Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Seventy-five years ago, Reinhold Niebuhr wrote this article reflecting on the martyrdom of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Notwithstanding Stephen Haynes’ professional reputation amongst Dietrich Bonhoeffer scholars or his prior excellent corpus of scholarly writings about the German pastor, his current book categorically fails to satisfy.

Two Christian schools of thought might support covert operations and espionage: the just war tradition and a kind of “dirty hands” moralism. The dirty hands view says all those in political power must unavoidably resort to evil for the common good. The just war tradition has a different approach.

When is lying permissible in war? Mark Coppenger indicates several instances in the Christian just war tradition but insists there is no room for perfidy or treachery.

Following the Christian just war tradition, could the assassination of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad be justified, despite its illegal nature?

German theologian and anti-Nazi martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer is justifiably celebrated for his brilliance and devotion unto death. But there is…

This essay examines the perspectives of three eminent Christian leaders—Ambassador Charles Malik, Father Richard John Neuhaus, and Reverend Dietrich Bonhoeffer. They were shaped by different theological traditions (Greek Orthodox, Catholic, and Lutheran, respectively), but each wrestled with the political, cultural, and moral crises of their times according to their Christian convictions.

We can make a clear and convincing case that the Christian tradition may support the idea that lies told for the public good are justifiable. When spies tell such lies in the line of duty, their deceptions fall into that category and, so, are justifiable. Can the same be said for sex in the line of duty?

Video links to the presentations from the 2nd day of the Providence conference reflecting on the intersection of Christian intelligence and foreign policy