Christianity––or any religion for that matter––is considered nothing more than a preference and a hobby in our secular age. Religious talk seems meaningless and embarrassing. We must accurately face the postmodern critique of Christianity, and offer an account of the world that satisfies the postmodern subjectivist as well as the rationalist.
The church looks like a strange thing to a secular world. For Bonhoeffer, the church is a collection of people who sincerely love Jesus and are devoted to his teachings. But as nice as that vision sounds, isn’t it a little naive? A distinction has to be made between the church as an organization and as an organism. The church within the church, which Bonhoeffer rallied against the Nazis, turns out to be a meek yet resilient people with a beautiful vision for community and life.