Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy

by Eric Metaxas

He addressed the issue of the church’s attitude toward the state and created common ground with his skeptical readers by paraphrasing Romans 13: “There is no power, but of God; the powers that be are ordained of God.” In other words, governments are established by God for the preservation of order. The church had no fundamental quarrel with the state being the state, with its restraining evil, even by use of force. His dramatic opening sentence seemed to overstate the case: “Without doubt, the Church of the Reformation has no right to address the state directly in its specifically political actions.” But he was aware of his audience and wished to establish that he shared their attitude here. He was also aware of speaking within a tradition that took its cues from Luther, and Luther’s attitude toward the role of the state erred much on the side of the state, whom Luther applauded in crushing the Peasants’ Rebellion, for example. Bonhoeffer must tread carefully.