Love of God, Love of World

Bonhoeffer shows how love of God and love for His creation can be reconciled by using a musical analogy: “God wants us to love him eternally with our whole hearts – not in such a way as to injure or weaken our earthly love, but to provide a kind of cantus firmus to which the other melodies of life provide a counterpoint.  One of these contrapuntal themes (which have their own complete independence but are yet related to the cantus firmus ) is earthly affection.”

Love for God and love for creation are thus not necessarily competitive: “Where the cantus firmus is clear and plain, the counterpoint can be developed to its limits.”  And the cantus firmus provides the counterpuntal themes with “firm support” and ensure that they don’t “come adrift or get out of tune.”  In sum, “Only a polyphony of this kind can give life a wholeness and at the same time assure us that nothing calamitous can happen so long as the cantus firmus is kept going.”