Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Sensitivity to Emotion

Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Sensitivity to Emotion in Christian Community

In Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community, Dietrich Bonhoeffer brings Scripture alive to Christians and their understanding of community. By integrating his knowledge of the Bible with his sensitivity and awareness of culture and those around him, Bonhoeffer offers insight into what God is asking Christians today. I have found his book especially helpful in prioritizing Scripture above human emotion. 

Bonhoeffer is sensitive and highly aware of the emotions of others. While he does not allow emotion to dictate the life of a Christian and community, he articulates pathways in which human emotion can be addressed appropriately and directed by Scripture. By approaching human emotion through prioritizing Scripture, Christians can live with one another in the divine reality, finding joy, love and freedom together.

Bonhoeffer begins near the onset of the book by identifying the "disillusionment" or "human wish dream" of what many believe community should be – essentially creating "the ideal" without regard to Scriptural direction. We desire, and are made for community but can easily get lost in the "lofty moods" or "rapturous experiences," consequently subordinating God to aid our vision of community. The divine reality (i.e. genuine Christian community) may not appear quintessential or desirable initially, but Christians must look to Scripture for God's design in relating and doing life with one another. Only our creator knows how community should practically play out best in a way that fulfills us and glorifies God.

Love is a powerful emotion that Bonhoeffer acknowledges as an innate human desire that "is by its very nature desire–desire for human community." 

He contrasts "human love" with "spiritual love," wherein we exchange Christ-like community and the love of Jesus for a cheap alternative. The emotion of love cannot lead us, as cultural influences, individuals around us, and numerous competing sources would be vying for our attention. None of which can guarantee ultimate satisfaction. In his book The Abolition of Man, C.S. Lewis articulates, "The heart never takes the place of the head: but it can, and should, obey it." In our desire for love, we identify our desire for human community. In this desire, we turn our minds to Scripture to understand the love of Christ that surpasses any other affection or attempt at love. The love of Jesus is where all Christian community must be rooted (a foundational point - perhaps easier said than done!). 

When considering the spiritual practice of prayer, I greatly appreciate Bonhoeffer's sensitivity to the honest struggle of not "feel[ing] at all in the spiritual mood to do so." 

The example given in the book is of a person scheduled to offer prayer for the fellowship and does not feel so inclined at the moment. At this moment, they should be held to their responsibilities. Our human "mood" or emotion should not be the governing force of our spiritual lives. These words may seem harsh, especially in our current secular culture where motive and action can be dependent on emotion (i.e. "I want to be true to myself," "I am what I feel"). Bonhoeffer emphasizes the importance of community upholding an individual to their tasks, keeping one another accountable, "supporting him in his weakness, in his inability to pray." This accountability within the community is a characteristic I am challenged by personally and would love to see more in our church context. Especially in my current culture, it is common to be passive, not direct in addressing absence (missing services, in the joining of singing together) as anything more than saying, "we missed you." But according to Bonhoeffer, if we are not holding each other to a standard, regardless of tiredness/apathy, "not in the mood," we are forfeiting our roles to hold each other accountable and care for the health of others' spiritual lives. As brothers and sisters, we need one another to support and challenge us when we feel weak or apathetic.

If we allowed our emotions to lead us, we would easily disregard the directive to "confess [our] sins to one another" (James 5:16). Do we ever feel like telling another person about the sins we have committed? Bonhoeffer writes, "Why is it that it is often easier for us to confess our sins to God than to a brother? God is holy and sinless, He is a just judge of evil and the enemy of all disobedience. But a brother is sinful as we are…A man who confesses his sins in the presence of a brother knows that he is no longer alone with himself; he experiences the presence of God in the reality of the other person." By recognizing the grace of God and freedom in confession and of our sins, we are liberated from the emotions of guilt, worry, anger or fear. The gift of the gospel is for us to experience today, with and alongside one another.

Christian community is not merely "travail and labor" but also experiences "refreshment and joy in the goodness of God" together. 

The Christian community must also participate in celebrating with one another and rejoicing, as Bonhoeffer emphasizes the importance of feasting and table fellowship found throughout Scripture.

According to Bonhoeffer, salvation is "external to ourselves." We cannot merely look within our emotions to dictate our spiritual lives and Christian community. Instead, we look to Jesus and his Word to dictate our daily actions. By understanding and directing our minds to Scripture, we learn how to be sensitive to our own emotions and the feelings of those around us – to view emotion in light of Scripture and let God’s Word inform our next steps. I hope I would personally integrate Scripture with "contemporary life and [with a] sensitivity to reality" as Bonhoeffer did in his book, Life Together. 

Recommended Reading:

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community.

Lewis, C.S. The Abolition of Man.