Angel Studios recently released a new film, “Bonhoeffer: Minister, Spy, Assassin.'' I was excited about Bonhoeffer's entry into the theater, as I had previously taught Dietrich Bonhoeffer's philosophy in class and read his “Prison Letters and Documents” at my sister's wedding and other public events. I was doing it. The trailer for this movie was so well made that I did everything I could to post it on social media and encourage people to go see it.
Then something surprising happened.
When I posted about Bonhoeffer, I could have expected two things to happen. Some comments may be concerned about “Christian nationalism.” A link will then be shared leading to a letter signed by many members of Mr. Bonhoeffer's family expressing their grave reservations.
I observed this dynamic so many times that I wondered if there was some kind of organized opposition to the film and its message. I have watched Bonhoeffer and am a scholar of politics and religion, so I can comment on this phenomenon from an educated standpoint.
Why does this apparent anti-campaign seem aimed at diminishing enthusiasm for the film and discouraging some potential audience members from seeing it?
The answer is very simple and I think it revolves around Eric Metaxas.
Metaxas, previously a writer for “VeggieTales” and author of the New York City conversation series “Socrates in the City,” broke out in 2009 with the publication of “Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy.” became famous. It became a huge bestseller and was even displayed in bookstores at airports. Although there were protests from scholars that the book depicted Bonhoeffer as closer to Karl Barth's German fellow American evangelicals, it presented Bonhoeffer to a public audience that was not entirely wholesome. In comparison, negative reactions were minimal. I don't know him very well.
All that changed when Metaxas became a vocal supporter of Donald Trump in his books and radio shows.
Bonhoeffer became a hero of the church for his resistance to the Nazis.
Many evangelicals (particularly elite evangelicals) have struggled with Trump's questions for years. Russell Moore and David French opposed Trump, and Metaxas enthusiastically supported him. Prior to President Trump, all three would have been part of the same nexus of conservative evangelicals.
For many, Mr. Metaxas' support for Trump tainted his relationship with Mr. Bonhoeffer. Mr. Metaxas was not part of the production team for the film about a German theologian, but he promoted it. So I would like to suggest that efforts to collect letters of protest from members of the Bonhoeffer family and to stir up concerns that Bonhoeffer is a symbol of Christian nationalism may actually be based on anger at Metaxas and its success. . he wrote about himself.
Based on this view, Metaxas Not fit to be associated with Bonhoeffer.
But what about the movie itself and its portrayal of Bonhoeffer? Is this a sordid undertaking to distort one of Germany's heroes of resistance against Hitler into a defender of Christian nationalism? Does the picture of Bonhoeffer with a gun on the poster interpret him as a vigilante?
The answer to both of these questions is “no.” I would argue that the resistance to this film is unwarranted and that it should be evaluated on its own merits.
Who is Bonhoeffer in this movie? The Bonhoeffer we understand is him. A German from a prominent family, he studied theology at New York's prestigious Union Theological Seminary and elsewhere, ultimately resisting Hitler's efforts to transform the German church into something other than orthodox Christianity. became a great defender of
All of this is clear in the movie and is depicted to give Christians an example. The astonishing capitulation of the German Church to Hitler's new Aryanized “German Christianity” remains on record. It took incredible courage to go in a different direction, but Bonhoeffer did it (as did Martin Niemöller, who was portrayed in the film).
Is he a Christian nationalist, or could he even be a Christian nationalist in some way? Christian nationalism may or may not mean a politically distorted gospel. This Bonhoeffer is someone who is fighting for the church to be faithful to a transcendent God rather than the various immanent things we imagine.
There is a second point worth noting. Bonhoeffer is a hero because he fought for the church to refuse to bow down to Hitler in order to properly recognize Christ as Lord.
But tied in with that is the question of whether Bonhoeffer was involved in the plot to assassinate Hitler. Indeed, he tried to infiltrate the government. He worked as a double agent for Nazi Germany's military intelligence unit, the Abwehr. The film depicts him smuggling Jews into Switzerland, but more importantly, it depicts him grappling with the decision to kill Hitler.
This is an important point.
Bonhoeffer became a hero of the church for his resistance to the Nazis. His involvement in the plot to assassinate Hitler is a more difficult issue. It is not easy for Christians to insist on participating in such operations. There are many different strands of Christian thought that can be explored and considered, and that's part of what makes this movie worth recommending. In this film, Bonhoeffer grapples with the disaster that befell his homeland and his people.
Portraying the life of Bonhoeffer: Minister, Spy, Assassin, one of the most remarkable figures of the 20th century, is a monumental challenge and one that requires many compromises. succeed in that mission. Those who already know this story will find it alternately encouraging and challenging. Even those who don't will find a moving depiction of the struggles faced by men and women of conscience during the crisis in Nazi Germany.
This Bonhoeffer is not perfect, but he is a role model worth emulating. He loves music, people (of all races), and God, and is willing to sacrifice his life for what he believes in. Those who expressed concerns about this movie missed the point.
