other women of her time were writing down similar experiences. You might like to know her predecessors from among the beguines: Mechthild von Magdeburg (ca. 1207-ca. 1294) and Hadewijch of Antwerp (13th century). Her contemporary, John of Ruysbroeck (1293-1381) writes in and about the tradition Julian resembles.

What do we do with this?

Revelations like Julian’s are available to many people who is seeking. But not having visions do not make you a second-rate follower — besides, Julian offered her! It is possible we  all have some kind of pre-verbal experience with God that informs much of our lifelong walk with Jesus. Try the prayer of imagination.

Spend some time seeking. Let God clarify for you just what you should be hearing. If you really want to take Julian’s example, you will dare to write it all down and meditate on it another day.

Anselm — April 21

Europe, Forerunners (33-1226)

Bible connection

Read Psalm 14

The fool says in his heart,
    “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;
    there is no one who does good.
The Lord looks down from heaven
    on all humankind
to see if there are any who understand,
    any who seek God.
All have turned away, all have become corrupt;
    there is no one who does good,
    not even one.
Do all these evildoers know nothing?
The illuminated beginning of an 11th-century manuscript of the Monologion.

All about Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109)

Anselm was a Benedictine monk, Christian philosopher, and scholar who is recognized for many intellectual accomplishments, including his application of reason for exploring the mysteries of faith and for his definition of theology as “faith seeking understanding.”

The brilliance of Anselm’s thinking and writing about the nature of faith and of God has intrigued and influenced scholars since the Middle Ages. His highly respected work, Monologium, rationalizes a proof of God’s existence. His Proslogium, advances the idea that God exists according to the human notion of a perfect being in whom nothing is lacking. Since they were first written, both works have been studied and praised by many of the world’s greatest theologians and philosophers. In our set of explanations, we recognize Anselm’s contribution to the meaning of the atonement with his work Cur Deus Homo (Why the God-Man?). In it he conceptualizes the common telling of story of Christ’s death  and resurrection as a “satisfaction theory” in the new logic of his day (which he is instrumental in inventing). His work also reflects the feudal zeitgeist of his day, which is interesting in itself.  (Video explanation).

Anselmo was born near Aosta in Italy in 1033. He began his education under the tutelage of the monks of a local Benedictine monastery. After his mother died, Anselm observed a period of mourning and then traveled throughout Europe. At that time, the spiritual and intellectual reputation of the monk Lanfranc, who belonged to the monastery of Bec in Normandy, was widespread. Anselm was drawn to Lanfranc, and in 1060 he attached himself to Lanfranc’s abbey. The community soon recognized Anselm’s unique abilities and assigned him to teach in the abbey school. He was made prior of the monastery in 1063 when he was only 30 years old.

It was during his days at Bec that Anselm composed his innovative works on the existence and nature of God. It was really only out of a sense of obligation and submission to the will of the community that he undertook the duties and burdens of administration at all.

William the II demands Anselm take the Archbishop of Canterbury crozier from his sickbed. By James William Edmund Doyle (1864)

His election to the position of abbot of the community in 1078 speaks to the love and regard in which he was held by his community members. But Bec was not to be the end of his journey. In 1093 he was summoned to England to become the Archbishop of Canterbury, succeeding his master and spiritual director, Lanfranc. Anselm’s years at Canterbury were rife with political controversy. He showed great courage in disputing with William II and Henry I in regard to ecclesiastical abuses visited upon the church by those kings. Twice he was banished while making appeals in Rome. Twice he returned to Canterbury, riding his reputation, even fame, as an extraordinary theologian, negotiator, and statesman who added luster and authority to the cause of the Church and also gratified the monarchs who saw him as another jewel in their crown, if also a pesky opponent.

Throughout his years, Anselm maintained a strong allegiance to his monastic lifestyle and to his intellectual pursuits. He composed his philosophical and theological treatises, as well as a series of beautiful prayers and meditations. People saved the letters they got from him and they are also inspirational.

Anselm held the position of archbishop until his death in 1109. A biography by his contemporary Eadmer provides many insights into the life of this remarkably saintly and scholarly man.

Anselm quotes:

From the Preface to the Proslogion:

I have written the little work that follows… in the role of one who strives to raise his mind to the contemplation of God and one who seeks to understand what he believes. [More from Rod on this]

I acknowledge, Lord, and I give thanks that you have created your image in me, so that I may remember you, think of you, love you. But this image is so obliterated and worn away by wickedness, it is so obscured by the smoke of sins, that it cannot do what it was created to do, unless you renew and reform it. I am not attempting, O Lord, to penetrate your loftiness, for I cannot begin to match my understanding with it, but I desire in some measure to understand your truth, which my heart believes and loves. For I do not seek to understand in order that I may believe, but I believe in order to understand. For this too I believe, that “unless I believe, I shall not understand.” (Isa. 7:9)

A prayer of Anselm

My God,
I pray that I may so know you and love you
that I may rejoice in you.
And if I may not do so fully in this life
let me go steadily on
to the day when I come to that fullness …
Let me receive
That which you promised through your truth,
that my joy may be full.

