Everyone Who Acts Responsibly Becomes Guilty: Bonhoeffer's Concept of Accepting Guilt

Everyone who acts responsibly becomes guilty was a basic premise that Dietrich Bonhoeffer expressed in various ways in his theology and ethics. Even Bonhoeffers own actions--in praying for the defeat of his country in World War II and in participating in a plot to assassinate Hitler--demonstrate the tension between the reality of guilt and Bonhoeffers ethical decisions. In this study Christine Schliesser examines the problem of guilt in Bonhoeffers writings arguing that the concept of accepting guilt emerges from Bonhoeffers understanding of Christology. Since Jesus Christ has accepted the guilt of humankind so the disciple must also be willing to accept guilt for the sake of the other. In addition Schliesser reveals the unresolved tensions that emerge in the concept of accepting guilt and discusses the extent to which Bonhoeffers concept is still relevant to Christian ethics today.