Duty to God and duty to the state (OCR A-Level Religious Studies): Revision Notes

Duty to God and duty to the state

God's will

Bonhoeffer's emphasis on the purpose of Christian life is fulfilling God's will led him to return to Germany to resist Nazi rule, despite having refuge in America.

The impact of the fall on knowing God's will

Bonhoeffer thought that the fall corrupted our ability to know what is good and what is not, we cannot therefore trust any system of ethics.

Augustine shared the view that the fall has corrupted human reason and the ability to separate right from wrong, leading humans to be more susceptible to sin.

This is evidenced by human methods of ethics, reason, and duty failing during the Nazi movement.

Our goal should be to become a "responsible person" to stand up against evil and have faith in God's will.

How do we find out God's will?

We can meditate on the bible and pray in order to understand God's will.

However: If we are corrupted by the fall, surely we cannot trust this process?

Bonhoeffer assures that all we can do as humans is mediate on God's will and hope he forgives us.

Contradictions in the bible

Jesus strongly associated with pacifism "If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also."

• Jesus died on the cross without retaliating to those who had betrayed him
• It undermines the core message of the bible, the bible is supposed to show us God's will.
• Bonhoeffer puts the wrong sort of emphasis on suffering.

Bonhoeffer's view of the bible

Bonhoeffer utilises a Neo-Orthodox view of the Bible, the purpose of the Bible is to inspire people to follow Jesus, not the moral teachings of Jesus.

Bonhoeffer's argument cannot go against the bible as the bible does not contain universal truths.

It is about how you interpret it (by meditating on it and praying) that is important, not what it says.

Therefore it does not matter if you stick to the laws of the bible as what matters is what you gain from it, god's will comes from meditating on the bible, the bible is not God's will itself.