Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Quotes

One act of obedience is better than one hundred sermons.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

The essence of optimism is that it takes no account of the present, but it is a source of inspiration, of vitality and hope where others have resigned; it enables a man to hold his head high, to claim the future for himself and not to abandon it to his enemy.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

God's truth judges created things out of love, and Satan's truth judges them out of envy and hatred.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

A god who let us prove his existence would be an idol.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world that it leaves to its children.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

It is the characteristic excellence of the strong man that he can bring momentous issues to the fore and make a decision about them. The weak are always forced to decide between alternatives they have not chosen themselves.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Gratitude changes the pangs of memory into a tranquil joy.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

It is the nature, and the advantage, of strong people that they can bring out the crucial questions and form a clear opinion about them. The weak always have to decide between alternatives that are not their own.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Politics are not the task of a Christian.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

We must learn to regard people less in light of what they do or omit to do, and more in the light of what they suffer.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Human love has little regard for the truth. It makes the truth relative, since nothing, not even the truth, must come between it and the beloved person.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer