[October 2000 journal entry]
Re Bonhoeffer’s reference to “the time of inwardness and conscience” (30 April 1944 prison letter) -- I tend to think of inwardness and conscience separately. What Bonhoeffer may have had in mind re inwardness is the clearer of the two to me. I think he was objecting to a turn inward and, therefore, away from one’s present situation. Such inwardness implies a compartmentalizing that is not tolerated by a ‘non-religious’ approach to ethics and spirituality. For Bonhoeffer, ‘God’ is to be experienced in the concrete realities we face, ahead of us in a sense, pursuing reconciliation -- however hard to detect that presence may be. Bonhoeffer sensed a cowardliness in the turn inward that was piously adopted by so many in Germany -- including the Confessing Church -- by/after 1937. Also inwardness offers another example of trying to find gaps where ‘God’ might still be found/relevant in the modern world. I am not so sure what to hear in his reference to conscience. I need to look more closely for clues in his prison letters and in his Ethics. My primary focus to date has been on his discussion of conscience in his December 1942 ‘After Ten Years’ essay. My guess at this point would be that the Hitler era had forced decisions with no ‘clear conscience’ options for those who remained focused on and resistant to that horrific situation. Also, he may have heard/known many who claimed a ‘clear conscience’ in their dismissal of or support for Hitler.
Re Bonhoeffer’s reference to “the time of inwardness and conscience” (30 April 1944 prison letter) -- I tend to think of inwardness and conscience separately. What Bonhoeffer may have had in mind re inwardness is the clearer of the two to me. I think he was objecting to a turn inward and, therefore, away from one’s present situation. Such inwardness implies a compartmentalizing that is not tolerated by a ‘non-religious’ approach to ethics and spirituality. For Bonhoeffer, ‘God’ is to be experienced in the concrete realities we face, ahead of us in a sense, pursuing reconciliation -- however hard to detect that presence may be. Bonhoeffer sensed a cowardliness in the turn inward that was piously adopted by so many in Germany -- including the Confessing Church -- by/after 1937. Also inwardness offers another example of trying to find gaps where ‘God’ might still be found/relevant in the modern world. I am not so sure what to hear in his reference to conscience. I need to look more closely for clues in his prison letters and in his Ethics. My primary focus to date has been on his discussion of conscience in his December 1942 ‘After Ten Years’ essay. My guess at this point would be that the Hitler era had forced decisions with no ‘clear conscience’ options for those who remained focused on and resistant to that horrific situation. Also, he may have heard/known many who claimed a ‘clear conscience’ in their dismissal of or support for Hitler.