ATSS: Jeffrey Gang, “Dietrich Bonhoeffer & the Rise of Christian Nationalism”
8 January 2025 |
As Christian nationalism gains momentum, competing groups claim Dietrich Bonhoeffer as their champion. Yet the real Bonhoeffer story offers a striking warning about how faith becomes entangled with nationalism that many seem to miss.
I will seek to cut through the mythology—from Hollywood films to politicized biographies—to examine how Bonhoeffer witnessed evil masquerading as light in the Nazification of German Christianity. I will trace his journey from a privileged German intellectual through his transformational encounter with the Black church in America to his eventual participation in the resistance against Hitler.
What emerges is not the perfect hero of popular imagination, but something far more compelling: a complex figure wrestling with profound moral challenges in troubled times. We will see a man grappling with what it means to maintain his faith while confronting evil. His journey from theologian to member of the resistance, from preaching peace to writing about discipleship to participating in a plot against Hitler, reveals an unfinished hero whose very imperfections and ethical struggles speak powerfully to our current crisis.
Teacher:
Jeffrey Gang, D.Min, Jeffrey is an ordained Seventh-day Adventist minister. He holds an M.Div. from Andrews University Theological Seminary and a D.Min. in practical theology from Fuller Theological Seminary. Jeffrey serves as an associate professor in the School of Religion at Loma Linda University, where he teaches courses on the integration of health, science and religion in the university’s eight schools. While his research interests are far-ranging from theology to ethics (including the life and work of Dietrich Bonhoeffer), he is particularly interested in the relationship between technology, religion, and human flourishing. He is currently researching humanity’s relationship with technology, specifically the rise of artificial intelligence and its impact on humanity.
Moderator:
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The class is intended to last about 2 hours, though the conversation often continues to 4 PM (Eastern time).
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You can see all of our previous ATSS recordings here.
Coming up:
- Maury Jackson
- Bryan Ness
- Reinder Bruinsma
- Kärt Lazik
- Tom Dybdahl
