| Title | : | Letters and Papers from Prison |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0684838273 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780684838274 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 437 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1951 |
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a young German pastor who was executed by the Nazis in 1945 for his part in the “officers’ plot” to assassinate Adolf Hitler.
This expanded version of Letters and Papers from Prison shifts the emphasis of earlier editions of Bonhoeffer’s theological reflections to the private sphere of his life. His letters appear in greater detail and show his daily concerns. Letters from Bonhoeffer’s parents, siblings, and other relatives have also been added, in addition to previously inaccessible letters and legal papers referring to his trial.
Acute and subtle, warm and perceptive, yet also profoundly moving, the documents collectively tell a very human story of loss, of courage, and of hope. Bonhoeffer’s story seems as vitally relevant, as politically prophetic, and as theologically significant today, as it did yesterday.
Letters and Papers from Prison Reviews
-
Another fantastic one for my quote series:
“Please don’t ever get anxious or worry about me, but don’t forget to pray for me – I’m sure you don’t. I am so sure of God’s guiding hand that I hope I shall always be kept in that certainty. You must never doubt that I’m traveling with gratitude and cheerfulness along the road where I’m being led. My past life is brim-full of God’s goodness and my sins are covered by the forgiving love of Christ crucified.”
One of my favorite research papers to write was one on Christian German resistance during World War II. While I could go on for days discussing it (which I’m sure you find shocking), I’ll just stick to one of the main players from that: Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He was arrested and later executed (23 days before Berlin was captured by the allies) for the discovery of his connection to anti-Hitler conspiracies (think the movie Valkyrie). Prior to being moved to a concentration camp, he was in prison where he wrote numerous letters.
Above is from one of them. Incredible. Knowing there was a high possibility he would die at the hands of people who lived by hate, he was about honoring God and forgiveness. As Timothy Keller concluded: “Bonhoeffer uses divine forgiveness to help him understand human forgiveness… As Bonhoeffer says, everyone who forgives someone bears the other’s sins.” So much to take from both of those quotes!
Have you read any of Bonhoeffer? What are your thoughts? You can join in here!
http://booksandbeverages.wordpress.co... -
Really enjoyed the sections where D talked about the problems of faith in the modern world (now post-modern). The world, according to D, has rejected God as a beginning point for science, philosophy and even theology! Christians are now called to live with Christ in a world that has rejected religion without being religious. In the letters D's ideas were not completely expressed but a lot of interesting thoughts could come out of what he did write. ONe can see where Peter Rollins got a lot of his inspiration for some of his ideas from this volume, i.e. deus ex machina, etc... I would not recommend this book to those who aren't interested in, or ready for, theological issues and perplexities. I like the fact that D could ruminate on the problems of faith, discussing Bultmann, Barth, Kant, and others and yet have a simple, real, trusting faith in Christ. We suffer with Christ in a world that has rejected God. The Christian does not run and hide; but embracing his calling to live in a world without God and suffer with Christ in that world.
-
I finally got around to reading this classic. New editions include many personal letters (which can get tiresome) as well as Bonhoeffer's more theological musings. I'm impressed that he kept such a positive spirit, and thought so deeply in such dire circumstances. Sadly, Bonhoeffer was executed just a few weeks before the war ended.
-
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German pastor and theologian, was hanged at a Nazi concentration camp in 1945 for his role in the Resistance and in planning a failed 1944 assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler. The version I read is only a selection, as Bonhoeffer’s papers from prison in his Collected Works now run to 800 pages. After some letters to his parents, the largest section here is made up of “Letters to a Friend,” who I take it was the book’s editor, Eberhard Bethge, a seminary student of Bonhoeffer’s and his literary executor as well as his nephew by marriage.
Bonhoeffer comes across as steadfast and cheerful. He is grateful for his parents’ care packages, which included his latest philosophy and theology book requests as well as edible treats, and for news of family and acquaintances. To Bethge he expresses concern over the latter’s military service in Italy and delight at his marriage and the birth of a son named Dietrich in his honour. (Among the miscellaneous papers included at the end of this volume are a wedding sermon and thoughts on baptism to tie into those occasions.)
Maintaining a vigorous life of the mind sustained Bonhoeffer through his two years in prison. He downplays the physical challenges of his imprisonment, such as poor food and stifling heat during the summer, acknowledging that the mental toll is more difficult. The rhythm of the Church year is a constant support for him. In his first November there he writes that prison life is like Advent: all one can do is wait and hope. I noted many lines about endurance through suffering and striking a balance between defiance and acceptance:Resistance and submission are both equally necessary at different times.
It is not some religious act which makes a Christian what he is, but participation in the suffering of God in the life of the world.
not only action, but also suffering is a way to freedom.
Bonhoeffer won over wardens who were happy to smuggle out his letters and papers, most of which have survived apart from a small, late selection that were burned so as not to be incriminating. Any references to the Resistance and the plot to kill Hitler were in code; there are footnotes here to identify them.
The additional non-epistolary material – aphorisms, poems and the abovementioned sermons – is a bit harder going. Although there is plenty of theological content in the letters to Bethge, much of it is comprehensible in context and one could always skip the couple of passages where he goes into more depth.
Reading the foreword and some additional information online gave me an even greater appreciation for Bonhoeffer’s bravery. After a lecture tour of the States in 1939, American friends urged him to stay in the country and not return to Germany. He didn’t take that easier path, nor did he allow a prison guard to help him escape. For as often as he states in his letters the hope that he will be reunited with his parents and friends, he must have known what was coming for him as a vocal opponent of the regime, and he faced it courageously. It blows my mind to think that he died at 39 (my age), and left so much written material behind. His posthumous legacy has been immense.
Originally published on my blog,
Bookish Beck. -
"You must never doubt that I'm traveling with gratitude and cheerfulness along the road where I'm being led." -- Dietrich Bonhoeffer, letter from prison, Aug. 23, 1944
My sister pointed out how much significant writing comes from people who were incarcerated: The Apostle Paul (several of his epistles), Martin Luther King Jr. ("Letter from a Birmingham Jail"). John Bunyan wrote at least the first part of "The Pilgrim's Progress" while in jail. I'm sure there are many other examples ... and "Letters and Papers from Prison" certainly belongs with the others.
This is the "greatly enlarged" edition. The original edition limited itself to Bonhoeffer's letters, and only to those that addressed theological concepts. This edition includes many letters written to him, and his letters on more temporal matters. Thus, we not only learn about his theology, we see him living it out. We see him, also, as a plain old human with needs, wants and fears. Several of his early letters to his parents include a request for smoking materials.
Almost all of the theology comes in letters written to his friend and in-law Eberhard Bethge (who married Bonhoeffer's niece). This is theology raw, and one suspects it might have been refined a bit before it had been released as a theological work for a larger audience. Some of it is troubling, and some of it I just don't get. But the essence of it, I think, is summed up in a phrase that has become popular: Christianity is not a religion, it's a relationship. Don't misunderstand: Bonhoeffer doesn't use that phrase. But I think it's what he was getting at.
This edition may have been expanded a tad too much. I don't think his random notes serve any purpose. I don't think he was a very good poet, but I don't know much about poetry.
But what emerges overall is a moving portrait of a man of remarkable humanity, courage and conviction in a time of incredible darkness. -
Oh, my. As if I weren't already inordinately fond of Bonhoeffer -- his writings and his life -- this collection of his letters and notes (written while he was in prison on suspicion of conspiracy to assassinate Hitler) cements him in my high estimation. I feel so many things about this book. In the midst of such a difficult, painful experience, Bonhoeffer displays deep faith and profound composure in his letters to his family and fiance. I was often struck by how much pain he tries to alleviate in their experience of a loved one being in prison. And it always feels sincere! Granted, Bonhoeffer's World War II German prison experience was more comfortable than was typical, but I truly believe him when he writes he is comfortable, at peace, and even finding ways to enjoy solitude. He expresses expected frustration at the legal delays and sadness at missing big family events, but it is always with an acceptance of God's timing and allowance.
The book is also a wonderful look into Bonhoeffer's more intimate theological wonderings, but I actually treasure the book most for the deep friendship and love displayed in the letters between him and Eberhard Bethge. Whereas Bonhoeffer displays strength and poise in his letters to his family, he lets the walls down with Bethge. Through the letters and personally-spiritual poems he sends to Bethge, we get a unique look into the deep emotional humanity of a rather stoic German theologian. I was struck by Bonhoeffer's many requests to Bethge to write longer letters and to respond in more depth to Bonhoeffer's questions and spiritual explorations. In the midst of an imposed-ascetic lifestyle, Bonhoeffer found treasures in his own writings and in the writings of his loved ones. Even Bonhoeffer's poetry, while quite poor, revealed surprising emotional depths in a typically cool, objective man. Bonhoeffer clearly received unique encouragement and affirmation from Bethge, not only in Bethge's letters but in the space created between the two friends for emotional expression, support, and spiritual discovery. It was an incredibly poignant reading experience.
I cried while reading the last 30 pages of this book. I am tearing up writing this review. I only say that to illustrate how unexpectedly emotional I was reading Bonhoeffer's letters, despite the minimal "action" and the rather staid tone. I can't wait to read more of Bonhoeffer's works (and to reread Metaxas' biography) with a deeper knowledge of the man himself. Bonhoeffer's commitment to the necessary "worldliness" of Christian living is inspirational, not just because of the depth of his wisdom but because of the example he provides in his life, imprisonment, and death. -
From April 1943 to April 1945, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a prisoner of the Gestapo. Suspected of participating in a plot against Hitler, he was eventually executed in the closing days of World War II. This book is a collection of letters he wrote from prison to his family, his fiancee Maria, and his dearest friend Eberhard.
Bonhoeffer was in his late 30s when he was arrested. He was a Lutheran theologian, who had publicly questioned the rise of fascism and anti-Semitism in Germany and was systematically silenced by Hitler's government, unable finally to publish any of his writings or to preach in any pulpit. Along with other members of his family, Bonhoeffer secretly participated in an effort led by officers of Army Intelligence to undermine the war effort. Attempting to build a case against him, the Gestapo kept him a prisoner, awaiting trial. Incriminating evidence did not emerge until after the July 1944 attempt on Hitler's life. And at this point the letters stop, as Bonhoeffer was transported to another prison and eventually to a series of concentration camps.
The letters in this volume describe in detail the routines of prison life. And they offer a glimpse of life lived by ordinary civilians during months of aerial bombardments, as the fabric of daily life slowly crumbles. They also reveal the thoughts and emotions of a man whose faith in God and trust in survival are put to the severest test. While he is remembered by those who knew him in his last months as a fiercely brave, courageous, and selfless man, we see in the letters his inner turmoil, his fear, loneliness, and sense of isolation in a world his theology never imagined.
Included in the collection are polite and cheerful love letters to the young Maria von Wedemeyer, to whom he has proposed marriage. And more deeply moving still are his heart-felt letters to Eberhard Bethge, a fellow clergyman and dearly loved friend. It was Bethge, many years later, who collected these letters and published them; he has also written an extensive biography of Bonhoeffer. (The letters to Maria von Wedemeyer have been published separately as "Love Letters from Cell 92"). A collection of Bethge's essays on Dietrich Bonhoeffer was publisehd in 1995 under the title "Friendship and Resistance." They portray Bonhoeffer's friendship with Bethge and describe how the prison letters between them survived.
Bonhoeffer's life should have been that of a theologian much respected in his own time who, in a large body of work, advanced an understanding of God for a modern, secular world. His years cut short, we can only guess what his final contribution would have been. But the letters are an inspiring testament to a life lived without compromise or despair, in the face of overwhelmingly destructive forces. -
I got this book because I wanted to dig deeper into Bonhoeffer’s mature thought, found in the letters he wrote while imprisoned. Those profound, insightful, eye-opening thoughts are in here but first are dozens (hundreds) of letters both from and to Bonhoeffer. The introduction noted that the first edition of this book was much shorter, consisting mostly of just the theological letters.
I wasn’t expecting 350ish pages of letters before getting into the theological meat, but it was an intriguing and heart-moving read. I mean, Bonhoeffer is in prison and seems so level-headed! If you didn’t know any better, you might assume being in prison wasn’t so bad. Sure, compared to most prisoners of the Third Reich, Bonhoeffer was in an ideal situation. But it was still rather terrible. And it certainly affected him more than he let on, which is especially apparent when he writes to his friend Eberhard Bethgee, Here he lets his guard down, which shines a light on how much it is up when he writes to his parents.
Beginning with the letter of April 30, 1944, Bonhoeffer discusses “religionless Christianity”. I am not going to try to sum it up, but there is a lot here to gnaw on - it started (or contributed to) an entire movement in the 60s (Death of God theology). I
Bonhoeffer is critical of how Christians tend to present God at the moment when all other explanations are over. After that, whatever is left that cannot be unexplained, or things such as meaning and morality, are where God is found. For Bonhoeffer, this reduces God to the edges while God ought to be at the center. His criticism of apologists is spot on, though I admit I was thinking of the apologists I was reading in the early 2000s. For them, and many Christians, God is a deus ex machina - brought in at the end to solve whatever problem remains.
“Religious people speak of God at a point where human knowledge is at an end (or sometimes when they’re too lazy to think further), or when human strength fails. Actually, its a deus ex machina that they’re always bringing on the scene, either to appear to solve insoluble problems or to provide strength when human powers fail, thus always exploiting human weakness or human limitations. Inevitable that lasts only until human beings become powerful enough to push the boundaries a bit further and God is no longer needed as deus ex machina” (369).
Another great quote comes from his letter of May 29, 1944:
“God is the center of life and doesn’t just ‘turn up’ when we have unsolved problems to be solved” (411)
Now, to say God ought to be at the center may sound much like what you’d here at some kind of youth rally or summer camp revival. Sweaty evangelistic preachers are always guilt tripping impressionable youth to take God more seriously, to give God more of life, to put God at the center! This seems to mean pray more, read the Bible more, just plain think about God more. Maybe give up anything fun in life and go be a missionary.
This is not what Bonhoeffer means. He speaks of this earlier, and I couldn’t find the one quote I was thinking of, where he speaks os enjoying life:
“I believe we are so to love God in our life and in the good things God gives us and to lay hold of such trust in God that, when the time comes and is here. But truly only then! - we also go to God with love, trust and joy. But - to say it clearly - that a person in the arms of his wife should long for the hereafter is, to put it mildly, tasteless and in any case is not God’s will. One should find and lovve God in what God directly gives us: if it pleases God to allow us to enjoy an overwhelming earthly happiness then one shouldn’t be more pious than God and allow this happens to be gnawed away through arrogant thoughts and challenges and wil religious fantasy that is never satisfied with what God gives” (215).
Then in his letter of July 16, 1944 he writes:
“Thus our coming of ave leads us to a truer recognition of our situation before God. God would have us know that we must live as those who manage their lives without God. . . Before God, and with God, we live without God. God consents to be pushed out of the world and onto the cross; God is weak and powerless in the world and in precisely this way, and only so, is at our side and helps us” (480).
Honestly, I am not even sure what this means.
“The world come of age is more god-less and perhaps just because of that closer to God than the world not yet come of age” (483).
I don’t know what living this way looks like, I am struggling to get my mind around it, but I find it fascinating and inspiring.
He does give some hint in the next letter, July 21, 1944:
“The Christian is not a homo religiosus but simply a human being, in the same way that Jesus was a human being” (487)
And
“Living fully in the midst of life’s tasks, questions, successes and failures, experiences, and perplexities” (488).
Be human as Jesus was human, live fully in this life. Live a life of self-sacrifice in love of others.
At least, that’s what I think he’s getting at.
Overall, a brilliant and haunting book. It was especially haunting to read the final letter from his parents, wondering why he hasn’t written back and not knowing which prison he was transferred to. Bonhoeffer was a brilliant and inspiring man and though we wish we had more writings from him, what he left us is amazing. -
Overall, this is a great book well worth reading. I haven't put my finger on it yet, but I think Bonhoeffer has some powerful lessons for us about nationalism in this time.
Unintegrated thoughts from my second reading:
Reading this book is a long exercise in observing hope that will never be realized in this world. Bonhoeffer hoped to be released, in part because they didn't really have evidence to pin him down at first and didn't know how deeply he was involved in the conspiracy. But the disappointment in his hopes for this world, of course, is part of the lesson. 'This is the end. For me, the beginning of life.'
B. makes a lot of absolute theological statements that are not absolute.
I have some doubts about poor Maria and if the engagement was a good idea. I get the impression the rest of her life was not very happy. And I wonder what happened with her faith. Part of B.'s theology was to act as best as we can given what we know. It's possible that will have bad results, but we look for God to redeem those, too. 'Sin boldly, but trust in grace more boldly still.' -- Luther
B. obviously really loved his friend Eberhard Bethge. It seems like they had a great friendship.
B. is the patron saint of introspective academics, including taking action and becoming a martyr. But all of the idiosyncratic theorizing does get to be a bit much in parts.
