Quote

The limitation of the ethical phenomenon to its place and time does not imply its rejection but, on the contrary, its validation. One does not use canons to shoot sparrows.

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
Place
Imply
Doe
Rejection
Time
Limitation
Ethical
Phenomenon
Canons
Shoot
Sparrows
Contrary
Validation
Use
Canon

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It is only with gratitude that life becomes rich!
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Nothing is so at odds with prayer as vanity.
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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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Where God tears great gaps we should not try to fill them with human words.
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Prayer does not mean simply to pour out one's heart. It means rather to find the way to God and to speak with him, whether the heart is full or empty.
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The future and the hope for the middle class church lies in the renewal of its lifeblood, which is only possible if the church succeeds in winning the working class.
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The heart clings to collected treasure. Stored-up possessions get between me and God. Where my treasure is, there is my trust, my security, my comfort, my God. Treasure means idolatry.
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Battles are won, not with weapons, but with God. They are won where the way leads to the cross.
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Salvation is free, but discipleship will cost you your life
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Ultimate seriousness in not without a dose of humor.
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And if we ask how are we to know where our hearts are, the answer is just as simple - everything which hinders us from loving God above all things and acts as a barrier between ourselves and our obedience to Jesus is our treasure, and the place where our heart is.
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Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our church. We are fighting today for costly grace.
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Thus the call to follow Christ always means a call to share the work of forgiving men their sins. Forgiveness is the Christlike suffering which it is the Christian's duty to bear.
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Being free means being free for the other, because the other has bound me to him. Only in relationship with the other am I free
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If you believe, take the first step, it leads to Jesus Christ. If you don't believe, take the first step all the same, for you are bidden to take it.
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Only the believer obeys — obedience follows faith, the way good fruit comes from a good tree. Only the obedient believe.
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If we are to pray aright, perhaps it is quite necessary that we pray contrary to our own heart. Not what we want to pray is important, but what God wants us to pray. The richness of the Word of God ought to determine our prayer, not the poverty of our heart.
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One act of obedience is better than one hundred sermons.
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Human love has little regard for the truth. It makes the truth relative, since nothing, not even the truth, must come between it and the beloved person.
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