Bonhoeffer on Wrongly Avoiding Conflict

We live in a culture that prefers to bury sin rather than properly admonish.  Consider this quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer:

Nothing can be more cruel than the tenderness that consigns another to his sin. Nothing can be more compassionate than the severe rebuke that calls a brother back from the path of sin.[1]

Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”(Lk 17:3-4).”


[1] Bonhoeffer, Life Together, 107.

1 thought on “Bonhoeffer on Wrongly Avoiding Conflict

  1. Great quote – used it in a sermon a while back, or was it an ACE class? Many have moved from a truth centered to a person centered worldview. The relationship trumps truth. Not a good place to be.

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