In some ways, Bethge was the great (Platonic) love of B.'s life (more so than his romantic relationship with Maria). Their letters and persistent devotion to one another make a strong impression.
B. criticized 'pietism and methodism', which in their healthy form have borne more good fruit that all the academic theology in history.
Liberal theologians love B. But he's a lot more conservative than them.
Edit to previous review:
The previous edition I read (which I happened to have) was not helpful. There weren't enough notes to help provide context, not least because Bonhoeffer was playing a role in many of his letters (for the censors) and they read as being pretty naive and over-cheerful. I finally started reading the relevant parts of
Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy beside it and that helped a lot.
What made B. such a great man? He was brilliant and came from a great family and had great opportunities. But I think one of the biggest factors that made him the man he was was his discipline. He was very disciplined about meditating on the Bible and prayer (though not in a fundamentalist way). Further, as he wrote in his poem 'Stations on the Road to Freedom' [
http://www.swordofthespirit.net/bulwa...], discipline is essential to freedom (including the ability to act and do the right thing).
Reading this book, even knowing the ending in advance, is sad. It's sad that we lost such a man to the insanity of Nazi Germany. But B. believed in a greater life than the one that he was living, and he hoped in that in very difficult circumstances. 'This is the end. For me, the beginning of life.' -
Tolik citátů jsem si z knížky ještě nikdy nevypsal.
-
THE GOOD: True story. Does go into a fair bit of theological detail.
THE BAD: To be honest, this book was a bit of a bore. I've always been interested in WW2 and learning more about Dietrich Bonhoeffer, one of the great theologians of his time. However, the majority of his letters were pretty mundane (get me this, get me that) and failed to keep me entertained at all.
THE UGLY: I give this book 2 stars based on fact that I felt like I had to labour through most of it (Excuse the pun). -
The story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer is tragic and inspiring. This edition of his letters and papers from a Nazi prison provides invaluable primary-source material in the context of events that engulfed Bonhoeffer during World War II. Of course, as a result of his circumstances, he had to be circumspect, as it was evident that the Nazi authorities would read his correspondence.
Bonhoeffer made the long journey from Lutheran nonresistance to the prevailing governmental authorities to a more active resistance to Nazism. For this, he paid the price with his life. -
Humble, personal, richly theological and deeply challenging for the church, these letters and papers from Bonhoeffer’s time in prison are so very human and in that honesty and vulnerability offer questions and reflections on the world, religion, faith, Christology, power, weakness and suffering. I may have had to read this book for an essay but it is one I will return to in my own ministry.
-
Skip to the last 11 pages. For the most part, this books makes for great firewood.
(Other than a few shared insights from isolation: "When you have deliberately suppressed every desire for so long, it burns you up inside, or else you get so bottled up that one day there is a terrific explosion", "My longing to have someone to talk to is far worse than physical hunger", "... but I was glad to be alone again. I often wonder how I shall adapt myself to company again after this.", and "It is nonsense to say that god fills the gap: he does not fill it, but keeps it empty so that our communion with another may be kept alive, even at the cost of pain.") -
Simply outstanding and ultimately heartbreaking knowing that such a mind could be taken from us so early.
Bonhoeffer’s letter in May 1944 on the day of baptism of Dietrich Wilhelm Rudiger Bethge is simply prophetic.
I got my boys to immediately read it between them and discuss together! Sound advice for young men 80 years on! -
I read an older edition from the library, and I’m interested enough in both his letter writing style and content to eventually purchase and read the newest, expanded edition.
I will say, though, that it’s especially disappointing to read various 20th century religious thinkers and writers that I’ve heard to be relatively radical, only to find them definitely somewhat radical (and really refreshing and lots for me to think about) but so completely traditional in their ideas about gender and marriage roles, and even worse, sticking to the Bible style of phrase in referring to everyone through masculine signifiers. Sometimes I understood he truly meant a kind of all-encompassing male-term, but at other usages, I wasn’t so sure. -
The brilliance of this book lies in the intimacy you get with the authors (mostly Bethge and Bonhoeffer). The cheerfulness and resilience displayed by Bonhoeffer, implicated in many of his letters, are extremely admirable. What can be quite hard about reading these letters with little background knowledge is the high degree of familiarity assumed. Because Bethge and Bonhoeffer were very close, they could express a world of thought in half a sentence, which makes it sometimes hard for an outsider to grasp the complete meaning. Still, even for the reader less acquainted with Bonhoeffer's other works, this is a great way to pick his brain a little bit, 70 years later.
