“The great masquerade of evil has played havoc with all our ethical concepts,” Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
I recently rediscovered the writings of an old friend. Dietrich Bonhoeffer faced off with the Nazi party as a theologian, scholar, and spy. The quote above was written from prison and goes on to lament the fact that the culture in 1940s Nazi Germany attempted to whitewash evil and make it seem “light, charity, and social justice.” Today, the evil we fight may not be exactly the same, but culture still attempts to normalize, make acceptable, and shape the theory of evil as it wants. Isaiah 5:20 warns, Woe to those who make good evil and evil good. When God says “woe,” we should all sit up and take notice.
Bonhoeffer proceeds to call out the “reasonable people” as part of the problem. Rather than calling sin, sin, and offering the unadulterated truth of scripture, these “reasonable” people, in fits of naivete, attempt to find common ground with evil. This is not to say reason is an attribute to scoff at, but rather to truthfully identify its limitations. These people, or a subset thereof, were formally fanatical moralists. They boldly applied the moral principles of Scripture and were not afraid to confront evil and sin as identified in God’s Word. Now, however, they, like the bull in a bullfight, charge the distraction of the cape and not the source of evil. In so doing, they wear themselves out without getting the focus on the real issue of sin, cultural depravity, witchcraft, and death.
Now to the gist of this post, which borrows from Bonhoeffer’s Theory of Folly/Stupidity. Sadly, I have observed many individuals in today’s culture, politics, business, education, the church, and families who apply this theory. The lack of critical thinking, or even the desire to attempt critical thinking, is the most perplexing. For pundits of various cultural beliefs to quote scripture out of context and with no desire to understand the message behind the scripture is “folly,” not to mention disingenuous and spiritually dangerous. When the folly of their quote and pretext is pointed out, their willingness to ignore truth and fact shows a lack of critical thinking on a massive scale. However, such a lack is accepted as truth because it fits a narrative and does not cause introspection. Feelings and “my truth” take precedence over the actual truth and verifiable facts. In my younger years, which ended about an hour ago, I could be accused of reacting with similar, paradigm-infused hubris. But I like to think I have matured, and here is how.
Thankfully, God has given us the absolute truth to follow. He provided this truth over the centuries in His Word and the teachings of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Although we may have a perspective on people, politics, laws, and events, when we run those perspectives against the absolute measure of truth, we are required to uphold that truth, regardless of our position as victor or vanquished. When our candidate is right, he is right and should be defended. When he is wrong, he is wrong and should be held accountable. When science is manipulated through cultural designs rather than rigorous scientific inquiry, we must hold scientists, businesses, and the culture accountable. When laws and justice begin answering to feelings and wants rather than “the word of law,” we have to stand against tyranny and anarchy. I could provide so many examples from government leaders, LGBTQ, Covid, immigration law, and church failings. Conversely, I could list many successes in all these areas and foundational victories toward the application of God’s Law. But the Theory of Folly/Stupidity would force various members of society to apply the facts to their truth rather than God’s Truth.
The responsibility of the church and its leaders is clear. First, love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind. Then, take that love and love others as we love ourselves (Mark 12:30-31). Second, recognize the vibrancy of evil in this day. This evil is active in our communities, families, government, and churches. Our frustration with a lack of critical thinking, as described in Bonhoeffer’s Theory of Folly/Stupidity, cannot detract from our responsibility to uphold God’s absolute truth in the face of opposition. The opposition is becoming more pronounced, violent, and without coherent thought. It doesn’t matter. We are to love, uphold truth, and tell the world about Jesus. We are to pray for our leaders, enemies, friends, and neighbors. God has given us the freedom and responsibility to reach others, regardless of their acceptance of us, whatever the cost may be.
“One who will not allow any occurrence whatever to deprive him of his responsibility for the course of history—because he knows that it has been laid on him by God—will thereafter achieve a more fruitful relation to the events of history than that of barren criticism and equally barren opportunism.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
Bonhoeffer. D. (1953). Letters and Papers from Prison. The MacMillan Company