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Top 35 Dietrich Bonhoeffer Quotes (COMMUNITY)

Top 10 Most Famous Dietrich Bonhoeffer Quotes (BEST)

We must learn to regard people less in the light of what they do or omit to do, and more in the light of what they suffer.Pin
We must learn to regard people less in the light of what they do or omit to do, and more in the light of what they suffer.
Action springs not from thought, but from a readiness for responsibility.Pin
Action springs not from thought, but from a readiness for responsibility.
Judging others makes us blind, whereas love is illuminating.Pin
Judging others makes us blind, whereas love is illuminating.
Music… will help dissolve your perplexities and purify your character and sensibilities, and in time of care and sorrow, will keep a fountain of joy alive in you.Pin
Music… will help dissolve your perplexities and purify your character and sensibilities, and in time of care and sorrow, will keep a fountain of joy alive in you.
We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself.Pin
We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself.
It is so easy to overestimate the importance of our own achievements compared with what we owe to the help of others.Pin
It is so easy to overestimate the importance of our own achievements compared with what we owe to the help of others.
If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction.Pin
If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction.
We pray for the big things and forget to give thanks for the ordinary, small (and yet really not small) gifts.Pin
We pray for the big things and forget to give thanks for the ordinary, small (and yet really not small) gifts.
May we be enabled to say 'No' to sin and 'Yes' to the sinner.Pin
May we be enabled to say ‘No’ to sin and ‘Yes’ to the sinner.
The Church is the Church only when it exists for others... not dominating, but helping and serving.Pin
The Church is the Church only when it exists for others… not dominating, but helping and serving.

11 Dietrich Bonhoeffer Quotes on discipleship and Suffering (GRACE)

“Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession… Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Discipleship is not an offer that man makes to Christ.Pin
Discipleship is not an offer that man makes to Christ.
One act of obedience is worth a hundred sermons.Pin
One act of obedience is worth a hundred sermons.
By judging others we blind ourselves to our own evil and to the grace which others are just as entitled to as we are.Pin
By judging others we blind ourselves to our own evil and to the grace which others are just as entitled to as we are.
Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.Pin
Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.
In a word, live together in the forgiveness of your sins, for without it no human fellowship, least of all a marriage, can survive.Pin
In a word, live together in the forgiveness of your sins, for without it no human fellowship, least of all a marriage, can survive.
Jesus himself did not try to convert the two thieves on the cross; he waited until one of them turned to him.Pin
Jesus himself did not try to convert the two thieves on the cross; he waited until one of them turned to him.
When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.Pin
When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.
It is only because He became like us that we can become like Him.Pin
It is only because He became like us that we can become like Him.
We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God.Pin
We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God.
How can God entrust great things to one who will not thankfully receive from Him the little thingsPin
How can God entrust great things to one who will not thankfully receive from Him the little things?

14 Dietrich Bonhoeffer Quotes on Life and Prayer (FAITH)

“Don’t insist on your rights, don’t blame each other, don’t judge or condemn each other, don’t find fault with each other, but accept each other as you are, and forgive each other every day from the bottom of your hearts…”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer
God loves human beings. God loves the world. Not an ideal human, but human beings as they are; not an ideal world, but the real world.Pin
God loves human beings. God loves the world. Not an ideal human, but human beings as they are; not an ideal world, but the real world.
The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world that it leaves to its children.Pin
The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world that it leaves to its children.
In normal life we hardly realize how much more we receive than we give, and life cannot be rich without such gratitude.Pin
In normal life we hardly realize how much more we receive than we give, and life cannot be rich without such gratitude.
There is meaning in every journey that is unknown to the traveler.Pin
There is meaning in every journey that is unknown to the traveler.
Christianity preaches the infinite worth of that which is seemingly worthless and the infinite worthlessness of that which is seemingly so valued.Pin
Christianity preaches the infinite worth of that which is seemingly worthless and the infinite worthlessness of that which is seemingly so valued.
It is grace, nothing but grace, that we are allowed to live in community with Christian brethren.Pin
It is grace, nothing but grace, that we are allowed to live in community with Christian brethren.
A God who let us prove his existence would be an idol.Pin
A God who let us prove his existence would be an idol.
We do God’s work for our brothers and sisters when we learn to listen to them.Pin
We do God’s work for our brothers and sisters when we learn to listen to them.
When all is said and done, the life of faith is nothing if not an unending struggle of the spirit with every available weapon against the flesh.Pin
When all is said and done, the life of faith is nothing if not an unending struggle of the spirit with every available weapon against the flesh.
Where God tears great gaps we should not try to fill them with human words.Pin
Where God tears great gaps we should not try to fill them with human words.
Seek God, not happiness - this is the fundamental rule of all meditation. If you seek God alone, you will gain happiness: that is its promise.Pin
Seek God, not happiness – this is the fundamental rule of all meditation. If you seek God alone, you will gain happiness: that is its promise.
While we distinguish between pious and godless, good and evil, noble and base, God loves real people without distinction.Pin
While we distinguish between pious and godless, good and evil, noble and base, God loves real people without distinction.

“The community of the saints is not an ‘ideal’ community consisting of perfect and sinless men and women, where there is no need of further repentance. No, it is a community which proves that it is worthy of the gospel of forgiveness by constantly and sincerely proclaiming God’s forgiveness. ”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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Dietrich Bonhoeffer Short Biography

Born on 4 February in 1906 in Breslau, Germany, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a Protestant theologian who was involved in efforts to oust Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party.

From 1923-1927, Bonhoeffer studied theology at the local universities in Tübingen and Berlin. While studying, he was influenced by several other theologians but was drawn to the idea of “theology of revelation.”

At the start of the unrest in German towards the Nazi party, Bonhoeffer was involved in several protests against Hitler and the regime and was active in fighting against anti-Semitism.

In 1933, the Confessing Church, a German Protestant church that was strongly against the Nazi party, made Bonhoeffer their spokesperson.

During a radio address wherein Bonhoeffer was denouncing Hitler and warning Germany of their involvement in the Nazi party, Bonhoeffer was cut off and was unsure whether or not the Nazi party was responsible.

After some time in London, Bonhoeffer returned to Germany in 1935 and became the head of an underground seminary.

Bonhoeffer was also working as a courier for German resistance groups and would help German Jews escape the boarders and flee to Switzerland.

Eventually, Bonhoeffer was caught and arrested in 1943 and was executed.

Further Reading:

Here are the best Dietrich Bonhoeffer quotes so you can find the joy in both the good and the bad and cast out bitterness in your life.

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