-
Probably more than you really need, and the first few hundred pages are mostly quite dull reading ('Dear Mum, please send chocolate and volume three of seventeen of Schneergartenwiegrunde's 'Systematic Theory'), and then you feel bad for finding it dull because you remember that he's literally in a Nazi prison for trying to kill Hitler, and perhaps *you* are the problem? The theology is lovely, and fascinating, though, and well worth reading. The edition is handsome and readable, and I don't think most people will miss the extra 800 pages of notes from the critical, non-reader's edition, unless you need to know who Schneergartenwiegrunde was, and don't have access to DuckDuckGo.
-
Both inspiring as well as a smack to the bottom in the same breath. At one end it is a reminder to always act how Jesus would to influence others in daily life, and at the other it is a wake up call to Christians to act against a religionless world and Christianity and return to restoring touchstone of the Church and Christ.
"God is beyond in the midst of our life. The church stands, not at the boundaries where human powers give out, but in the middle of the village." -
Poco puedo decir sobre escritos basados en hechos reales y tan íntimos como lo es esta compilación del filósofo y teólogo Dietrich Bonhoeffer, salvo lo increíble que resulta leer pensamientos brillantes desde una realidad tan devastadora como lo fue la de la Alemania de principios del siglo pasado. Sin duda, una lectura altamente recomendable. Grandes lecciones éticas de vida y otros temas universales son los que engloban este libro.
-
Without a doubt, the best book of theology I have ever read. Written mostly as letters to Eberhard Bethge, who married Dietrich's niece, they still read so freshly. I re-read some of them in German while studying at the seminary. Just one quote as a taste, from his letter of 14 August 1944:
"In the long run, human relationships are the most important thing in life...God allows himself to be served by us in the form of others." -
A difficult collection to get through. Repeated themes include gratitude, memory, time, sacrifice and violence, and the importance of family ties. In the face of impending death, Bonhoeffer begins formulating a Christian theology that privileges living in the present, not seeking escape through death, but one that speaks to the concerns of a world "come of age."
-
An important volume in prison literature. Insightful. It was helpful to have read a biography of Bonhoeffer before tackling this. Not light or easy reading, some of the letters just trifles, but overall worth the read.
-
PSA:
The "Surprising" "worrying" "monstrous sounding" religionless christianity letters are April 30, 1944 to August 3, 1944.
and, the fortress press recent translation is quite a bit better than this edition, they have a readers edition that is pretty affordable. -
Absolutely essential for those of the Lutheran tradition or anyone who wants to understand one of the greatest men of the 20th century.
-
This is kind of a sad book, but also quite uplifting and inspiring. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a Christian preacher put in prison and then killed in Germany during World War II. This book is a record of his letters and writings smuggled out of prison to his family and friends, many of which include some beautiful Christian teachings. In addition to these words, Dietrich's positive and uplifting attitude is very inspiring, as well as his family's support during trials of their own.
Here are a few of my favorite quotes:
"Who stands fast? Only the man whose final standard is not his reason, his principles, his conscience, his freedom, or his virtue, but who is ready to sacrifice all this when he is called to obedient and responsible action in faith and in exclusive allegiance to God--the responsible man, who tries to make his whole life an answer to the question and call of God. Where are these responsible people (p. 5)?"
"I believe that God can and will bring good out of evil, even out of the greatest evil. For that purpose he needs men who make the best use of everything. I believe that God will give us all the strength we need to help us resist in all time of distress. But he never gives it in advance, lest we should rely on ourselves and not on him alone. A faith such as this should allay all our fears for the future. I believe that even our mistakes and shortcomings are turned to good account, and that it is no harder for God to deal with them than with our supposedly good deeds. I believe that God is no timeless fate, but that he waits for and answers sincere prayers and responsible actions (p. 11)."
"Thinking and acting for the sake of the coming generation, but being ready to go any day without fear or anxiety - that, in practice, is the spirit in which we are forced to live. It is not easy to be brave and keep that spirit alive, but it is imperative (p. 15)."
"People outside find it difficult to imagine what prison life is like. The situation in itself is perhaps not so very different here from anywhere else; I read, meditate, write, pace up and down my cell - without rubbing myself sore against the walls like a polar bear. The great thing is to stick to what one still has and can do - there is still plenty left - and not to be dominated by the thought of what one cannot do, and by feelings of resentment and discontent (p. 38)."
