Theological Journal – February 15 What Dietrich Bonhoeffer Would Say to the North American Church (8)
8. Eighthly, I believe Bonhoeffer would tell us to pay close attention to the sound of silence (Simon and Garfunkel) . He spoke of the need for the church to maintain what he called the “arcane discipline” in their life amid the world. He writes, “That means an “arcane discipline” must be reestablished, through which the mysteries of the Christian faith are sheltered against profanation” ( DBWE 8 :10562-10564). What in the world is an “arcane discipline”? In the ancient church this was the practice of shielding the worship of the church and the mysteries of faith that sustained and nurtured it from the world which lacked the necessary formation to understand them and would inevitably distort it. W hat are these mysteries that need such protection? DB probably had in mind things like the trinity, incarnation, Eucharist, things sure to be misunderstood by a world not properly initiated into them. It also included time for the churc...