A song of Anselm

Jesus, as a mother you gather your people to you:
You are gentle with us as a mother with her children;
Often you weep over our sins and our pride:
tenderly you draw us from hatred and judgement.
You comfort us in sorrow and bind up our wounds:
in sickness you nurse us, and with pure milk you feed us.
Jesus, by your dying we are born to new life:
by your anguish and labor we come forth in joy.
Despair turns to hope through your sweet goodness:
through your gentleness we find comfort in fear.
Your warmth gives life to the dead:
your touch makes sinners righteous.
Lord Jesus, in your mercy heal us:
in your love and tenderness remake us.
In your compassion bring grace and forgiveness:
for the beauty of heaven may your love prepare us.

More

Here is another more detailed bio. [link]

A lecture that tells you everything [link]

You can read the Monologium and Proslogium online. [link]

Here is a nice translation of Cur Deus Homo online. [link]

What do we do with this?

Anselm did administrative work because he was asked to do it. He would have preferred meditating, studying, writing and mentoring to having conflicts with the kings of England. Doing what he did not prefer did not diminish his influence, however. Living with an attitude of obedience grates on most people we know. We don’t always know what we want, but it is often not what we are supposed to be doing! How are you working that out?

New ways of thinking and organizing society were maturing in Anselm’s day, he moved the ball along like a first-round draft pick. The English king recruited him for his premier church. You may not appreciate all he did, but you have to admire how he was always “in the game.” Things are moving new directions in our era too. How should we influence them? Are you still in the action?

Rest in the Lord for a moment and settle down. What is the best thing you can do today despite distracting or detracting circumstances? For now, you can pray and worship, that is something good we can do no matter who is trying to get us to do something  else.

Corrie ten Boom — April 15

Europe, This century (1937-2025)
Corrie ten Boom in scouting uniform (around 1921). The triangle on her uniform refers to the name of the scouting group: “the triangle girls.”

Bible connection

You are my hiding place;
    you will protect me from trouble
    and surround me with songs of deliverance. —Psalm 32:7

All about Corrie ten Boom (1892-1983)

Corrie ten Boom and her family helped Jews escape the Nazi Holocaust during World War II, saving hundreds of lives.

Cornelia “Corrie” ten Boom was born in Haarlem, Netherlands, and grew up in a devout Protestant family. During World War II, she and her family harbored hundreds of Jews to protect them from arrest by Nazi authorities. Betrayed by a fellow Dutch citizen, the entire family was imprisoned. Corrie survived the concentration camp and started a worldwide ministry. She later told her story in a book entitled The Hiding Place.

The ten Boom family lived in the Beje house in Haarlem (short for Barteljorisstraat, the street where the house was located) in rooms above Casper’s watch shop. Family members were strict Calvinists in the Dutch Reformed Church. Faith inspired them to serve society, offering shelter, food and money to those in need. In this tradition, the family held a deep respect for the Jewish community in Amsterdam, considering them “God’s ancient people.”

After the death of her mother and a disappointing romance, Corrie trained to be a watchmaker and in 1922 became the first woman in Holland to be licensed. Over the next decade, in addition to working in her father’s shop, she established a youth club for teenage girls, which provided religious instruction as well as classes in the performing arts, sewing and handicrafts.

In May 1940, the German “blitzkrieg” ran though the Netherlands and the other Low Countries. Within months, the “Nazification” of the Dutch people began and the quiet life of the ten Boom family was changed forever. During the war, their house became a refuge for Jews, students and intellectuals. The façade of the watch shop made the house an ideal front for these activities. A secret room, no larger than a small wardrobe closet, was built into Corrie’s bedroom behind a false wall. The space could hold up to six people, all of whom had to stand quiet and still. A crude ventilation system was installed to provide air for the occupants. When security sweeps came through the neighborhood, a buzzer in the house would signal danger, allowing the refugees a little over a minute to seek sanctuary in the hiding place.

The entire ten Boom family became active in the Dutch resistance, risking their lives harboring those hunted by the Gestapo. Some fugitives would stay only a few hours, while others would stay several days until another “safe house” could be located. Corrie ten Boom became a leader in the movement, overseeing a network of “safe houses” in the country. Through these activities, it was estimated the lives of 800 Jews were saved.

On February 28, 1944, a Dutch informant told the Nazis of the ten Booms’ activities and the Gestapo raided the home. They kept the house under surveillance, and by the end of the day 35 people, including the entire ten Boom family, were arrested, Although German soldiers thoroughly searched the house, they didn’t find the half-dozen Jews safely concealed in the hiding place. The six stayed in the cramped space for nearly three days before being rescued by the Dutch underground.

All the ten Boom family members were incarcerated, including Corrie’s 84-year-old father, who soon died in the Scheveningen prison, located near The Hague. Corrie and her sister Betsie were remanded to the notorious Ravensbrück concentration camp, near Berlin. Betsie died there on December 16, 1944. Twelve days later, Corrie was released for reasons not completely known.

