The most tantalizing reflection from Bonhoeffer's letters and papers from prison concerned what he called a "religionless Christianity." Ever since, speculation has swirled about what Bonhoeffer meant by "religionless Christianity," and I've written a lot about it over the years.
Let me suggest that what Bonhoeffer was struggling with in prison is precisely our own despair regarding the church: its moral failures and corruption. Given all the things that have gone on in the church in recent decades and years, what is the future of the Christian witness in the world?
This was precisely Bonhoeffer's concern. Given how the German church supported Hitler, after the war who would listen to the church ever again? The German church had lost its moral authority. The German church had lost its right to speak.
Many of us feel the same way about the modern church, or at least sectors of the modern church. Given all the abuses and scandals, the church has lost its right to speak with any moral authority.
Pondering this situation, the compromised moral position of the church, Bonhoeffer suggested that, going forward, the church must become "religionless" in the world. This was the only way the church could rehabilitate itself and regain the confidence of the world. What does a "religionless" witness in the world look like? I think a key passage from Bonhoeffer's letters and papers is this one:
The primary confession of the Christian before the world is the deed which interprets itself. If this deed is to have become a force, then the world will long to confess the Word. This is not the same as loudly shrieking out propaganda. This Word must be preserved as the most sacred possession of the community. This is a matter between God and the community, not between the community and the world. It is a word of recognition between friends, not a word to use against enemies. This attitude was first learned at baptism. The deed alone is our confession of faith before the world.
