Metaxas: What Would Bonhoeffer Do?

By Eric Metaxas
May 05, 2010

Crime against the State?

Yesterday I read an article about a street preacher arrested in a northern English village. His crime? When responding to a woman's question, he listed homosexual behavior among a list of things contrary to the Word of God. He wasn't combative or loud, but a nearby policeman -- who happened to be gay -- overheard him and the preacher, a Baptist in his early forties, was promptly arrested for causing "harassment, alarm or distress" contrary to Section 5 of the Public Order Act.

Adolf Hitler may have failed to bring fascism to England, but when reading about incidents like this, we have to wonder how much they needed his help. Incidentally, this event took place on April 20th, Hitler's birthday. This struck me as disturbingly apt and as I thought about it, I couldn't help wonder: "What would Dietrich Bonhoeffer do?"

I've been asking this question a lot lately. That's probably because I've written a biography of Bonhoeffer (Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy) and I can't get him out of my mind. But part of the reason I wrote the book in the first place was to get others to ask the same question. the rest