Is There A Better Candidate for Sainthood?
- Thread starter MylesBAstor
- Start date
Great story, but it will take some posthumous miracles before she can be considered for Sainthood.
Steve Williams
Site Founder, Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Another great story about the unsung heroes of WWII.
http://www.jspace.com/news/articles/recalling-the-1943-rosh-hashanah-escape-of-danish-jews/15049
http://www.jspace.com/news/articles/recalling-the-1943-rosh-hashanah-escape-of-danish-jews/15049
Great stuff Myles. But I want to introduce you to another absolutely worthy candidate for Sainthood who may not be familiar to you.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietrich_Bonhoeffer
Bonhoeffer's story is mind-boggling. A Lutheran minister, he was a man of extraordinary introspection, and came to be among the first of the German clergy to not only realize that Hitler's plan of euthanizing and persecuting Jews was not just wrong, but required serious action. He was hardly like the vast majority of German clergy who acquiesced to Hitler's power and turned their heads to what they knew was wrong in their hearts. To me, one of the most, if not the most interesting aspects of Bonhoeffer's entire journey was the experience he had in Harlem, where he went to study Theology in 1930. He was 24. Up until that time, he never questioned his Lutheran upbringing, in which he was taught that basically nobody else but his own kind could possibly be a true believer. That was until he heard Gospel music performed by the great choirs of Harlem. In his biography he said that had such a profound impact on him because he saw with his own eyes that any people, whether they be black or white, who could perform music that praised god with the glory, soul, intensity and beauty that only Gospel music can offer, must be as worthy of entering heaven as any German. Thus began his journey of seeing the world through the eyes of all people and especially minorities. Remember, this was an unheard of position by any of his fellow countrymen in the 1930s, as Hitler was on the ascent. Yet it was the performance of gospel music by black choirs that changed Bonhoeffer for good, and this carried through to his taking up the mantel for other minorities, none more important to him than the plight of Jews in his own country. It was not just the persecution of the Jews that angered Bonhoeffer, but the fact that the Lutheran clergy, which he always held to the highest standard, turned a blind eye to Hitler, and this disgusted him even more so. As you might guess, the story did not end well for Bonhoeffer. He became an outcast in his church when he advocated strongly for the Jews to be left free to worship their faith as they saw fit. He lectured and preached this regularly in public and at the pulpit and was widely resented for it. He and his brother finally realized that the only way to eliminate Hitler was to kill him. They put a plan in place to assassinate Hilter, but sadly, were caught, arrested, imprisoned and of course killed by hanging in 1945, only weeks before the end of the war.
There is hardly a time that I listen to gospel music that I don't think of Dietrich Bonhoeffer who was surely a saint among the living.
In my humble opinion, this should be required viewing for every high school student in America:
http://www.amazon.com/Bonhoeffer-Eb...76968790&sr=8-27&keywords=dietrich+bonhoeffer
Check out the numerous 5 star reviews as well.
Marty
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietrich_Bonhoeffer
Bonhoeffer's story is mind-boggling. A Lutheran minister, he was a man of extraordinary introspection, and came to be among the first of the German clergy to not only realize that Hitler's plan of euthanizing and persecuting Jews was not just wrong, but required serious action. He was hardly like the vast majority of German clergy who acquiesced to Hitler's power and turned their heads to what they knew was wrong in their hearts. To me, one of the most, if not the most interesting aspects of Bonhoeffer's entire journey was the experience he had in Harlem, where he went to study Theology in 1930. He was 24. Up until that time, he never questioned his Lutheran upbringing, in which he was taught that basically nobody else but his own kind could possibly be a true believer. That was until he heard Gospel music performed by the great choirs of Harlem. In his biography he said that had such a profound impact on him because he saw with his own eyes that any people, whether they be black or white, who could perform music that praised god with the glory, soul, intensity and beauty that only Gospel music can offer, must be as worthy of entering heaven as any German. Thus began his journey of seeing the world through the eyes of all people and especially minorities. Remember, this was an unheard of position by any of his fellow countrymen in the 1930s, as Hitler was on the ascent. Yet it was the performance of gospel music by black choirs that changed Bonhoeffer for good, and this carried through to his taking up the mantel for other minorities, none more important to him than the plight of Jews in his own country. It was not just the persecution of the Jews that angered Bonhoeffer, but the fact that the Lutheran clergy, which he always held to the highest standard, turned a blind eye to Hitler, and this disgusted him even more so. As you might guess, the story did not end well for Bonhoeffer. He became an outcast in his church when he advocated strongly for the Jews to be left free to worship their faith as they saw fit. He lectured and preached this regularly in public and at the pulpit and was widely resented for it. He and his brother finally realized that the only way to eliminate Hitler was to kill him. They put a plan in place to assassinate Hilter, but sadly, were caught, arrested, imprisoned and of course killed by hanging in 1945, only weeks before the end of the war.
There is hardly a time that I listen to gospel music that I don't think of Dietrich Bonhoeffer who was surely a saint among the living.
In my humble opinion, this should be required viewing for every high school student in America:
http://www.amazon.com/Bonhoeffer-Eb...76968790&sr=8-27&keywords=dietrich+bonhoeffer
Check out the numerous 5 star reviews as well.
Marty
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Today marks the 70th anniversary of the saving of the Danish Jewish population during WWII!
http://www.ushmm.org/information/ex...s/special-focus/rescue-of-the-jews-of-denmark
http://www.ushmm.org/information/ex...s/special-focus/rescue-of-the-jews-of-denmark
Aristides de Sousa Mendes
The Portuguese diplomat Aristides de Sousa Mendes rescued an estimated 30,000 people from the Holocaust and was severely punished for doing so. He was tried, convicted, blacklisted and impoverished by the Portuguese government of Antonio Salazar.
http://sousamendesfoundation.org/
The Portuguese diplomat Aristides de Sousa Mendes rescued an estimated 30,000 people from the Holocaust and was severely punished for doing so. He was tried, convicted, blacklisted and impoverished by the Portuguese government of Antonio Salazar.
http://sousamendesfoundation.org/
In honor of International Woman's Day:
http://www.ushmm.org/research/the-c...aign=US+Holocaust+Memorial+Museum&sf2076583=1
http://www.ushmm.org/research/the-c...aign=US+Holocaust+Memorial+Museum&sf2076583=1
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