The Bonhoeffer Film Has a Big Problem

The 2024 movie Bonhoeffer has many positive qualities: but does it risk distorting the German theologian's legacy?

Gavin Ortlund (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) is President of Truth Unites and Theologian-in-Residence at Immanuel Nashville.

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00:00 Coming Up
00:18 Misusing Bonhoeffer's Legacy
02:46 The New Bonhoeffer Movie
03:59 Bonhoeffer's Courage
07:04 The Church's Calling
08:54 The Danger of Distorting Bonhoeffer
21:55 Bonhoeffer and the Gospel

[TruthUnites]

If you are going to say "Bonhoeffer was a heretic, " please give a citation from his works (or other documented evidence) to establish this claim. Merely repeating this assertion does not help anyone if it is not documented. And if it false, it tarnishes the reputation of a fellow Christian. For anyone interesting in the defintion of heresy, my recent video might be of interested entitled "What is Heresy? (When to Use This Term)"

[optimisticbear]

Everybody we dislike isn't literally Hitler.

[JW_______]

“Gradually it was disclosed to me that the line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either -- but right through every human heart”. - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

[jordanwind]

Man, does the Church in America, on both sides of the political isle, need to hear this review. I am so thankful for your ministry, heart, and mind for the Lord, Gavin!

[JosThoSul]

That same line hit me pretty hard. I'm going from memory, but I think it was, "I made my choice 12 years ago. Even before I fully understood what it meant."

[jameskeys]

I suspect Pastor Bonhoeffer would be displeased by how often his name is “pimped” for some cause. My guess is he would point us to Jesus.

[jakesenkow]

The reason, I think, so many divergent groups look to Bonhoeffer as justification for resistance is not so much a misunderstanding of Bonhoeffer but rather a misunderstanding of the Gospel.

[SibleySteve]

The quote at 19:07 is interesting because it implies that we should follow his advice; however, I ask, did Christ passively watch or did Christ speak out / act? I recall Christ overturning the tables in the Temple; intervening to save a woman caught in adultery, rebuking pharisees and sadducees; calling all men everywhere to repent, etc. Of course this led to Christ being killed by the state, as was Bonhoeffer. I will follow Christ not Bonhoeffer. I have read Bonhoeffer off and on over decades, and what I have decided is that he is just a man, where Jesus Christ is Lord and His example is perfect.

[Captain_Autismo]

“Does your engagement with history frustrate you sometime?” Absolutely! This is a great point.

[redeemedzoomer]

Dr. Ortlund: a question I think you’d be able to help with is this: what do we do with Bonhoeffer’s heretical statements? Do we consider him a heretic or do we see it as just the context of him going crazy

[HiHoSilvey]

Dscussions like this always remind me of James Russell Lowell's poem written as a protest of the War with Mexico. He was also a staunch abolitionist.

This is just the first stanza. I encourage you to read the whole thing. it gives me goosebumps because it is so descriptive of our own times...."and the choice goes by forever."

Once to every man and nation
Comes the moment to decide,
In the strife of truth with falsehood,
For the good or evil side;
Some great cause, God's new Messiah,
Offering each the bloom or blight,
And the choice goes by forever
Twixt that darkness and that light.

[meganboesen]

Wonderful, thoughtful review. Perhaps because I knew a little about Bonhoeffer before seeing the movie, I didn’t interpret that his theology on murder and authority had changed. It was said in the movie, something along the lines of “could God forgive us?”-in the assassination attempt, and Bonhoeffer replied, “Will he forgive us if we do nothing?” Though I’ve never experienced anything near what he and his peers experienced, I can appreciate that sometimes we feel that we are faced with circumstances that seem to have no “good” or “godly” choice. In those circumstances we must seek the Lord, through His Word and prayer, and trust our soul to Him. I love that you point out the sin on both sides of the political isle. May we only bow down to King Jesus, and never any man or ideology! ❤

[johnrutavičius]

Pastor Ortlund, have you ever seen the film Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace (2000)? How would you compare it to this current film?

[MyCupOfTea]

At first, I discarded a criticism that came forth regarding the movie, but I had several days to think about it. This is timely, and it helped me to be more careful of discarding gut reactions and hasty conclusions. Thank you for this. It helps with my review of the movie as I talk about it with my peers.

