Bonhoeffer's Six Types of Resistance: The Analysis of Michael P. DeJonge

Bonhoeffer's Six Types of Resistance: The Analysis of Michael P. DeJonge

Andres S. TANG

This paper aims to give an extended review of Michael P. DeJonge's little book Bonhoeffer on Resistance: The Word against the Wheel. In the past, the discussion of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's political resistance does not focus much on the theology behind the action. However, for DeJonge, Bonhoeffer has a systematic, differentiated, and well-developed vision of political activity and resistance. He does not only offers an analysis of Bonhoeffer's six types of resistance but also outlines his political thinking on resistance.

To put it precisely, DeJonge does not give a straightforward account of the six types of resistance but constructs it in the context of Bonhoeffer's theological thinking of Luther's understanding of state and church, two kingdoms, preservation toward redemption, law and gospel, and justification. In other words, DeJonge reads and constructs Bonhoeffer's resistance thinking in the context of Bonhoeffer's own understanding of Martin Luther. This way of reading consists of two steps: first, reading Bonhoeffer's political thinking on resistance in the context of his understanding of Luther's political thinking; and second, reading Luther's political thinking in the context of Bonhoeffer's understanding of the center of Luther's theology. For DeJonge, Bonhoeffer is thinking of resistance in a Lutheran way so it is a kind of Lutheran political resistance theology.

Indeed, DeJonge wrote another book Bonhoeffer's Reception of Luther in 2017 before publishing this little book in 2018. Based on the research findings in his Bonhoeffer's Reception of Luther, he gives a systematic yet accessible analysis of the six types of resistance and the underlying political thinking of Bonhoeffer. This paper includes five sections: discussion of Bonhoeffer's resistance thinking in the context of Luther's theology, the features of Bonhoeffer's on Resistance, showing the Lutheran theology behind Bonhoeffer's resistance thinking, analysis of Bonhoeffer's six types of resistance in terms of Luther's two kingdoms, and conclusion.