Und leider auch Theologie Durchaus studiert, mit heißem Bemühn. Da steh' ich nun, ich armer Tor, Und bin so klug als wie zuvor! And, alas, I studied theology too, with great zeal. Here I stand, poor fool, and am as wise as before!
Goethe, 'Faust'：Der Tragödie erster Teil Nacht
I. Die teure Gnade（2）Nachfloge:Dietrich Bonhoeffer
・Aus der Rechtfertigung des Sünders in der Welt wurde die Rechtfertigung der Sünde und der Welt. Aus der teuren Gnade wurde die billige Gnade ohne Nachfolge.
・Sagte Luther, daß unser Tun umsonst ist,・・
Die Erkenntnis der Gnade war für ihn der letzte radikale Bruch mit der Sünde seines Lebens, niemals aber ihre Rechtfertigung. Sie war im Ergreifen der Vergebung die letzte radikale Absage an das eigenwillige Leben, sie war darin selbst erst eigentlich ernster Ruf zur Nachfolge. Sie war ihm jeweils „Resultat“, freilich göttliches, nicht menschliches Resultat. Dieses Resultat aber wurde von den Nachfahren zur prinzipiellen Voraussetzung einer Kalkulation gemacht. Darin lag das ganze Unheil. Ist Gnade das von Christus selbst ge-schenkte „Resultat“ christlichen Lebens, so ist dieses Leben keinen Augenblick dispensiert von der Nachfolge. Ist aber Gnade prinzipielle Voraussetzung meines christlichen Lebens, so habe ich damit im voraus die Rechtfertigung meiner Sünden, die ich im Leben in der Welt tue. Ich kann nun auf diese Gnade hin sündigen, die Welt ist ja im Prinzip durch Gnade gerechtfertigt. Ich bleibe daher in meiner bürgerlich-weltlichen Existenz wie bisher, es bleibt alles beim alten, und ich darf sicher sein, daß mich die Gnade Gottes bedeckt. Die ganze Welt ist unter dieser Gnade „christlich“ geworden, das Christentum aber ist unter dieser Gnade in nie dagewesener Weise zur Welt geworden.
・Wenn Faust am Ende seines Lebens in der Arbeit an der Erkenntnis sagt: „Ich sehe, daß wir nichts wissen können“, so ist das Resultat, und etwas durchaus anderes, als wenn dieser Satz von einem Studenten im ersten Semester über-nommen wird, um damit seine Faulheit zu rechtfertigen (Kierkegaard). Als Resultat ist der Satz wahr, als Voraussetzung ist er Selbstbetrug. Das bedeutet, daß eine Erkenntnis nicht getrennt werden kann von der Existenz, in der sie gewonnen ist. Nur wer in der Nachfolge Jesu im Verzicht auf alles, was er hatte, steht, darf sagen, daß er allein aus Gnaden gerecht werde.
English translation
・
Luther said that our actions are in vain.・・・etc
The recognition of grace was for him the final radical break with the sin of his life, but never its justification. In seizing forgiveness, it was the final radical renunciation of the self-willed life, and therein itself truly a serious call to discipleship.It was always a “result” for him, a divine result, not a human one. However, this result was turned by his descendants into a fundamental precondition for their calculations.
If grace is the “result” of Christian life given by Christ Himself, then this life is not exempt from discipleship for a single moment. But if grace is the fundamental prerequisite of my Christian life, then I already have the justification of my sins that I commit in my life in the world beforehand. I can now sin in light of this grace; after all, the world is justified in principle by grace.
So I remain in my bourgeois-worldly existence as before, everything stays the same, and I can be certain that God’s grace covers me. The whole world has become “Christian” under this grace, but Christianity, under this grace, has become the world in an unprecedented way.
・
When Faust, at the end of his life, says in his work on knowledge: “I see that we cannot know anything”, the result is quite different from when this sentence is adopted by a student in his first semester to justify his laziness (Kierkegaard). As a result the sentence is true, as a premise it is self-deception. This means that an insight cannot be separated from the existence in which it is gained. Only those who follow Jesus by renouncing everything they had can say that they are justified by grace alone.
＊Kierkegaard was also a Faust scholar.
Consideration
In this text, Bonhoeffer focuses his discussion on ‘grace’. According to him, ‘grace’ is described as the ultimate deliverance from his sins and a sincere call to follow him for its bestowal. However, he points out the problem of his descendants merely accepting this ‘grace’ through rational calculation. Many Christians assume that ‘grace’ forgives sins and act as if they can continue to sin. By doing so, they assure the world of being protected by God’s grace. It is mentioned that the entire world has become ‘Christian’, but as a result, it has become more secular than ever before.
The understanding of God’s grace is described as his final radical conversion and decisive break with the sins of life.
The main clause “When Faust at the end of his life says in the work of knowledge” is the previous sentence.
“Gnade als Voraussetzung ist billigste Gnade; Gnade als Resultat teure Gnade. Es ist erschreckend, zu erkennen, was daran liegt, in welcher Weise eine Es ist dasselbe Wort von der Rechtfertigung aus Gnaden allein; und doch führt der falsche Gebrauch desselben Satzes zur vollkommenenen Zerstörung seines Wesens.”
It corresponds to. Grace is the cheapest grace, and the grace that follows is a costly grace. Understanding what lies behind the way Christian truth is stated and used can be surprising. It has been equated with justification by grace alone (justificatio). But the wrong use of the same word leads to the complete destruction of its essence.
Thought
Some clergy argue that in Catholicism, “forgiveness” and rituals are more important than Lutheranism. There are many prominent priests who currently avoid discussing the issue of deceitful clergy. They often present superficial and empty statements, despite their growing influence. The same can be said for the faithful who reflect on these matters. It is a sin to not pay attention to the essence of things and this group paralysis affects these victims. They should realize that they are depriving themselves of faith.
Even in Catholicism, Pope Francis, in the Apostolic Constitution Paschite Glegem Dei, has made the observance of disciplinary penalties an obligation that cannot be separated from pastoral duties. Specifically, the responsibility for correctly applying these penalties lies with the pastor and the superior of each community. I can only lament the Church’s continuous tolerance and “wait-and-see” attitude towards the shameful acts and offenses committed in the sacrament of absolution that have been revealed this time. Bonhoeffer’s emphasis on the relationship between knowledge and being, faith and action, and his assertion that true knowledge is connected to liberation from self-deception; could this also be applicable to Catholicism?
reference
“From an actual lawsuit in Japan:
“A victimized woman shares her real name and confesses, having believed in “being saved from suffering by following the priest,” the approximately five years of “sexual violence” she endured from a Chilean priest in the Catholic Church and the unjust actions of the religious order.””
：2024/3/15の週刊女性Prime
https://www.jprime.jp/articles/-/31182?page=5
I quickly wrote down the details for the moving process this time as well.
Chris Kyogetu 