"Every wedding must be an occasion of joy that human beings can do such great things, that they have been given such immense freedom and power to take the helm in their life's journey. The children of the earth are rightly proud of being allowed to take a hand in shaping their own destinies, and something of this pride must contribute to the happiness of a bride and bridegroom....you have all the responsibility for the success of your venture, with all the happiness that such responsibility involves (p. 41)."
"God is guiding your marriage. Marriage is more than your love for each other. It has a higher degree and power, for it is God's holy ordinance, through which he wills to perpetuate the human race till the end of time. In your love you see only your two selves in the world, but in marriage you are a link in the chain of the generations, which God causes to come and to pass away to his glory, and calls into his kingdom. In your love you see only the heaven of your own happiness, but in marriage you are placed at a post of responsibility towards the world and mankind. Your love is your own private possession, but marriage is more than something personal - it is a status, an office. Just as it is the crown, and not merely the will to rule, that makes the king, so it is marriage, and not merely your love for each other, that joins you together in the sight of God and man...so love comes from you, but marriage from above, from God...it is not your love that sustains the marriage, but from now on, the marriage that sustains your love (p. 42)."
"God has laid on marriage a blessing and a burden. The blessing is the promise of children. God allows man to share in his continual work of creations; but it is always God himself who blesses marriage with children. 'Children are a heritage from the Lord' (Ps. 127:3), and they should be acknowledged as such. It is from God that parents receive their children, and it is to God that they should lead them. Parents therefore have divine authority in respect of their children (p. 45)."
"That is God's word for marriage. Thank him for it; thank him for leading you thus far; ask him to establish your marriage, to confirm it, sanctify it, and preserve it. So your marriage will be 'for the praise of his glory (p. 47).'"
"It's remarkable how we think at such times about the people that we should not like to live without, and almost or entirely forget about ourselves. It is only then that we feel how closely our own lives are bound up with other people's, and in fact how the centre of our own lives is outside ourselves, and how little we are separate entities (p. 105)."
"It's a strange feeling to be so completely dependent on other people; but at least it teaches one to be grateful, and I hope I shall never forget that. In ordinary life we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich. Its very easy to overestimate the importance of our own achievements in comparison with what we owe to others...I wish I could be doing useful service somewhere or other, but at present that 'somewhere' must be in the prison cell, and what I can do here makes its contribution in the unseen world, a sphere where the word 'do' is quite unsuitable (p. 109)."
"O God, early in the morning I cry to you. Help me to pray and to concentrate my thoughts on you; I cannot do this alone. In me there is darkness, But with you there is light; I am lonely, but you do not leave me; I am feeble in heart, but with you there is help; I am restless, but with you there is peace. In me there is bitterness, but with you there is patience; I do not understand your ways, but you know the way for me. O heavenly Father, I praise and thank you for the peace of the night; I praise and thank you for this new day; I praise and thank you for all your goodness and faithfulness throughout my life. You have granted me many blessings; Now let me also accept what is hard from your hard. You will lay on me no more than I can bear. You make all things work together for good for your children (p. 139)."
"Of course, not everything that happens is simply 'God's will'; yet in the last resort nothing happens 'without God's will' (Matt. 10:29), i.e. through every event, however untoward, there is access to God. When a man enters on a supremely happy marriage and has thanked God for it, it is a terrible blow to discover that the same God who established the marriage now demands of us a period of such great deprivation (p. 167)."
"Nothing can make up for the absence of someone whom we love, and it would be wrong to try to find a substitute; we must simply hold out and see it through. That sounds very hard at first, but at the same time it is a great consolation, for the gap, as long as it remains unfilled, preserves the bonds between us (p. 176)."
"Friendship, in contrast to marriage and kinship, has no generally recognized rights, and therefore depends entirely on its own inherent quality (p. 192)."
"When people suggest in their letters...that I'm 'suffering' here, I reject the thought. It seems to be a profanation. There things mustn't be dramatized. I doubt very much whether I'm 'suffering' any more than you, or most people, are suffering today. Of course, a great deal here is horrible, but where isn't it? Perhaps we've made too much of this question of suffering, and been too solemn about it (p. 231)."
