How we think and approach our faith is an essential spiritual discipline that we must keep central in our journeys. This week, my Christian Ethics class at Methodist Theological School of Ohio, was challenged with unpacking the idea of reason. Through our explorations, we dove into the writings of Plato’s The Cave, Rebekah Miles’ The Instrumental Role of Reason, and Bonhoeffer’s On Stupidity a selection from Letters and Papers from Prison. I must admit, I centered myself around the text written by theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer as he truly captured the notion of leadership, reason, human intellect, and the nature of love.

Right away, Bonhoeffer identified stupidity as being a “more dangerous enemy of the good than malice.”¹ Through this concept, Bonhoeffer identified that evil will always leave a residual effect of a sense of uneasiness as it begins to erode the core character trait of love and compassion. However, he makes a profound statement that we are defenseless against stupidity. In our class discussions, I raised the question regarding what term could we replace stupidity with if we are truly wanting to understand what Bonhoeffer meant. In general, we believe that stupidity is a poor translation of the word that was originally used. We would propose that follies is a more accurate interpretation of the text. Folly simply means a lack of good sense, foolishness or a lack of understanding or sensibility. Bonhoeffer drew a stark contrast between the intellectual keenness of people and their ability to foolishly follow. To the foolish person, “reason falls on their deaf ears, facts that contradict one’s prejudgement simply need not be believed, and when facts are irrefutable they are just pushed aside as inconsequential, as incidental.”² As United Methodists, John Wesley outlined a sense or way of thought that we should follow. He called this reason. The remaining three are: Scripture, Experience and Tradition which will be covered in subsequent posts.

To Wesley, according to Rebekah Miles, “reason could not serve as an independent source of knowledge.”³ Miles goes on to say, “reason was limited not only by sin, but also by its own nature and role. Reason does not generate knowledge on its own, but only processes data and knowledge that originate in expe­rience. It is a tool, not a source.”⁴ The United Methodist Book of Discipline sums it up by saying, “Wesley believed that the living core of the Christian faith was revealed in scripture, illuminated by tradition, vivified in personal experience, and confirmed by reason.”⁵ As Methodist, the Quadrilateral is not simply a way of approaching our faith or theological dispositions, it is the very core in which we base the way we do ethics. For the Wesley’s, reason was not only essential in understanding our faith, but it was foundational in helping us communicate our faith. Taking this further, reason is a God-given trait that helps us understand the world in which we live. As we consider reason, keep in mind that it is simply a tool used to process the knowledge or data that we receive from experience.

Allow me to circle back to Bonhoeffer’s understanding of how we as human beings process and function. As I stated earlier, one can be intellectually brilliant but entirely stupid/foolish at the same time. The foolish person is easily persuaded and will latch on to the catch phrases or political forces that they so chose. In the same sense, a person that is not at the same intellectual level can be quite brilliant when it comes to their ability to think. Bonhoeffer concludes that stupidity is less about the psychological and more about the sociological influences that a person encounters or is persuaded to follow. As a theologian, Bonhoeffer experienced first hand the persuasive abilities of Adolf Hitler. Hitler had an ability to persuade people and play into their foolishness that would ignite a sleeping giant of hatred towards anyone that was an other from themselves. Bonhoeffer believed that the purpose of theology, the purpose of ethicist, is to change this world for the better. Students of Bonhoeffer have spoken about how he believed that the Bible is truly and living and breathing gift that we have amongst us. God is speaking to us right here and now as we read the scriptures. The Bible is not an abstract artifact that we have to read, it comes to life as we encounter it through our daily lives. Therefore, we must approach interpreting and understanding the Bible through the lens of a scientist. We must set aside our preconceived ideals, theologies and beliefs in order to fully understand what it is that God wants to reveal to us for that moment in our lives.

I leave you with these thoughts as it relates to reason, community and love. Bonhoeffer states, “the only fruitful relation to human beings is love, that is, the will to enter into and to keep community with them. God did not hold human beings contempt but became human for their sake.”⁶ The opposite of love is evil which is evoked through the foolishness of human beings. If we are truly to overcome the evils of this world, we must be willing to love like Jesus, unconditionally everyone. The facts, negotiations, and please for change will not change the evil that is around us. Reason alone will not change a person’s understanding. It takes being in community with one another for a real change to occur. Through the community, we find disagreements, but love within that community will potentially keep evil at an arms length.

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1. Bonhoeffer, “On Stupidity,” selection from Letters and Papers from Prison, trans., Barbara and Martin Rumscheidt
(Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2009) 43.
2. Ibid. 43.
3. Miles, Rebekah, “The Instrumental Role of Reason” in Wesley and the Quadrilateral: Renewing the Convesation, ed. W.
Stephen Gunter, Scott J. Johnes, and Ted A. Campbell (Nashville: Abington Press, 1997) 77.
4. Ibid. 77.
5. United Methodist Church (2004). The book of discipline of the United Methodist Church. Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon
Press. p. 77.
6. Bonhoeffer, “On Stupidity,” selection from Letters and Papers from Prison, trans., Barbara and Martin Rumscheidt
(Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2009) 45.