Remembering Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Living Truth To Power
A Talk By Peter Hart
Sunday May 29 11AM
Lakeshore Interfaith Institute
6676  122nd Ave Ganges Mi 49408
269 543 3951



We have been silent witnesses of evil deeds... Intolerable conflicts have worn us down and made us cynical. …Will our inward power of resistance be strong enough for us to find our way back? … Are we still of any use? - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

During a time when Germany plunged from the heights of enlightenment to the depth of darkness, one man stood apart. He sought an enduring, ultimate and transforming truth while all around him institutions were crumbling and the whole world order was turned upside down.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a brilliant theologian and pastor who was imprisoned and eventually hanged just days before the end of World War II because of his involvement in the German resistance and the plots to kill Hitler. His Letters and Papers from Prison and The Cost of Discipleship have become enduring classics. Bonhoeffer could have kept quiet and saved his life on several occasions but instead paid the ultimate price for his beliefs. In putting his life on the line, Bonhoeffer found practical expression for his deeply held conviction that religious sentiments without moral actions are empty.

What is there about our times that resonates with the period when Dietrich Bonhoeffer lived? What is it about how he lived his life that is inspirational and exemplary for us today? What can we learn from his writings and from the decisions he made?

Bonhoeffer’s story is a fascinating window into the dilemmas of contemporary ethics and spirituality. What is the place of religion in the modern world? What are the choices a person of faith faces when confronted with evil? What should persons of faith do when religious institutions betray the faith they profess?




Peter C. Hart is a peace activist and entrepreneur who lives in Holland. He is president of Conflict Lab, a company he founded that hosts conflict simulations on the Internet. After five year of development, a class at Hope College just completed the first run of a simulation. One of the players said: “Conflict lab in my opinion is a masterpiece! From the wonderful art, to the great musical prompts, to the incredible attention to detail, to the imagination and crafting of the story line and character development, to the dedication to the author's vision, to the instructor's performance and coaching – it doesn’t get any better than this! Congratulations on an over the top product and experience!