[gmphiljuth]

I liked your caution to avoid the pitfall of doing what is evil under the banner of defeating evil, very thoughtful

[williamskiles]

As usual, a very thoughtful and relevant post for us today. I saw the film and also found it inspiring in many ways. My main concern with the film was it seemed to make Bonhoffer's activities in support of the Jews his central aim in resisting the Nazi regime. There is a reason Yad Vashem has not recognized Bonhoeffer as a righteous Gentile among the nations. He was not an integral part of Operation 7, but played a peripheral role. The film presents him as escorting the Jews in a dangerous mission to Switzerland. He wasn't on that journey. Bonhoeffer's views of Jews were complicated, at best, as historians have documented in detail. It seems to me that Bonhoeffer's main concern was the Nazi regime's corruption of the church and Christianity, which entailed the corruption of the entire country. In this way I think the film most directly mischaracterizes Bonhoeffer. What is most remarkable to me about Bonhoeffer is that, despite his, in many ways, traditional (and anti-Judaic) views of the Jews, he recognized the problems of his theology and acted based on his ethic of love to do something to overthrow Hitler and his regime.

Thanks again for the thoughtful video. You're doing great service for Christ and His Church.

[mickiasbekele]

Ayyyy first comment! I’m an Ethiopian and love ur channel man, keep it up! I love ur video on the Luther and the Ethiopian orthodox convo

[joshualeventhal]

Simply phenomenal Gavin.

The clarity of your language feels like well-codified Biblical wisdom. I was fortunate to study Hebrew Poetry and Wisdom under your brother Eric, and you both have such effective framing and parsing through ideas.

As someone who sees Bonhoeffer as one of the great giants of the faith in the last 5 centuries, I share his family’s and scholarly community’s concern over the co-opting of Dietrich’s life and deeds for political justifications that I believe he would very well oppose. It saddens me that this will be the extent of many believer’s exposure to his extraordinary life and discipleship practice. The very notion of him carrying a gun on the poster speaks to distortion, not of narrative compression (as you so rightly point), but to the spirit of his Gospel ethos. Iconography matters deeply.

My dad’s entire side of the family are Orthodox Jews; he’s the only Christian in his immediate family. We have relatives who died in the Holocaust. I find it ironic that rather than people using the Third Reich’s rise to look inward and see how such power and evil gains foothold in hearts, they desire to be on the “right side” of history by assuming their opponents must be analogues for such a threat. And therefore destroyed at all costs.

I consider myself truly bi-partisan—I don’t think allegiance to Jesus allows me to line up cleanly with either party (in a deeply-flawed 2-party system). If it does, chances are I’ve made something of Christ and the Kingdom in my own image. But I can’t help but feel parallels now, where members of the Church find themselves in socio-economic groups that feel politically disenfranchised, and as a result have venerated a morally reprehensible figure in the name of being “saved” from their predicament. (Or, what they see as greater evil from the other political side). One who has co-opted Christian iconography parasitically.

And yet, I still will not use the term Nazi for that. Let’s reserve that for the literal Nazis who are still alive, well, and self-professing.

I struggle deeply to know how to speak to evils the Church at times lets in, in the name of politics, while not closing the door to conversations with people who think differently than me by doing so. I appreciate your sobriety in speaking as you do, and your courage to continue so in the face of very aggressive, bad-faith opposition I see hurled at you regularly. Thank you for your work.

[jeffk]

Great video; several comments.

Firstly, on the inspiration to join causes and stand for what you believe: "The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one." -J. D. Salinger

Secondly, it is very important we judge men (and literature, and everything) in their context, which is well highlighted in this video.

Thirdly, I suggest to viewers, if they are interested in topics such as this, reading H. Richard Niebuhr’s book "Christ and Culture" (published 1951) wrestles with different views on how involved the church should be in socio-political and cultural matters.

Lastly, as Gavin suggests, rather than only reading or watching content about Bonhoeffer, read his works. "The Cost of Discipleship" is very compelling, as well as his "Ethics". To not do so is like reading only Bible commentaries but not the Bible itself. The Hollywood-ize versions, as much as they can be enjoyed for their thematics, never do full justice to the ideas behind the men and women they depict.

Blessings all!

[JakeSGray]

Gavin, I’m asking this as I am watching the video so maybe you will address it, but do you have any thoughts on Eric Metaxas’ book on Bonhoeffer?