If the ministry of witness is the primary determination of Christian existence, and if the ministry of witness unavoidably bring the Christian into affliction, then we have to say that none can be a Christian without falling into afflication. To be sure, we have not to desire or seek or provoke it, as martyrdom or the so-called baptism of blood was coverted in some circles in the early days of Christianity. This could only rest on misunderstanding, as though the bearing of affliction made the Christian a Christian. In fact, it is only the call of Christ, as His calling to the ministry of witness, which can constitute Christian existence as such. C.D. IV.3.2 p. 618
Wonderful stuff... striking the right balance between that unavoidable affliction which is a mark of true Christianity and provoking it willfully: this is the challenge.
4 comments:
Nice quote Michael. Very Bonhoefferian in fact.
I thought I'd dig out another one on martyrdom for your archives; this one on the limits of martyrdom.
'No martyrdom could do what the death of Christ does for faith. No martyrdom could offer God in
advance the souls of a changed race. For no martyr as such is sure of the future. It is easier to forget all the martyrs than the Saviour; and their power fades with
time, while His grows with the ages. With the martyr’s death we can link many admirable reflections, exhortations, and even inspirations. What it does not
give us is the new and Eternal Life. It is not the consummation of God’s saving purpose for the world'. - No prize for guessing who :-)
Wow...
gotta reference for me?
Sure. Peter T. Forsyth, The Work of Christ, 195-6.
And there's lots more where that came from. :-)
He is so so right. And Bonhoeffer would have agreed: I just wish some fans of Bonhoeffer would get it!
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