Dietrich Bonhoeffer on Faith and Politics

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

American Minute from William J. Federer

Jimmy Carter, in his book Sources of Strength, 1997, wrote: “Rev. Niebuhr urged Dietrich Bonhoeffer to remain in America for his own safety. Bonhoeffer refused. He felt he had to be among the other Christians persecuted in Germany. So he returned home, and…in resistance to Hitler…preached publicly against Nazism, racism, and anti-Semitism…Bonhoeffer was finally arrested and imprisoned, and FEBRUARY 4, 1945, just a few days before the allied armies liberated Germany, he was executed on orders of Heinrich Himmler. He died a disciple and a martyr.” 

Jimmy Carter concluded: “The same Holy Spirit…that gave Bonhoeffer the strength to stand up against Nazi tyranny is available to us today.”

On February 16, 2002, Dr. James Dobson told the National Religious Broadcasters: “Those of you who feel that the church has no responsibility in the cultural area…What if it were 1943 and you were in Nazi Germany and you knew what Hitler was doing to the Jews…Would you say, ‘We’re not political-that’s somebody else’s problem’?”

Dobson concluded: “I thank God Dietrich Bonhoeffer did not give that answer, and he was arrested by the Nazis and hanged in 1945, naked and alone because he said, ‘This is not right.’”

William J. Federer is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and president of Amerisearch, Inc, which is dedicated to researching our American heritage. The American Minute radio feature looks back at events in American history on the dates they occurred, is broadcast daily across the country and read by thousand on the internet.   

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