World Come of Age

8 June 1944 to Eberhard Bethge from Tegel (2)

Katholische und protestantische Geschichtsbetrachtung sind sich nun darüber einig, daß in dieser Entwicklung der große Abfall von Gott, von Christus, zu sehen sei, und je mehr sie Gott und Christus gegen diese Entwicklung in Anspruch nimmt und ausspielt, desto mehr versteht sich diese Entwicklung selbst als antichristlich.

Die zum Bewußtsein ihrer selbst und ihrer Lebensgesetze gekommene Welt ist ihrer selbst in einer Weiser sicher, daß uns das unheimlich wird; Fehlentwicklungen und Mißerfolge vermägen die Welt an der Notwendigkeit ihres Weges und ihrer Entwicklung doch nicht irre zu machen; sie werden mit männlicher Nüchternheit in Kauf genommen, und selbst ein Ereignis wie dieser Krieg macht darin keine Ausnahme.

Gegen diese Selbstsicherheit ist nun die christliche Apologetik in verschiedensten Formen auf den Plan getreten.  Man versucht der mündig gewordenen Welt zu beweisen, daß sie ohne den Vormund “Gott” nicht leben könne.

Wenn man auch in allen weltlichen Fragen schon kapituliert hat, so bleiben doch immer die sogenannten “letzten Fragen”-Tod, Schuld,–auf die nur “Gott eine Antwort geben kann und um derentwillen man Gott und die Kirche und den Pfarrer braucht.  Wir leben also giwissermaßen von diesen sogenannten letzten Fragen der Menschen.

Wie aber, wenn sie eines Tages nicht mehr als solche da sind, bzw. wenn auch sie “ohne Gott” beantwortet werden?  Nun kommen zwar die säkularisierten Ableger der christlichen Theologie, nämlich die Existenzphilosophen und die Psychotherapeuten, und weisen dem sicheren, zufriedenen, glücklichen Menschen nach, daß er in Wirklichkeit unglücklich und verzweifelt sei und das nur nicht wahrhaben wolle, daß er sich in einer Not befinde, von der er garnichts wisse und aus der nur sie ihn retten könnten.

Hauptwörter der Abfall apostasy, falling away der Ableger branch, offshoot der Anspruch claim; in Anspruch nehmen absorb, engage, lay claim to die Ausnahme exception das Buwußtsein awareness, consciousness die Einfachheit straightforwardness, simplicity die Entwicklung development die Ereignis event die Fehlentwicklung aberration, undesirable development Geschichtsbetrachtung historical interpretation, approach der Kauf acquisition; in Kauf genommen accept das Lebensgesetz law of life der Mißerfolge failure, breakdown die Not need die Notwendigkeit necessity die Nuchterheit sobriety, austerity der Pfarrer pastor der Plan plan, program die Schuld guilt Selbstsicherheit self assurance der Tod death der Vormund custodian, guardian der Weg way dieWeise mode, manner die Welt world Zeitwörter ausspielen play off gegen against beantworten answer befinden sich be located beweisen attest, prove

bleiben remain brauchen need da sein exist nachweisen demonstrate, prove nehmen, nimmt, genommen take leben live können can, be able retten rescue treten auf step on vermögen be able to do something verstehen understand; versuchen attempt nicht wahrhaben wollen disavow weisen point, show wissen know Andere Wörter bzw. beziehungsweise rather, respectively darin therein, in it, to that darüber about it, about this derentwillen for the sake of which/whom einig agreed gegen against gewissermaßen effectively, to some extent geworden that has become glücklich happy irre mad, insane, mistaken je mehr . . . desto mehr the more X. . . so much the more Y letzten Fragen ultimate questions mündig mature, of age, responsible sicher certain, secure sogenant so-called unheimlich eerie, weird, sinister verschieden various verzweifelt despairing zufrieden content zwar although, indeed

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Moltmann and Bonhoeffer

I consider Jürgen Moltmann to be Bonhoeffer’s heir in many ways. The next selection of the Bonhoeffer letter of April 30, 1944, that I plan to post here poses the question, “Wer ist Christus für uns heute?” Moltmann tried to answer that question in his small, popular paperback book by that title.

It was a tip on that book from Scott Caulley at the Institute zur Erforschung des Urchristentums in Tuebingen (Scott has been using Wer ist Christus für uns heute in his Theological German class for international students there) that revived my interest in theological German.

Moltmann’s testimony of his prisoner of war experience, including how he came to faith after being given a Bible by an American army chaplain, is told briefly in Wer ist Christus, but more fully in another little paperback, The Source of Life.

The first chapter of that book is a reprint of an address he gave at the Bonhoeffer church in London–I believe it was on the 50th anniversary of Bonhoeffer’s death. The address reported his memories of his POW experience.

I was moved to tears by two aspects of that testimonial: the first was the way the sufferings of Christ and the prayers of David spoke to his experience of suffering and brought him to faith. The second was the grace and dignity with which the German prisoners of war were treated by their allied captors.

The harshest thing they did to their German prisoners was silently to post photographs from the death camps. Moltmann does describe the shame and guilt he felt as a German when confronted with those photographs. But he also spoke of gestures of reconciliation made by the allied forces toward the prisoners. They actually brought in some of the leading theologian of the day and turned the camp into a theological seminary. Moltmann learned Hebrew there. I read this account when the news and photos from Abu Graibes were till fresh–and thought of the contrast between how we treated prisoners 50 years ago and how we treat them now.

Elizabeth Moltmann-Wendel has written an autobiography that sheds some light on her husband. There is a photo in the book of a stairway in a house–she mentions a Bible study she attended there shortly after the war that was graced by the presence of Bonhoeffer’s “widow” Maria. Even in that indirect way, Bonhoeffer’s memory cast a shadow over the whole theological enterprise in Germany after the war.

Elizabeth Moltmann-Wendel went on to become a pioneer in feminist theology. Interestingly, she mentions in the book that she had a close, warm relationship with her father and never became a man-hater and never had particular problems with the imagery of God as a father (I assume she would add, as long as that is not the only or exclusive image).

Jürgen Moltmann certainly didn’t try to control his wife. She went her own way with her theological career. He was influenced by Bonhoeffer, Barth, and many others–above all by his fresh and creative readings of the Bible–but he certainly maintained his own independence. At times he can veer off pretty far from traditional ways of expressing the Christian faith in conversations with Marxists, Kabbala mysticism, post-holocaust Jewish thinkers, post-Vatican II catholics, and others–but the Bible always seems to pull him back.

Bonhoeffer spoke of “the questions that are bound to arise after the war,” many of which he raised himself: What is Christianity to a religionless age? How does one speak at all after the failure of the churches to follow Christ and stand up against tyranny? Who is Christ really, for us today? I see Moltmann’s career as being in many ways an attempt to answer these questions.

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