Chapter Five
Discussion Questions
1. In preparation for this final chapter, read one of the seven penitential psalms each day (Pss. 6; 32; 38; 51; 102; 130; 143). Which of these spoke most powerfully to you? Can you discern why this was so?
2. What does Bonhoeffer mean when he claims that “In confession the break-through to community takes place”? (112)
3. Do you find that it is easier to confess your sins to God or to a brother/sister? (115-116) Why is it important to do the latter?
4. Bonhoeffer is clear about our need to confess specific and concrete sins. He suggests self-examination on the basis of all of the Ten Commandments. (117) How does this deliver us from hypocrisy?
5. It is possible, Bonhoeffer says, that a person may never know what it is to doubt his or her own forgiveness after a private confession to God. Others, however, may doubt whether they have really been forgiven. Can you understand both types of response? What does Bonhoeffer propose for those who doubt their forgiveness? (117-118)
6. What attributes would you want to be present in someone who hears your confession? (118-119)
7. How would you describe the connection between confession and the Lord’s Supper? (120-122)
8. How do you experience Christian community on the day the Lord’s Supper is celebrated? (122)
