Preserving the Ultimate: Using Maslow's Hierarchy to Apply Bonhoeffer's Ethics
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Abstract
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the twentieth century German theologian, wrote as he lived, in a manner that challenged the status quo, and his life was guided by one of his key ethical arguments: "the penultimate must be preserved for the sake of the ultimate.†In order to understand this ethic adequately, the nature and practicality of the two key words “ultimate†and “penultimate†must be investigated. A methodology for the application of Bonhoefferian ethics can be developed by utilizing the twentieth century American psychologist Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. In return, Maslow’s hierarchy can be informed by Bonhoeffer’s theology.
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Keywords
Bonhoeffer, Maslow, ethics, penultimate, sociology, theology
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Flanagan, K.D.P. 2007. Sociology in Theology: Reflexivity and Belief. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
Forell, George. [1962]2009. “Realized Faith, the Ethics of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.†Pp. 199-224 in The Place of Bonhoeffer: Essays on the Problems and Possibilities of His Thought, edited by Martin E. Marty. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock Publishers.
Green, Clifford J. 1999. Bonhoeffer: A Theology of Sociality. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing.
Hiebert, Dennis. 2008. “Can We Talk? Achieving Dialogue between Sociology and Theology.†Christian Scholar’s Review, 37(2):199-214.
Maslow, A.H. 1943. “A Theory of Human Motivation.†Psychological Review. 50(4):370-396.
Maslow, A.H. 1954. Motivation and Personality. New York, NY: Harper Row.
Maslow, A.H. 1964. Religions, Values, and Peak-Experiences. New York, NY: Penguin Compass.
Millbank, John. 2006. Theology and Social Theory: Beyond Secular Reason. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing.
Plant, Stephen. 2013. “The Evangelization of Rules, Bonhoeffer’s Political Theology†in Bonhoeffer, Christ and Culture, edited by Timothy Larsen and Keith Johnson. Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press
Wheeldon, Jeff. 2016. “Theology and Sociology, Sociology as Theology.†Journal of Sociology and Christianity, 6(2):6-23.
Yoder, John Howard. 1994. The Politics of Jesus. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing.
Zimmerman, Jens and Brian Gregor. 2012. “Introduction†in Being Human, Becoming Human: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Social Thought, edited by Jens Zimmerman and Brian Gregor. Cambridge, UK: James Clarke and Co.
Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. 2005. Ethics. Vol. 6, Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, edited by Clifford J. Green. Translated by Reinhard Krauss, Charles C. West, and Douglas W. Stott. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press.
Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. 2010. Letters and Papers from Prison. Vol. 8, Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, edited by John W. DeGruchy. Translated by Isabel Best, Lisa E. Dahill, Reinhard Krauss, Nancy Lukens, Barbara Rumscheidt and Martin Rumscheidt. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press.
Flanagan, K.D.P. 2007. Sociology in Theology: Reflexivity and Belief. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
Forell, George. [1962]2009. “Realized Faith, the Ethics of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.†Pp. 199-224 in The Place of Bonhoeffer: Essays on the Problems and Possibilities of His Thought, edited by Martin E. Marty. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock Publishers.
Green, Clifford J. 1999. Bonhoeffer: A Theology of Sociality. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing.
Hiebert, Dennis. 2008. “Can We Talk? Achieving Dialogue between Sociology and Theology.†Christian Scholar’s Review, 37(2):199-214.
Maslow, A.H. 1943. “A Theory of Human Motivation.†Psychological Review. 50(4):370-396.
Maslow, A.H. 1954. Motivation and Personality. New York, NY: Harper Row.
Maslow, A.H. 1964. Religions, Values, and Peak-Experiences. New York, NY: Penguin Compass.
Millbank, John. 2006. Theology and Social Theory: Beyond Secular Reason. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing.
Plant, Stephen. 2013. “The Evangelization of Rules, Bonhoeffer’s Political Theology†in Bonhoeffer, Christ and Culture, edited by Timothy Larsen and Keith Johnson. Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press
Wheeldon, Jeff. 2016. “Theology and Sociology, Sociology as Theology.†Journal of Sociology and Christianity, 6(2):6-23.
Yoder, John Howard. 1994. The Politics of Jesus. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing.
Zimmerman, Jens and Brian Gregor. 2012. “Introduction†in Being Human, Becoming Human: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Social Thought, edited by Jens Zimmerman and Brian Gregor. Cambridge, UK: James Clarke and Co.
Section
Research Articles