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Nothing can be more cruel than the leniency which abandons others to their sin. Nothing can be more compassionate than the severe reprimand which calls another Christian in one’s community back from the path of sin.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

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Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Age: 39 †
Born: 1906
Born: February 4
Died: 1945
Died: April 8
Pastor
Philosopher
Poet
Resistance Fighter
Theologian
Breslau
Bonhoeffer
Nothing
Calls
Sin
Reprimand
Path
Leniency
Community
Abandons
Christian
Severe
Others
Cruel
Another
Compassionate
Back
Abandon

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The Church is her true self only when she exists for humanity. As a fresh start, she should give away all her endowments to the poor and needy. The clergy should live solely on the freewill offerings of their congregations, or possibly engage in some secular calling.
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Sometimes we just need a firm kick in the pants. An unsmiling expectation that if we mean all these wonderful things we talk about and sing about, then let’s see something to prove it.
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Right speech comes out of silence and right silence comes out of speech.
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Discipleship is not limited to what you can comprehend – it must transcend all comprehension. Plunge into the deep waters beyond your own comprehension, and I will help you to comprehend even as I do. Bewilderment is the true comprehension. Not to know where you are going is the true knowledge. My comprehension transcends yours.
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Do not try to make the Bible relevant. Its relevance is axiomatic.
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To endure the cross is not tragedy it is the suffering which is the fruit of an exclusive allegiance to Jesus Christ.
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The future of modern society depends much more on the quiet heroism of the very few who are inspired by God. These few will greatly enjoy the divine inspiration and will be prepared to stand for the dignity of Man and true freedom and to keep the Law of God, even of it means martyrdom or death.
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Political action means taking on responsibility. This cannot happen without power. Power is to serve responsibility.
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It is not in our life that God's help and presence must still be proved, but rather God's presence and help have been demonstrated for us in the life of Jesus Christ. It is in fact more important for us to know what God did to Israel, to his Son Jesus Christ, than to seek what God intends for us today.
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The physical presence of other Christians is a source of incomparable joy and strength to the believer.
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The responsible person seeks to make his whole life a response to the question and call of God.
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What we are in ourselves, and what we owe to others makes us a complete whole.
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Politics are not the task of a Christian.
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Christianity without the living Christ is inevitably Christianity without discipleship, and Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ.
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Who among us will celebrate Christmas correctly? Whoever finally lays down all power, l honor, all reputation, all vanity, all arrogance, all individualism beside the manger whoever remains lowly and lets God alone be high whoever looks at the child in the manger and sees the glory of God precisely in his lowliness.
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If you reject God's commanding word, you will not receive God's gracious word.
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It is the fellowship of the Cross to experience the burden of the other. If one does not experience it, the fellowship he belongs to is not Christian. If any member refuses to bear that burden, he denies the law of Christ.
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The right way to pray is to stretch out our hands and ask of One who we know has the heart of a Father.
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What we shall need is not geniuses, or cynics, or misanthropes, or clever tacticians, but plain, honest, straghtforward men.
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