Bonhoeffer: 80 years on

If you were to ask me who my spiritual hero might be I’d have to say Dietrich Bonhoeffer. 

Today marks eighty years since Dietrich Bonhoeffer was executed by the Nazis for standing against antisemitism. He was only thirty nine years old. From his prison cell, just months before his death, he wrote:

“The essence of optimism is that it takes no account of the present, but it is a source of inspiration, of vitality and hope where others have resigned... It enables a man to hold his head high, to claim the future for himself and not to abandon it to his enemy.”“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak.Not to act is to act.”

These are the words of a man who had witnessed the horrors of antisemitism, dictatorship, and war — and still chose hope. 

Let’s think about Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his 'theory of stupidity'.

‘Evil’ according to Bonhoeffer can be confronted. It can be exposed, fought and ultimately even defeated. There is always a way to resist evil because at its core evil fundamentally knows what it is - even the worst people deep down recognise that what they are doing is deeply wrong. This is why evil carries within itself the seed of its own destruction. It leaves behind a sense of unease, a lingering guilt that can be exploited and overturned. 

But stupidity? stupidity is immune. Utterly immune to logic, blind to all reason and stone deaf to truth. It does not engage it simply refuses to see. You can always argue with a malicious person - but you cannot argue with a stupid one because they do not recognise facts - they dismiss them. They do not debate they mock - and most dangerous of all they are utterly convinced of their own correctness. We must understand that stupidity does not ever question itself - it does not feel doubt or shame  -it moves forward with absolute confidence and in doing so it becomes an unstoppable force in service of whatever it has chosen to follow. 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer saw this first hand - he watched as it turned into a nation of cowards and criminals. He saw ordinary people, many of them intelligent and highly educated, surrender their ability to think and instead blindly, almost impossibly, follow the Nazi regime. This is why Bonhoeffer argued that stupidity is not an intellectual defect but a moral one - a person can be brilliant in thought yet utterly foolish in action. 

‘Stupidity’, as Bonhoeffer saw it, is not a lack of intelligence at all - it is a failure of moral courage. No one is born stupid, they become stupefied. 

‘Social Stupidity’ thrives in groups where independent thought is discouraged - where people simply follow orders, conform and submit to prevailing narratives without question. Dietrich Bonhoeffer observed how the Nazi regime turned ordinary people into unthinking followers - they were not inherently evil - nor were they necessarily unintelligent - but they stopped questioning. They let go of their ability to discern truth from falsehood and they became tools of a greater agenda. ‘Social Stupidity’ spreads under the influence of authoritarians. Whether political or ideological many people willingly relinquish their inner independence - they accept the slogans, the propaganda, the oversimplified explanations and they no longer see the world for what it is and this is where stupidity becomes most dangerous.

You are not dealing with a person you are dealing with slogans and catchphrases that have taken possession of them. This is why Dietrich Bonhoeffer argued that stupidity is harder to combat than evil. A stupid person will repeat lies even after they have been disproven. They will cling to falsehoods because they are no longer thinking for themselves - and this is precisely why a stupid person cannot simply be instructed or argued out of their stupidity. They must be liberated. 

This was Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s ‘theory of stupidity’ - a warning to all of us that the world today is filled with disinformation, herd mentalities and blind loyalty to dangerous political figures and their dim ideologies. Bad narratives that discourage critical thought. 

Bonhoeffer’s life reminds us that optimism is not a denial of pain — it is a refusal to surrender to it. It is the courage to believe in a better world and to fight for it, even when the odds are crushing.

Remember what he said as we approach Holy Week: “when Christ bids a man, he bids him come and die.” 

Have we lost that call on us? He talked of cheap grace and costly grace. I’m writing this today in Manchester and have just attended a service in the cathedral. Before the entrance is a plaque remembering another of my heroes, William Temple. He campaigned for social justice and he once said that the Church is the only organisation that exists for the benefit of its non members. Bonhoeffer said similarly “ the Church is the Church only when it exists for others...not dominating, but helping and serving. It must tell men of every calling what it means to live for Christ, to exist for others.” 

Bonhoeffer's legacy calls us not to ignore stuff or give up, but to resist. Not to despair, but to hope and act. Where we can. My blog has a title “Not Before.” He said this: “ There are people who regard it as frivilous, and some Christians think it impious, for anyone to hope and prepare for a better earthly future. They think that the meaning of present events is chaos, disorder, and catastrophe, and in resignation or pious escapism, they surrender all responsibility for reconstruction and for future generations. It may be that the day of judgment will dawn tomorrow; in that case, we shall gladly stop working for a better future. But not before."

It was interesting tonight that the Dean of Manchester preached on the fiery furnace and a king wanted people to bow down to him. He mentioned the man who at the moment would have all nations do the same. Very brave to say it but necessary. 

On this anniversary, may Bonhoeffer’s voice echo through history — and may we never abandon the future to those who would do harm or became stupid. 

Here’s the collect for his day today: 

Embolden our lives, O Lord, and inspire our faiths, that we, following the example of your servant Dietrich Bonhoeffer, might embrace your call with undivided hearts; through Jesus Christ our Saviour, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.