"Desires to which we cling closely can easily prevent us from being what we ought to be and can be; and on the other hand, desires repeatedly mastered for the sake of present duty make us richer. Lack of desire is poverty. Almost all the people that I find in my present surroundings cling to their own desires, and so have no interest in others; they no longer listen, and they're incapable of loving their neighbour. I think that even in this place we ought to live as if we had no wishes and no future, and just be our true selves. It's remarkable then how others come to rely on us, confide in us, and let us talk to them (p. 233)."
"In revolutionary times ahead the greatest gift will be to know the security of a good home. It will be a bulwark against all dangers from within and without. The time when children broke away in arrogance from their parents will be past. Children will be drawn into their parents' protection, and they will seek refuge, counsel, peace, and enlightenment. You are lucky to have parents who know at first hand what it means to have a parental home in stormy times. In the general impoverishment of intellectual life you will find your parents' home a storehouse of spiritual values and a source of intellectual stimulation (p. 295)."
"Christianity puts us into many different dimensions of life at the same time; we make room in ourselves, to some extent, for God and the whole world. We rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep; we are anxious about our life, but at the same time we must think about things much more important to us than life itself. When the alert goes, for instance: as soon as we turn our minds from worrying about our own safety to the task of helping other people to keep calm, the situation is completely changed; life isn't pushed back into a single dimension, but is kept multi-dimensional and polyphonous (p. 310)."
"The displacement of God from the world, and from the public part of human life, led to the attempt to keep his place secure at least in the sphere of the 'personal', the 'inner', and the 'private'. And as every man still has a private sphere somewhere, that is where he was thought to be the most valuable (p. 344)."
"I discovered later, and I'm still discovering right up to this moment, that it is only by living completely in this world that one learns to have faith. One must completely abandon any attempt to make something of oneself, whether it be a saint, or a converted sinner, or a churchman (a so-called priestly type!), a righteous man or an unrighteous one, a sick man or a healthy one. But this-world-liness I mean living unreservedly in life's duties, problems, successes and failures, experiences and perplexities. In so doing we throw ourselves completely into the arms of God, taking seriously, not our own sufferings, but those of God in the world - watching with Christ in Gethsemane. That, I think, is faith (p. 369)."
"Simplicity is an intellectual achievement, one of the greatest (p. 385)."
"There is hardly anything that can make one happier than to feel that one counts for something with other people. What matters here is not numbers, but intensity. In the long run, human relationships are the most important thing in life....God uses us in his dealings with others (p. 386)."
"All that we may rightly expect from God, and ask him for, is to be found in Jesus Christ (p. 391)."
"What is happiness and unhappiness? It depends so little on the circumstances; it depends really only on that which happens inside a person. I am grateful every day that I have you, and that makes me happy (p. 419)." -
“For evil to appear disguised as light, charity, historical necessity, or social justice is quite bewildering to anyone brought up on our traditional ethical concepts, while for the Christian who bases his life on the Bible it merely confirms the fundamental wickedness of evil.”
“The Bible’s words that ‘the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom’ (Ps. 111.10) tell us that a person’s inward liberation to live a responsible life before God is the only real cure for folly.”
“Marriage is more than your love for each other. It has a higher dignity and power, for it is God’s holy ordinance, through which he wills to perpetuate the human race till the end of time. In your love you see only your two selves in the world, but in marriage you are a link in the chain of the generations, which God causes to come and to pass away to his glory, and calls into his kingdom. In your love you see only the heaven of your own happiness, but in marriage you are placed at a post of responsibility towards the world and mankind. Your love is your own private possession, but marriage is more than something personal - it is a status, an office. Just as it is the crown, and not merely the will to rule, that makes the king, so it is marriage, and not merely your love for each other, that joins you together in the sight of God and man.”
“When I also think about the situation of the world, the complete darkness over our personal fate and my present imprisonment, then I believe that our union can only be a sign of God’s Grace and kindness, which calls us to faith. We would be blind if we did not see it. Jeremiah says at the moment of his people’s great need ‘still one shall buy houses and acres in this land’ as a sign of trust in the future. This is where faith belongs. May God give it to us daily. And I do not mean the faith which flees the world, but the one that endures the world which loves and remains true for the world in spite of all the suffering which it contains for us. Our marriage shall be a yes to God’s earth; it shall strengthen our courage to act and accomplish something on the earth. I fear that Christians who stand with only one leg upon earth also stand with only one leg in heaven.”
