Dietrich Bonhoeffer (4 February 1906 – 9 April 1945
The morning of April 9, 1945, German Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer and other leaders of the Confessing Church and resistance to Hitler and the Third Reich were hastily tried and hanged on the scaffold of Flossenburg Military Prison. Bonhoeffer was killed years a go, but his execution did not extinguish his light.
Bonhoeffer’s metaphor of stopping a madman from driving a car into a crowd of innocent bystanders shines a light on 2024. The American electorate in this moment will decide whether to put the steering wheel in the hands of a man who promises revenge.
Bonhoeffer and James Russell Lowell
Although the light of Bonhoeffer didn’t reach me until my early 20s, an oft-sung hymn from youth and childhood had prepared me to welcome Bonhoeffer. The lyrics of the hymn were from James Russell Lowell’s poem, “The Present Crisis.” The tune and lyrics make clear the intrinsic bond of faith and action. “Once to Every Man and Nation”was a call to abolish slavery.
Hymn Lyrics from “The Present Crisis”
Once to every man and nation Comes the moment to decide, In the strife of truth with falsehood, For the good or evil side; Some great cause, some new decision, Offering each the bloom or blight, And that choice goes by forever ‘Twixt that darkness and that light.
JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL, “THE PRESENT CRISIS,” 1845.
Though the cause of evil prosper, Yet ’tis truth alone is strong; Though her portion be the scaffold, And upon the throne be wrong, Yet that scaffold sways the future, And, behind the dim unknown, Standeth God within the shadow, Keeping watch above His own.
The Moment to Decide
In this American moment the decision is between democracy and social pathology; between safeguarding the integrity of law under the U.S. Constitution and putting the steering wheel in the hands of a madman and his party. November 5 is the choice between truth and falsehood, principle and propaganda, bloom and blight. This moment will not wait for a later time.
The moment is now.
Gordon C. Stewart, Presbyterian Minister, author of Be Still! Departure from Collective Madness (2017, Wipf & Stock), Brooklyn Park, MN, Nov. 4, 2024.
Views from the Edge 
I grew up the daughter of a Welsh Baptist mother and a Scots Presbyterian father. This hymn, set to a Welsh tune, resonates from my childhood to the present day. It has never been more relevant.
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What a combination. Welsh and Scottish! You’re blessed with splendid DNA. Thanks for chiming in. We need that hymn today more than ever.
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Gordon, we sang Lowell’s hymn at our wedding in 66.
i pray sometime in my life we can sing “The Strife is Over…” With joy and gratitude.
regardless of the vote our country is in deep trouble. Jefferson wrote of the importance of education to maintaining a democracy. Our non-college white males and Faux News are a threat to democracy.
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Jim, thanks for the memory. It’s interesting that the latest Presbyterian hymnal, Glory to God, does not include the hymn. Neither Lowell’s lyrics nor that wonderful Welch tune made the cut. Maybe Susie will have an idea of the reasoning. Whatever it was, it’s symptomatic, IMHO, of how far the PC(USA) has moved from the church we celebrated in the Confession of 1967. It’s a sorrow. Much of the music in progressive churches today reminds me of the chocolate syrup my little brother poured over Tommy, the white cat. It took three days for Tommy to lick that stuff off. The music is contemporary and, invariable, it’s sweet.
I think we need to be careful about “non-college” white males. One of my 86-yr. old friends has voted Republican his whole life…until he voted for Obama and Biden as a matter of conscience. Bud did not have the privilege of a college education. A truck driver from what more privileged folks call the sticks, Bud had become disappointed and incensed by the frequency of hearing the N-word and language that presumed that white folks were superior to blacks and other people of color. He and his wife are surrounded by Trump-Vance signs and wonder what happened to their neighborhood.
It has come as a shock to better educated people that so many MAGA leaders hold degrees from Yale, Harvard, and Princeton. Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley have degrees from elite colleges, but are among the most unscrupulous of an unscrupulous party. Next Tuesday may, God forbid, leave us all with our tails between our legs. The only difference between Tommy and us two-legged is that it will take longer than three days to recover.
Grace and Peace, Jim!
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Gordon,
Thank you for this post. I remember singing that song but I must confess, I was at an age when they were merely words. As I review them now I am surprised that I never “heard” the message you just share. Yes, indeed, the moment has come to decide. Peace to you, my friend!
Carlye
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Carlye, thank you for keeping up with Views from the Edge and for sharing your experience. Unlike willful ignorance, there is no “sin” in youthful ignorance. Sometimes, if we’re lucky, we “hear” a hymn like that and are surprised. I miss our time with Jackie and the rest of the superintendent’s advisory committee. Kay and I have yet to find such friends in Brooklyn Park.
Thanks again for taking the time to share and to say hi.
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