Does 'Bonhoeffer' promote Christian nationalism? The truth behind the controversy

Angel Studios recently released the new film "Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin." Having taught Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s thought in classes in the past and having read from his "Letters and Papers in Prison" at my sister’s wedding and other public events, I was excited about Bonhoeffer’s entry into theaters. The film’s trailer was extremely well-done, so I did what I could to post it on social media and to encourage people to go.

Then, something happened that surprised me.

When I posted about Bonhoeffer, I could count on two things happening. There would be a comment expressing concern about “Christian nationalism.” And there would be a link shared leading to a letter signed by many members of Bonhoeffer’s family expressing their grave reservations.

I observed this dynamic on more than one occasion, which led me to wonder whether there was some kind of orchestrated opposition to the film and its message. Having seen "Bonhoeffer" and being a scholar of politics and religion, I can comment on the phenomenon from a position of knowledge.

Why the apparent counter-campaign seemingly designed to reduce enthusiasm for the film and perhaps dissuading some portion of the potential audience from seeing it?

I think the answer is quite straightforward and centers on Eric Metaxas.

Metaxas, formerly a "VeggieTales" writer and creator of the "Socrates in the City" series of conversations in New York City, exploded into prominence with the publication of "Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy" in 2009. The biography unexpectedly became a massive bestseller of the type that even finds its way into airport bookstores. While there was some protest from scholars that the book portrayed Bonhoeffer as something much more like an American evangelical than the German associate of Karl Barth he was, the negative reaction was minimal compared to the generally wholesome presentation of the man to a public that didn’t know him well.

Everything changed when Metaxas became a vocal Donald Trump supporter in his writings and on his radio show.

Bonhoeffer’s resistance to the Nazis makes him a hero of the church.

Many evangelicals (especially elite evangelicals) have struggled with the Trump question over the years. Russell Moore and David French came down inalterably opposed to Trump, while Metaxas endorsed him enthusiastically. Before Trump, all three men would have been part of the same nexus of conservative evangelicals.

For many, Metaxas’ support of Trump has tainted his association with Bonhoeffer. While Metaxas has not been part of the team producing the film about the German theologian, he has promoted it. I would suggest, then, that the effort made to gather up a letter of protest from members of the Bonhoeffer family and to gin up worries that Bonhoeffer has been made out as a symbol of Christian nationalism is really based on anger with Metaxas and the success he made writing about him.

Metaxas, on this view, is unworthy to be associated with Bonhoeffer.

But what about the film, itself, and its portrayal of Bonhoeffer? Is this some nasty job of warping one of the German heroes of resistance to Hitler into a champion of Christian nationalism? Does the photo of Bonhoeffer with a gun on posters translate him into a vigilante?

The answers to both of these questions are no. I would argue that the resistance to the film has been unfair and that it deserves to be evaluated on its own merits.

Who is the Bonhoeffer of the film? He is who we understand Bonhoeffer to have been. He was a German from a prominent family who studied theology, including at New York’s storied Union Theological Seminary, and ultimately became a great champion of the resistance to Hitler’s work in transforming the German church into something alien to orthodox Christianity.

All of this is clear in the film and is portrayed, so as to give Christians a role model. The incredible surrender of the German church to Hitler’s new Aryanized “German Christianity” is a matter of record. It took incredible courage to push in a different direction, but Bonhoeffer did (as did Martin Niemoller, also portrayed in the film).

Is he a Christian nationalist or even feasible in any way as a Christian nationalist? Not if what one means by Christian nationalism is a politically warped gospel. This Bonhoeffer is the one who fights for the church to be true to the transcendent God and not the various immanent ones we conjure up for ourselves.

There is a second point that is notable. Bonhoeffer is a hero because he fought for the church to refuse to bend the knee to Hitler out of a right recognition of Christ as Lord.

But tied in with that is the question of whether Bonhoeffer was involved in the plot to assassinate Hitler. Certainly, he did try to infiltrate the government. He served in the Abwehr, a military intelligence unit in Nazi Germany, as a double agent. The film portrays him smuggling Jews into Switzerland but, more importantly, wrestling with the decision to kill Hitler.

This is a key point.

Bonhoeffer’s resistance to the Nazis makes him a hero of the church. His involvement in a plot to assassinate Hitler is a more difficult question. It is not easy to make out a case for a Christian to take part in such an operation. There are various threads of Christian thought that can be explored and considered, but that is part of what makes the film worth recommending. The Bonhoeffer of the movie wrestles with the disaster that has befallen his country and its people.

While it is a tremendous challenge to paint the picture of one of the 20th century’s most notable lives and various compromises that must be made, "Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin." succeeds in its task. Those who already know the story will find it alternately encouraging and challenging. Those who don’t will see a moving portrayal of the struggle men and women of conscience faced in the crisis of Nazi Germany.

This Bonhoeffer is not perfect, but he is a role model worthy of emulation. He loves music, people (of all races), and God, and he is willing to give his life for what he believes. The people who fired shots of concern over this film missed the mark.