Corrie ten Boom returned to the Netherlands after the war and set up a rehabilitation center for concentration camp survivors. In the Christian spirit to which she was so devoted, she also took in those who had cooperated with the Germans during the occupation. In 1946, she began a worldwide ministry that took her to more than 60 countries. She received many tributes, including being knighted by the queen of the Netherlands. In 1971, she wrote the best-selling book about her experiences during World War II. In 1975, the book was made into a movie starring Jeannette Clift as Corrie and Julie Harris as her sister Betsie.

In 1977, at age 85, Corrie ten Boom moved to Placentia, California. The next year, she suffered a series of strokes that left her paralyzed and unable to speak. She died on her 91st birthday, April 15, 1983. Her passing on this date evokes the Jewish traditional belief that only specially blessed people are granted the privilege of dying on the date they were born.

Quotes

  • Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength.
  • Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.
  • When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don’t throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.
  • Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart.
  • The measure of a life, after all, is not its duration, but its donation.
  • Any concern too small to be turned into a prayer is too small to be made into a burden.
  • Let God’s promises shine on your problems.
  • Memories are the key not to the past, but to the future.
  • Faith is like radar that sees through the fog.
  • Discernment is God’s call to intercession, never to faultfinding.

More

The movie: The Hiding Place

The Maranatha song associated: [link]

The Corrie ten Boom museum [link]

Teaching YWAM trainees:

What do we do with this?

Corrie ten Boom overcame her trauma and proved God’s faithfulness. It propelled her to tell her story and made her world famous. You don’t need to be famous, but don’t you need to tell your story?

How do you know Jesus is faithful? Or have you yet to trust Him?

Dietrich Bonhoeffer — April 9

Europe, This century (1937-2025)
Dietrich Bonhoeffer at 18 in 1924

Bible connection

Read Matthew 5:38-42

Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

All about Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945)

Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his twin sister were born in a Prussian city (now in Poland) in 1906. His family moved to Berlin a few years later. Bonhoeffer earned a doctorate in theology at the age of 21 from one if the most prestigious universities in the world at the time – the University of Berlin.  He began to work as a pastor and also continued to pursue academic studies which took him to Spain and then to Harlem. Dissatisfied with the lack of rigor at Union Seminary, where he was teaching and doing post graduate work, he became a disciple and Sunday school teacher at Abyssinian Baptist Church, where his love for spirituals developed along with his deep desire for the Church to change the world.

Two years after his return to Germany, the Nazi Party rose to power. Bonhoeffer was overtly critical of the regime and a resister from the beginning.  While Hitler and the Nazis infiltrated and found a stronghold in the German Church, Bonhoeffer was building something new in Germany through the Confessing Church (wiki). After only a few months living under Nazi control, Bonhoeffer moved to London to work on international ecumenical work. He was very frustrated with the state of the German church.

Two years later, rather than going to study non-violent civil disobedience under Gandhi, he returned to Germany, responding to the repeated pleas and demands of Swiss theologians and Karl Barth, who’s battle cry, “Revelation, not religion!” would remain a basic element of Bonhoeffer’s theology to the end. Barth was sent back to Switzerland and Bonhoeffer found the Confessing Church to be under fire by the Nazis.  He soon lost his credentials to teach because he was a “pacifist and enemy of the state.”  He began underground seminaries and further resisted.

Bonhoeffer became more involved in direct resistance and was arrested in 1943.  He was part of a group that was responsible both for attempts at liberating Jews and attempting to assassinate Hitler. His pacifism has been widely written about, especially in light of this glaring contradiction. In the last 10 years historians have disputed the assumption that Bonheoffer deserted his pacifism for the practicality of assassination. See Mark Theissen’s book: Bonhoeffer the Assassin?: Challenging The Myth, Recovering His Call To Peacemaking (2013).

Dietrich was executed on this day in 1945, two weeks before US soldiers liberated the  camp where he was imprisoned.  He is largely considered a martyr for the faith and for peace, and for being a Nazi resister.

Two of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s most influential works are Life Together and The Cost of Discipleship – this quote is from the latter:

Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession…. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.

More

Want to watch a small documentary about his life? Here is a [link] Another from 2003 [link] One premiered in 2024 [link]

Bonhoeffer speaks out against Hitler [link]

His philosophy, theology and books. [link]

Biographer interview. [link]

What do we do with this?

Bonhoeffer applied himself to unmasking the lies of his culture and the ideologies that took God’s place. It was not easy, since the church was generally in line with them. In spite of state threat and lack of support from the church, he took risks to teach the truth, even moving back to Germany when he would have been safer elsewhere.

That kind of courage is demonstrated in the Bible repeatedly by people whose loves are trained on God. What threat do you feel from those you know and from the great “other” of the powers that be when it comes to expressing your faith in word and deed? Pray for courage. Pray that we build a confessing church in a culture of lies.