22 Mar Bonhoeffer: The Cost of Freedom
I’m still discovering, right up to this moment, that it is only by living completely in this world that one learns to have faith. I mean living unreservedly in life’s duties, problems, successes and failures, experiences and perplexities. In so doing, we throw ourselves completely into the arms of God. (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)
Bonhoeffer – The Cost of Freedom, WWII Radio Theatre audio book by Focus on the Family
Whenever I take a long drive I try to make sure I have an audio book in my car, likely about World War II. This week I needed to make a quick trip to see my Dad, the Colonel, so I ran by the library to see what I could listen to while driving the four+ hours to Colulmbia.
When I saw that this tape was about Bonfoeffer, the Lutheran pastor who defied the Nazis I grabbed it. Different than other books I’ve listened to, it is much more than a reading … it is Radio Theatre by Focus on the Family. There were many different actors, sound effects, music. I was drawn in immediately. The three hour drama was given a 1998 Peabody award for broadcast excellence.
From the time he was twelve years old Dietrich Bonhoeffer knew he wanted to become a theologian and join the ministry. His father, a well known German psychiatrist, told Dietrich that it was not the life that he would have chosen for him, but he gave his full support.
During the 1930’s as Bonhoeffer studied and traveled he predicted that the Nazi party would leave the church alone, that Germany had always practiced separation of the church and the government.
He would learn however that under Nazi rule, the German church would have to conform or else. Bonhoeffer opposed Hitler and his treatment of the Jews and encouraged other leaders in the church to speak out. Most would not.
To the end Bonhoeffer struggled with the conflict between loyalty to the country he loved and his faith as a Christian. It was just this faith that gave him the strength to do what he believed was best for his beloved Germany.
Bonhoeffer: The Cost of Freedom (Radio Theatre) at amazon.com
No Comments