Homage to a Broken Man: A Biography I Could Not Put Down

Last updated on: July 28, 2015 at 1:03 pm by Rebecca Florence Miller

Homage to a Broken Man: A Biography I Could Not Put Down 2015-07-28T13:03:22-06:00 Rebecca Florence Miller

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Homage to a Broken Man: The Life of J. Heinrich Arnold fascinated me, frustrated me, and inspired me. It is a difficult book to describe–and yet it is also a book that I could not put down.

In an interview with Patheos, author Peter Mommsen describes this story about his grandfather, J. Heinrich (Heiner) Arnold, this way: “Rebirth, forgiveness, and reconciliation – but no tidy endings.”

Arnold grew up in a community in post-World War I Germany founded by his parents, who tried to literally live the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount. They founded a Christian settlement (that bore some marks of relationship and similarity to the Hutterites) that sought to live these teachings. Eventually, Heiner became the leader of the community, which escaped Nazi Germany and escaped to Paraguay where they founded a new community settlement. The community would be sorely tested in the years to come, and so would Heiner. Disease, death, power struggles, poverty: anytime you get sinful human beings together, you will not have utopia.

Heiner was committed to nonviolence and forgiveness, and this related in many ways to his relationship with the community. Even when he experienced banishment and spiritual abuse, he did not resist or fight back. He tried to put the needs of the community before his own sufferings. Later in life, however, he came to see this nonresistance to evil as the worst mistake of his life. He let evil forces take over the community for a time because he was not willing to confront them forcefully. Unfortunately, this can all too often become a trait of well-meaning Christian communities: grace becomes an enabler to evil. What is called love is sometimes actually taking the easy route instead of the robust route of protecting the vulnerable and facing tough truths.

I was glad that in the end Heiner realized that he had made a grievous mistake. But my heart ached for the unnecessary suffering that had occurred–both with him and with the community. Even so, when Heiner and the community were finally willing to own up to the spiritual abuse they had enabled another leader to engage in, they demonstrated an instructive commitment to repentance. Perhaps the long years of suffering–however unwarranted–had helped form endurance and character that enabled them to walk through a dark and difficult time of making things right.

I admire Heiner because he took Jesus’s words so very seriously. He was willing to live a lowly life–even an impoverished one beyond what many of us would accept for ourselves–in order to serve the wider needs of the community. His rejected entirely the idolatry of political power, even as he tried to live as a respectful citizen. He was gentle and allowed suffering to form a beautiful character in him instead of letting it establish bitterness. He had a special heart for those who society discarded and for those who were struggling. His suffering provided connection points for him with them. His forte was the care of souls and he had a true pastor’s heart:

To Heiner, the care of souls was not a matter of dispensing advice or passing on wisdom. It was simply the obvious response to the biblical command, “Love one another.'”Having gone through one hard time after anther in his own life, he identified with anyone who was lonely or discouraged, and he knew what had helped him through: a personal relationship with Jesus. That was always the heart of his counsel, whether he pointed to it by means of a loving arm around the shoulder, a frank admonition, or–when the occasion called for it–a public confrontation (321, uncorrected proof).

I would argue that Heiner made some big mistakes as a leader, but it would be hard to find a leader with more humility and heart for his people. Sometimes when we dare greatly, we make big mistakes. But failing to dare is a mistake too. Heiner dared greatly and loved greatly. In that, we are taught.

This post is part of Patheos’s Book Club.

——————-

Community discussion guidelines (NOTE A COUPLE OF CHANGES IN BOLD):

Because this is a Christian blog, the things I’m talking about will obviously be topics that people feel strongly about in one direction or another. Please keep in mind that this is a place for substantive, respectful conversation. All perspectives are welcome to discuss here as long as all can treat each other with kindness and respect. Please ignore trolls, refuse to engage in personal attacks, try not to derail the conversation into divisive rabbit trails, and observe the comment policy listed on the right side of the page. Comments that violate these guidelines may be deleted. Vulgar remarks may result in immediate blacklisting. For those who clearly violate these policies repeatedly, my policy is to issue a warning which, if not regarded, may lead to blacklisting. I reserve the right to delete any comment that is not contributing to a healthy environment and to a constructive conversation. This is not about censorship, but about creating a healthy, respectful environment for discussion.

P.S. Please also note that I am not a scientist, but a person with expertise in theology and the arts. While I am very interested in the relationship between science and faith, I do not believe I personally will be able to adequately address the many questions that inevitably come up related to science and religion. I encourage you to seek out the writings of theistic or Christian scientists to help with those discussions.

———————-

Books

Jesus

Theology

Homage to a Broken Man

J. Heinrich Arnold

Peter Mommsen

Previous Post

July 27, 2015

Creativity--and Goals for This Blog

Next Post

August 3, 2015 Blood Brother: A Documentary That Shows How Deeds Can Preach

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Books Charis Christian Witness Church Year Conversation Creativity Cultural Engagement Curiosity Current Events Film Jesus Lectionary Message Literature Lutheran Theology Politics Story Television Theology Uncategorized

Select a Month December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 December 2016 October 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz