--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If our Christianity has ceased to be…" description: "\"If our Christianity has ceased to be serious about discipleship, if we have watered down the gospel into emotional uplift which makes no costly demands..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f54/dietrich-bonhoeffer-303_calamity_if-our-christianity-has-ceased-to-be-ser_424005.jpg" --- # If our Christianity has ceased to be serious about… ![“If our Christianity has ceased to be serious about discipleship, if we have watered down the gospel into emotional uplift which makes no costly demands and which fails to distinguish between natural and Christian existence, then we cannot help regarding the cross as an ordinary everyday calamity…” quote by Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f54/dietrich-bonhoeffer-303_calamity_if-our-christianity-has-ceased-to-be-ser_424005.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f54/dietrich-bonhoeffer-303_calamity_if-our-christianity-has-ceased-to-be-ser_424005.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f54/dietrich-bonhoeffer-303_calamity_if-our-christianity-has-ceased-to-be-ser_424005.jpg) > “If our Christianity has ceased to be serious about discipleship, if we have watered down the gospel into emotional uplift which makes no costly demands and which fails to distinguish between natural and Christian existence, then we cannot help regarding the cross as an ordinary everyday calamity, as one of the trials and tribulations of life. We have then forgotten that the cross means rejection and shame as well as suffering .” [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A faith that avoids costly demands reduces the cross to a trivial hardship, forgetting its shame and rejection. **In simple terms:** Faith must confront suffering and shame, not just comfort. Key Takeaway Embrace the full cost of discipleship. Themes faith sacrifice identity suffering Mood reflective serious Type theological inspirational When to use this quote - church leadership - personal spiritual growth - teaching - counseling Key Concepts theology discipleship cost of discipleship Questions to Reflect On - How does your community address the painful aspects of faith? - What costs are you willing to bear for true discipleship? A Different Perspective Neglecting the cross can lead to shallow spirituality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Calamity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calamity/) [Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian/) [Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/) [Demand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand/) [Discipleship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipleship/) [Emotional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotional/) [Everyday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/everyday/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Gospel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gospel/) [Inspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiration/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Rejection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rejection/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Shame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shame/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Trials](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trials/) [Trials and tribulations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trials-and-tribulations/) [Tribulation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tribulation/) [Uplifting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uplifting/) ## Related quotes > [I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. 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However, I've seen too many people suffering with sicknesses not of their own choosing to say glibly that all sickness is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-k-judd/sickness-is-real-however-i-ve-seen-too-many-people-suffering-with/) Daniel K Judd > [You learn a lot of different things with trials and tribulations and, at the end of the day, you get some positives from whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brock-lesnar/you-learn-a-lot-of-different-things-with-trials-and-tribulations-and/) [Brock Lesnar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brock-lesnar/) > [Could there be a more hilarious sad sack than Duncan Leland, whose trials and tribulations, so wittily conveyed, had me laughing (and wincing) from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mameve-medwed/could-there-be-a-more-hilarious-sad-sack-than-duncan-leland-whose/) Mameve Medwed > [We all have trials and tribulations and that shows who we are as a person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-browne/we-all-have-trials-and-tribulations-and-that-shows-who-we-are-as-a/) [Travis Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-browne/) > [The intricacies, the problems, the trials and tribulations in relationships inspire me to give words to people's journeys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-intricacies-the-problems-the-trials-and-tribulations-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I basically have needed to go to the piano and give voice periodically to, you know - I'm always afraid to describe it as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/i-basically-have-needed-to-go-to-the-piano-and-give-voice/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) > [Trials and tribulations tend to squeeze the artificiality out of us, leaving the essence of what we really are and clarifying what we really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-a-maxwell/trials-and-tribulations-tend-to-squeeze-the-artificiality-out-of-us/) [Neal A. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-a-maxwell/) ## More by Dietrich Bonhoeffer > [So the fool, as distinct from the scoundrel, is completely self- satisfied; in fact, he can easily become dangerous, as it does not take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/so-the-fool-as-distinct-from-the-scoundrel-is-completely-self/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [Why do Christians sing when they are together? 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Otherwise the church becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/the-church-can-only-defend-its-own-space-by-fighting-not-for-space/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [There remains an experience of incomparable value . . . to see the great events of world history from below; from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/there-remains-an-experience-of-incomparable-value-to-see-the-great/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [“To endure the cross is not a tragedy; it is the suffering which is the fruit of an exclusive allegiance to Jesus Christ. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/to-endure-the-cross-is-not-a-tragedy-it-is-the-suffering-which-is-the/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [“There is only one church, the church of faith ruled by the word of Jesus Christ alone. This is the true catholic church that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/there-is-only-one-church-the-church-of-faith-ruled-by-the-word-of/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [“As Christians, we needn’t be at all ashamed of some impatience, longing, opposition to what is unnatural, and our full share of desire for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/as-christians-we-needn-t-be-at-all-ashamed-of-some-impatience-longing/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [Those who love their dream of a Christian community more than the Christian community itself become destroyers of that Christian community even though their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/those-who-love-their-dream-of-a-christian-community-more-than-the/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [“From now on there can be no more wars of faith. The only way to overcome our enemy is by loving him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/from-now-on-there-can-be-no-more-wars-of-faith-the-only-way-to/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [“The scriptures do not present us with a series of Christian types to be imitated according to choice; they preach to us in every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/the-scriptures-do-not-present-us-with-a-series-of-christian-types-to/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, we are to drive a spoke into the wheel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/we-are-not-to-simply-bandage-the-wounds-of-victims-beneath-the-wheels/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) [Explore all 711 Dietrich Bonhoeffer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) ## More Calamity quotes > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [Forgetting your Self is the greatest injury; all the calamities flow from it. Take care of the most important, the lesser will take care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/forgetting-your-self-is-the-greatest-injury-all-the-calamities-flow/) [Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/) > [The compensations of calamity are made apparent to the understanding also, after long intervals of time. A fever, a mutilation, a cruel disappointment, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-compensations-of-calamity-are-made-apparent-to-the-understanding/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [When men are unhappy, they do not imagine they can ever cease to be so; and when some calamity has fallen on them, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/when-men-are-unhappy-they-do-not-imagine-they-can-ever-cease-to-be-so/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [In spite of calamity, He still has a plan for me, And it’s working for my good, And it’s building my testimony...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-sapp/in-spite-of-calamity-he-still-has-a-plan-for-me-and-it-s-working-for/) [Marvin Sapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-sapp/) > [Calamity, war, famine, plague, death, adversity, disease, injury do not necessarily produce repentance. 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C. Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-c-bradley/) > [When a man has calamity upon calamity the world generally concludes that he must be a very wicked man to deserve them. Perhaps the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-barr/when-a-man-has-calamity-upon-calamity-the-world-generally-concludes/) [Amelia Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-barr/) > [I can remember certain Manchester United defeats the way most people remember family bereavements or great political events. The four-nil drubbing by Barcelona, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-dunne/i-can-remember-certain-manchester-united-defeats-the-way-most-people/) Tom Dunne [Browse all 442 Calamity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calamity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If our Christianity has ceased to be serious about discipleship, if we have watered down the gospel into emotional uplift which makes no costly demands and which fails to distinguish between natural and Christian existence, then we cannot help regarding the cross as an ordinary everyday calamity, as one of the trials and tribulations of life. 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