Risky Responsibility

Hans and Sophie with
a fellow collaborator

Hans and Sophie Scholl were a brother and sister living in Nazi Germany.  Unlike most of their peers, the two were not taken in by Nazi lies, and they refused to stand by and watch their countrymen blindly believe the Nazi propaganda.  Secretly, at the possible risk of their lives, they began distributing anti-Nazi literature, exposing the lies of the Nazi regime...and one day they were caught.


It seems that modern Christians don't always know what to do with their culture.  Some want to hide from it (the Amish come to mind).  Others see nothing wrong with living just as those around them live - and their similarities show.  The divorce rate among Christians looks more like the culture than the Scriptures.  Young adults are walking away from the church in droves; why stay when nothing is different?


John Stonestreet, of Summit Ministries and Breakpoint Radio, in a lecture titled "Christianity and Culture," reminds Christians that we are supposed to be in the world, but not of the world.  Christians can have one of three responses to our culture, Stonestreet says.  We can be offended by our culture and withdraw from it, but then we wouldn't be in or of the world.  Or, as many other Christians are, we could be distracted by our culture and assimilate it.  However, then we would not only be in the world, but we would also be of it - living just like everybody else in a culture of darkness where we are called to be light.  The final approach Christians can take to culture is to be engaged in the culture and faithful to the gospel.  In the world, but not of it.  Sometimes we find ourselves asking, "How far is too far?"  Instead, Stonestreet teaches that we should be asking, "'For what am I responsible?'"


Hans and Sophie Scholl didn't have to do what they did.  In fact, Hans wrote to a friend that it was tempting to just retreat to a serene haven outside of the hubbub of Nazi activity, ignore what was going on, and live as if everything was fine.  But he - and Sophie - chose a different path.  "Isn't seclusion a form of treachery - of desertion?" Hans wrote.  The decision was made.

"It's high time that Christians made up their minds to do something . . . What are we going to show in the way of resistance-as compared to the Communists, for instance-when all this terror is over? We will be standing empty-handed. We will have no answer when we are asked: What did you do about it?"

Hans Scholl

The brother and sister duo distributed pamphlets that counter-argued the Nazi propaganda and exposed their lies.  Eventually, they were caught and, ultimately, executed by the Nazis.

If they had seen what was coming, would they have still acted?  Probably.  They knew that some things are worth anything.

"How can we expect fate to let a righteous cause prevail when there is hardly anyone who will give himself up undividedly to a righteous cause?"

Sophie Scholl

Hans and Sophie Scholl have left an indelible legacy behind for all who would stand up for the truth in a culture that is falling for lies.  What will we be willing to risk?  How far are we willing to go?  For what are we responsible?

"The real damage is done by those millions who want to 'survive.' The honest men who just want to be left in peace. Those who don’t want their little lives disturbed by anything bigger than themselves. Those with no sides and no causes. Those who won’t take measure of their own strength, for fear of antagonizing their own weakness. Those who don’t like to make waves—or enemies. Those for whom freedom, honour, truth, and principles are only literature. Those who live small, mate small, die small. It’s the reductionist approach to life: if you keep it small, you’ll keep it under control. If you don’t make any noise, the bogeyman won’t find you. But it’s all an illusion, because they die too, those people who roll up their spirits into tiny little balls so as to be safe. Safe?! From what? Life is always on the edge of death; narrow streets lead to the same place as wide avenues, and a little candle burns itself out just like a flaming torch does. I choose my own way to burn."

Sophie Scholl

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