Overcoming Shame: Confession and Discipleship in Bonhoeffer's Theology

This paper examines Bonhoeffer’s theology of shame, and the practice of confession as a means through which shame becomes a basis for community solidarity, and resistance against an unjust system. Unlike contemporary shame theorists who narrowly define shame as a toxic experience that erodes individual and community esteem, or a primitive state that must be overcome, Bonhoeffer describes shame as a complex and relational affect, both as the sense of estrangement from God and fellow creatures, but also as a goad meant to push the Confessing Church and German Christians toward resistance against the Reich. It examines how Bonhoeffer developed this theology of shame, in the context of political oppression and genocide, in order to better understand how the Christian practice of confession through shame builds the solidarity necessary for resisting oppressive orders.