One such Saturday before this service, Bonhoeffer broached the subject of personal confession between them. It had been Luther’s idea that Christians should confess to one another instead of to a priest. Most Lutherans had thrown that baby out with the bathwater and didn’t confess to anyone. Confession of any kind was considered overly Catholic, just as extemporaneous prayer was criticized as too pietistic. But Bonhoeffer successfully instituted the practice of confessing one to another. Perhaps not surprisingly, Bonhoeffer chose Eberhard Bethge as his confessor.
