Bonhoeffer and Jesus: Probably Not on Our Side
It is a painfully difficult time to be a Christian in America who believes in Jesus Christ. God, who was persecuted under Roman rule and by his own religious tribe, who suffered by crucifixion and discovered victory through powerlessness, seems all but absent in the current political climate. But America keeps trying to weasel God into our existing political hodgepodge. Whether a lapsed Presbyterian who cites Two Corinthians or a quasi-Methodist who seeks to be relatable, Christians from multiple sides and places seek to create an argument for why one candidate is more Christian than the other. The sense is that most arguments for a candidate’s faithfulness are made in comparison to the other candidate and not made in relationship to the Beatitudes, the prophets, or even, Pauline theology. Forcing God into our politics is reckless and offensive to Christian witness. Now Eric Metaxas appears on the scene to trumpet Dietrich Bonhoeffer as a source for understanding how to vot...