A home is a kingdom of it's own in the midst of the world, a stronghold amid life's storms and stresses, a refuge, even a sanctuary.
Dietrich BonhoefferRead
It is God's earth out of which man is taken. From it he has his body. His body belongs to his essential being. Man's body is not his prison, his shell his exterior, but man himself. Man does not "have" a body; he does not "have" a soul; rather he "is" body and soul. Man in the beginning is really his body. He is one. He is his body, as Christ is completely his body, as the Church is the body of Christ
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the unity of body and soul, suggesting that a person is not separate from their physical existence.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer reflects on the profound relationship between humanity and the physical world. He argues that a man's identity is intertwined with his body, which is not merely a shell or prison but an integral aspect of his essence. This perspective suggests that our physical presence is fundamental to who we are, akin to how Christ embodies the Church. By asserting that man does not possess a body or a soul, but rather that he is both, Bonhoeffer invites a deeper understanding of human existence that transcends materialism.
Themes
BodySoulIdentityExistenceUnity
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the mind-body connection during a philosophy class.
More from Dietrich Bonhoeffer
All quotes →In normal life we hardly realize how much more we receive than we give, and life cannot be rich without such gratitude. It is so easy to overestimate the importance of our own achievements compared with what we owe to the help of others.
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Sometimes we just need a firm kick in the pants. An unsmiling expectation that if we mean all these wonderful things we talk about and sing about, then let’s see something to prove it.
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...And then, just when everything is bearing down on us to such an extent that we can scarcely withstand it, the Christmas message comes to tell us that all our ideas are wrong, and that what we take to be evil and dark is really good and light because it comes from God. Our eyes are at fault, that is all.
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Anyone who thinks that his time is too valuable to spend keeping quiet will eventually have no time for God and his brother, but only for himself and for his own follies.
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The test of the morality of a society is what it does for its children.
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