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We are so afraid of silence that we chase ourselves from one event to the next in order not to have to spend a moment alone with ourselves, in order not to have to look at ourselves in the mirror.

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
Silence
Alone
Chase
Moment
Event
Next
Mirror
Moments
Mirrors
Order
Spend
Look
Afraid
Looks
Events

More quotes by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

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Judging others makes us blind, whereas love is illuminating. By judging others we blind ourselves to our own evil and to the grace which others are just as entitled to as we are.
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Nothing is so at odds with prayer as vanity.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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Many people are looking for an ear that will listen. They do not find it among Christians, because these Christians are talking where they should be listening.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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Nothing can fill the gap when we are away from those we love, and it would be wrong to try to find anything.....It is nonsense to say that God fills the gap he does not fill it, but keeps it empty so that our communion with another may be kept alive, even at the cost of pain.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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By his willingly renouncing self-defence, the Christian affirms his absolute adherence to Jesus, and his freedom from the tyranny of his own ego. The exclusiveness of this adherence is the only power which can overcome evil.
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The Kingdom is to be in the midst of your enemies
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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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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The wars of Israel were the only 'holy wars' in history... there can be no more wars of faith. The only way to overcome our enemy is by loving him.
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Cheap grace is the idea that grace did it all for me so I do not need to change my lifestyle. The believer who accepts the idea of cheap grace thinks he can continue to live like the rest of the world. Instead of following Christ in a radical way, the Christian lost in cheap grace thinks he can simply enjoy the consolations of his grace.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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The fearful danger of the present time is that above the cry for authority, we forget that man stands alone before the ultimate authority, and that anyone who lays violent hands on man here, is infringing eternal laws, and taking upon himself superhuman authority, which will eventually crush him.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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What we are in ourselves, and what we owe to others makes us a complete whole.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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If any want to become my followers, Jesus says. Following him is not something that is self-evident, even among the disciples. No one can be forced, no one can be expected to follow him. ... If any want to follow me, they must deny themselves ... and take up their cross.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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The church ... is not just to bandage the victims under the wheel, but to put a spoke in the wheel itself.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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In normal life we hardly realize how much more we receive than we give, and life cannot be rich without such gratitude. It is so easy to overestimate the importance of our own achievements compared with what we owe to the help of others.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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If Jesus Christ is not true God, how could he help us? If he is not true man, how could he help us?
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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The responsible person seeks to make his whole life a response to the question and call of God.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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How can God entrust great things to one who will not thankfully receive from Him the little things?
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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It is the nature, and the advantage, of strong people that they can raise the crucial questions and form a clear opinion about them.
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Every wedding must be an occasion of joy that human beings can do such great things, that they have been given such immense freedom and power to take the helm in their life's journey.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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The physical presence of other Christians is a source of incomparable joy and strength to the believer.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer