Bonhoeffer’s Theory of Stupidity

Origen

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I am sure most of you have heard of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. For those who have not, Bonhoeffer was a German Lutheran pastor and theologian. He was fiercely anti-Nazi and one of the few voices who spoke out against Hitler. Of course it cost him his life. He was hanged on 9 April 1945.

Bonhoeffer had a theory. It has been labeled Bonhoeffer’s theory of stupidity. According to Bonhoeffer stupidity is a far greater threat than human evil. Evil can be protested, exposed, and even, to some degree, prevented by force. Not so stupidity, he states:

Against stupidity we are defenseless. Neither protests nor the use of force accomplish anything here; reasons fall on deaf ears; facts that contradict one’s prejudgment simply need not be believed — in such moments the stupid person even becomes critical — and when facts are irrefutable, they are just pushed aside as inconsequential, as incidental. In all this the stupid person, in contrast to the malicious one, is utterly self-satisfied and, being easily irritated, becomes dangerous by going on the attack.” (See Letters and Papers from Prison)

Given today's world and the dumbing down of society (i.e. endless conspiracy theories, flat earthers, the lowering of standards in schools) Bonhoeffer 100% correct.

"The one who walks with the wise will become wise,
but a companion of fools will suffer harm (Pro. 13:20 CSB).

Thoughts?
 

Josiah

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Yeah.

The "problem" is everyone thinks this accurately describes everyone else.



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JustTheFacts

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Since you laugh at everything I write and don’t seem to have an opinion, I can’t help but wonder whether you believe this theory applies to you or you consider it to apply to everyone else. just thinkin out loud…
 

JustTheFacts

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BTW, The picture you chose to represent yourself on this site reminded me of a vision I had a few years back as my word of God investigation was kicking into high gear.

February 7, 2023—I was being driven down a winding road by a chauffeur and as I sat in the back seat of a limo, I stared out the window to witness numerous individuals walking next to the road. They were not all the same people, but they were dressed alike and had the same type of haircut—appearing like ancient keepers of the books, monks, or even librarians. They seemed to be struggling in their journey as they were sweating in the hot sun, and they all had the same look of distress on their faces. They stared back with a look that I couldn’t quite figure out—almost as though they were angry at me. Then I got out of bed, wrote this vision down, and prayed to God for the meaning. The Lord is taking me on a journey to understand the meaning of scripture. The studious looking ones are the religious leaders and scholars and they are struggling to understand scripture and are mad at me because I’m not one of them and Jesus is with me.
 

BruceLeiter

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It's important that we not accuse people of stupidity just because they disagree with us. The law of love calls us to respect everyone.
 
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