Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote extensively and beautifully on Christmas. And there’s no doubt he wished to spend Christmas with his fiancée and his family, after he was arrested in Germany in 1943. But he had counted the cost, and like the Apostle Paul, was able to “count it all joy”–even a Nazi prison camp.
He wrote this letter to his parents on December 18, 1943:
Viewed from a Christian perspective, Christmas in a prison cell can, of course, hardly be considered particularly problematic. Most likely many of those here in this building will celebrate a more meaningful and authentic Christmas than in places where it is celebrated in name only.
That misery, sorrow, poverty, loneliness, helplessness, and guilt mean something quite different in the eyes of God than according to human judgment; that God turns toward the very places from which humans turn away; that Christ was born in a stable because there was no room for him in the inn—a prisoner grasps this better than others, and for him this is truly good news.
And to the extent he believes it, he knows that he has been placed within the Christian community that goes beyond the scope of all spatial and temporal limits, and the prison walls lose their significance. . . .
With great gratitude and love,
Your Dietrich
(Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, vol. 8, Letters and Papers from Prison (Fortress, 2010), 224–226.)
Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s family was deeply committed to truth, and to upholding human dignity. Ultimately, Dietrich’s own commitment–which was very much in keeping with his family’s values–led to his death by a Nazi firing squad.
Dietrich’s brother Klaus became the top lawyer at the airline Lufthansa. He worked for years in the legal field, before and during World War II, and used his legal connections to support anti-Nazi groups, and gather evidence of their crimes against various unwanted populations.
Dietrich’s father was an agnostic and his mother was a devout Christian, but despite their differences, they had a model marriage of mutual love and respect. After Dietrich became a pastor, his mother encouraged him to live his convictions consistently and boldly, and to be an example to the German churches amidst the immense societal pressures of Nazism.
Dietrich’s father was an influential psychiatrist in Germany for decades. He always taught his family to speak truthfully, to respect everybody, and not to let their minds be softened by catch phrases or propaganda.
It was because of his family heritage, and his own dedication to the truth of God’s Word and the dignity of the human person, that Dietrich Bonhoeffer is still revered as an example of conscience and moral clarity for Christians today.
I strongly recommend this biography of Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas, available at Amazon for only $9.99 USD.
Asia for Life is committed to speaking the truth in charity, and upholding a consistent and Biblical ethic on the dignity of all human lives. There is no law or ideology that can actually remove the inherent dignity of any person…the unborn, the elderly, or the disabled.
But laws and ideologies are powerful, and have led countless people into confusion about which kinds of people it is acceptable–or necessary–to kill. Christian churches must be able to respond clearly to society’s confusion, and pastors must be able to “shepherd the flock” (1 Peter 5:2).
It is hard to compare the world of 1943 to the world of 2017. There are some injustices of the 1940’s (e.g. the widespread use of concentration camps) that we could not imagine today. Likewise, there are some injustices in 2017 that nobody in the 1940’s would have imagined.
For instance, today, there are still millions of people in China and Vietnam who have no legal identity, because they were not allowed to be born. And today–Christmas Day, 2018–a large percentage of pregnant women are not allowed to give birth, because of these countries’ Two-Child Policy.
Today, most countries in the world–including China and Vietnam–have far more resources than any generation in history could have imagined in their day. Everywhere on Earth, we can now feed, clothe, and house everyone with greater ease and comfort than any generation has ever experienced. (And the only exceptions to this are due to corruption and war). Yet, in many places, it is the same as it was on the first Christmas. Mothers and fathers of unborn babies are told that “there is no room for them”.
And today–on Christmas Day, 2018–whether they are willing or not, tens of thousands of mothers and fathers in East Asia will lose their unborn children to abortion. There are also brave mothers and fathers who are being pressured, fired, harassed, sued, chased, and even imprisoned, because they want to give birth to their children.
Just as the authorities did not want Jesus to be born, and a policy was made to get rid of Him as a baby, this past generation has been targeted for destruction on an absolutely unprecedented scale. Widespread abortion has been an entirely unnecessary tragedy, that has brought death and devastation to hundreds of millions of people for decades, all over East Asia.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)
Today, I’m going to continue to hope and pray that:
–abortion will no longer violently end tens of thousands of lives in East Asia every day
–mothers and fathers of unborn children who are “illegal” in China and Vietnam today will have courage like many heroes in the past, so that they are willing to face persecution for the sake of the next generation
–Christian pastors and families will “obey God rather than men”, even if it means rejection by their family and society
–euthanasia will not become normal medical policy in East Asia
–historical lies regarding overpopulation will be dismantled, so that the true causes of global poverty can be addressed
–there will be a widespread turning of the hearts of parents to their children and of children to their parents
–the Church in East Asia will have a vibrant and generous “spirit of adoption”, that will cultivate creative ways to care for orphans and widows (James 1:27)
Today, God can do ANYTHING. Please pray with me, today, and in the coming year.
Joe Woodard
Asia for Life
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