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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.

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
True
Exists
Congregation
Give
Calling
Needy
Live
Humanity
Solely
Freewill
Self
Existence
Secular
Endowments
Giving
Start
Engage
Congregations
Poor
Offering
Offerings
Church
Fresh
Endowment
Away
Possibly
Clergy

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Desires to which we cling closely can easily prevent us from being what we ought to be and can be and on the other hand, desires repeatedly mastered for the sake of present duty make us richer.Lack of desire is poverty.
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The Lord stands above the new day, for God has made it. All restlessness, all worry, and anxiety flee before him.
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The deep meaning of the cross of Christ is that there is no suffering on earth that is not borne by God.
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Things do exist that are worth standing up for without compromise. To me it seems that peace and social justice are such things, as is Christ himself.
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If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction.
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Every sermon must contain a certain shot of heresy.
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A pastor should never complain about his congregation, certainly never to other people, but also not to God. A congregation has not been entrusted to him in order that he should become its accuser before God and men.
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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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I can no longer condemn or hate a brother for whom I pray, no matter how much trouble he causes me.
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Man seeks, in his manhood, not orders, not laws and peremptory dogmas, but counsel from one who is earnest in goodness and faithful in friendship, making man free.
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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 essence of grace, we suppose, is that the account has been paid in advance and, because it has been paid, everything can be had for nothing.
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So the fool, as distinct from the scoundrel, is completely self- satisfied in fact, he can easily become dangerous, as it does not take much to make him aggressive. A fool must therefore be treated more cautiously than a scoundrel.
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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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One who loves his community destroys community one who loves its members builds community.
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God is not free from human beings but for them.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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God is in the manger, wealth in poverty, light in darkness, succor in abandonment. No evil can befall us whatever men may do to us, they cannot but serve the God who is secretly revealed as love and rules the world and our lives.
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Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.
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The first service that one owes to others in the fellowship consists of listening to them. Just as love of God begins with listening to his word, so the beginning of love for our brothers and sisters is learning to listen to them.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer