letters and papers from prison
receiving this letter reminded me of books containing letters written by famous people, several of which have had a deep influence on me. there's rainer maria rilke's letters to a young poet, christopher hitchens' letters to a young contrarian, and karl barth's, letters '61-'68.
but, by far the most influential book of letters has been letters and papers from prison, by dietrich bonhoeffer.
as biographical background: bonhoeffer was a lutheran
pastor and theologian during world war two. his
conscience led him to participate in the july 20,
1944 plot to assassinate adolf hitler. he was
subsequently arrested for this and was hanged on
april 9, 1945.
what is incredible is just how much influence he
continues to wield over portions of christianity in
the west, especially when we consider how his life
and thought was cut short. so, what i thought i would
do is lead us into an ongoing but occasional
conversation with and about bonhoeffer.
i begin with the account of bonhoeffer's death as
told by h. fischer-hullstrung:
"on
the morning of that day between five and six o'clock
the prisoners...were taken from their cells, and the
verdicts of the court martial read out to them.
through the half open door in one room of the huts i
saw pastor bonhoeffer, before taking off his prison
grab, kneeling on the floor praying fervently to his
god. i was most deeply moved by the way this lovable
man prayed, so devout and so certain that god heard
his prayer. at the place of execution, he again said
a short prayer and then climbed the steps to the
gallows, brave and composed. his death ensued after a
few seconds. in the almost fifty years that I worked
as a doctor, i have hardly ever seen a man die so
entirely submissive to the will of
god."
(quote take from:
i knew dietrich bonhoeffer,
pg. 232)