But, a little background might help. Tödt was a young soldier on the Eastern Front for Germany during WWII. After the war he spent 5 years in a prison camp in the Soviet Union. He went on to become the chief editor of Dietrich Bonhoeffers Werke, the German version of Bonhoeffer's Works that are currently appearing from Augsburg/Fortress Press.
Authentic Faith is a collection of essays from the 1970-1990 period. In some of the essays, Tödt reflects on why the German church was unable to see the direction the government was taking, and take steps to stand up against it, but that will appear in later excerpts. Meanwhile, enjoy today's:
How is a society to be assessed that is oriented toward economic individualism? John Maynard Keynes, the famous English political economist who died in 1946, judged that modern capitalism is completely nonreligious, without inner coherence, lacking in public spirit, not always, but often, a mere heap of “possessors and pursuers.” To put it differently, individualism in economy and society will unleash the individual's productive forces, but the public spirit, the solidarity among the citizens and of the citizens with the commonwealth, in short, the emotional bonds, will waste away. Where individualism rules alone, it will make society into a mechanical social apparatus in which all are fixed on their own interests, and face each other in competition, or at a cool distance.
What type of religion fits this society? Undoubtedly, a religious individualism that regards any decision as a matter of personal conscience of a individual who rejects interference...—Authentic Faith, page 60.
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