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Dietrich Bonhoeffer
At a time when much of the world was either enticed with or entrapped by fascism, Dietrich Bonhoeffer dared to live the morally responsible Christian life to its most expressive, and tragic, end. As a theologically rooted opponent to National Socialism, and later as a member of the political resistance against Nazism, Bonhoeffer was recognized as a leader even by his enemies and was hanged by the Gestapo in 1945. His legacy has inspired many and has demonstrated his landmark life and works to be among the most important of the twentieth century and the most relevant for our times ahead. This celebrated biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Eberhard BethgeBonhoeffer's friend, pupil, close associate and relative by marriagehas been fully reviewed, corrected, and clarified by leading Bonhoeffer scholar Victoria Barnett for this new edition of the classic and definitive work. With previous sections updated and expanded, and entirely new sections on Bonhoeffer's childhood never before seen in English, this edition is sure to be the most accurate and inspiring textual rendering of Bonhoeffer to date.
1048 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1968
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews
November 13, 2009
Just finished this; it's a beast but was surprised at how readable it was. The fact that the author, Eberhard Bethge, was Bonhoeffer's student at the underground seminary, a close friend and co-conspirator of Bonhoeffer makes the book come alive. Particularly striking is the story of Bonhoeffer's early leadership in opposition to Hitler when he was in his mid-twenties (!); that he was able to see clearly what so many others couldn't or wouldn't. The details of his imprisonment, his last days, and the gospel character he displayed to his fellow-prisoners (and even guards) was one of the most powerful testimonies of Christian faith I've read. There are also numerous selections quoted from the giant multi-volume 'Works' that made me want to read more, especially from his letters written before his imprisonment. I found myself more impressed by his basic and most famous works (Life Together and Discipleship) and much less interested in his earlier and later theology; I still can't tell exactly what he was up to in his late theological development revealed in his last letters to Bethge from Tegel prison; Bethge's efforts to explain those ideas didn't clear things up for me!
Someone needs to do a heavily abridged version of this that keeps the basic story line and the wonderful quotes from Bonhoeffer's writings and letters; it would be a gift to the church.
A friend who was in prison with him summarized his impressions: "he was holy, humble and brave."
Someone needs to do a heavily abridged version of this that keeps the basic story line and the wonderful quotes from Bonhoeffer's writings and letters; it would be a gift to the church.
A friend who was in prison with him summarized his impressions: "he was holy, humble and brave."
April 26, 2025
Bonhoeffer ist einfach so eine Legende.
Am Ende musste ich weinen.
Am Ende musste ich weinen.
May 11, 2023
I spent two years slowly working through this book. My context was limited in that I had read another biography ages ago along with some of Bonhoeffer's most accessible works. I definitely didn't have the necessary theological or historical understanding (beyond a general knowledge of Germany in the 1930s) to really absorb everything. But I am so glad I read it. I didn't have to understand everything to see him working through his faith, deciding how to stand up for his church and the endangered people he knew, and his grace during his time of imprisonment. This massive source (which in many ways could be considered a primary source) was magnificent.
November 22, 2011
I actually watched the movie Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace but I did use this book as a reference. This will probably be the most scholarly book review I will ever do so I am including it on here.
Crafton
Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace:
A Reflection of a Historical Work
Lauren Crafton
History 495
Professor Thomas
2 February 2004
“Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace” is a made-for-TV movie that focuses on the last sixteen years of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s life. The movie portrays his struggle with morality and ethics during a time when the government had none. It begins with Bonhoeffer in Chicago debating whether he should go back to Germany. He decides to go back or he would be a hypocrite in all that he believes. This seems to be a constant theme throughout the movie. He must reevaluate what he believes is moral in the midst of constant immorality.
The story line then takes Bonhoeffer to Germany where he quickly becomes involved with an anti-Nazi effort to take out Hitler. He debates whether it is worse to kill and stop evil than to allow evil to continue terrorizing an entire nation. In the process he becomes deeply incriminated by documents that his group tries to use to prove Hitler’s wrong-doings.
Manfred Roeder, Bonhoeffer’s archenemy, imprisons Bonhoeffer and tries to find incriminating information on Bonhoeffer. During his time in prison, Maria von Wedemeyer, his fiancée visits him and brings him cryptic messages. While he is there, he consoles his prison-mates and writes important letters on ethics. Later actual incriminating information was found in the Abwehr, German Military Intelligence, archives. He was transported to Flossenberg to be hanged.
The last scene may be the most important in conveying who Dietrich Bonhoeffer actually was. He is portrayed in a Christ-like manner in his last few moments. He is ordered to strip down and walk to the gallows. At this point his is serene and shivering but only because he is cold, not because he is afraid. As he reaches the gallows, he says a quiet prayer asking for peace for God’s servants. Then he calmly and humbly allows himself to be hanged.
Eric Till, the co-writer and director of the film, had several reasons for doing a made for TV film about Dietrich Bonhoeffer. When asked what he set out to accomplish with Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace, he said,
To bring to the public a story of someone who shows us moral action in a period of great
evil. I have great admiration for that. I had often been fascinated by Bonhoeffer, a man
who, while having of course lectured and written a book about ethics, was confronted by a
situation which just threw that right out the window and how he had to deal with it. I
wanted to do a film showing the dilemma that confronts a righteous man when he's dealing
with people who have no scruples.
Till was intrigued by a man who struggled so much with ethical and moral questions. He wanted to capture the essence of that in his made-for-TV movie. He strays from the actual historical settings of what took place in order to capture the heart of what was going on inside Bonhoeffer as well as the external events he experienced. In a review by Elesha Coffman, she quotes Till as saying, “You can get bogged down by the truth of it all,” Till says. “At the same time, one is most anxious not to in any way distort the essence of the real story itself.” He shows the essence of the real events that took place by not using the traditional location of the events.
Most reviews on the movie praise its excellent representation of the man Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his internal conflict with morality. A few critics complain about the movie’s lack of drama compared to other Bonhoeffer films; however, most critics enjoy Ulrich Tukur’s portrayal of an externally calm and patient man. In a review by The Record, they state, “By not presenting him as a standard hero, the film makes Bonhoeffer's life even more dramatic; for it shows a rather 'ordinary' man living in difficult times whose faith leads him to do extraordinary things.” They appreciate the humanness of Bonhoeffer as opposed to another glorified superhero.
Raymond A. Schroth of the National Catholic Reporter critiques a line in the movie delivered by an elderly escaping Jew, who is questioning using Nazi help to escape. “But she warns him, ‘Don't win the war to lose your soul.’ It's a strange moment, and we don't expect a Jew to paraphrase Jesus to a Lutheran. But it's the only minute in the film's 85 minutes to suggest that Bonhoeffer's ethical system might have some holes in it.” Schroth is appreciative that the movie at least portrays at least one question on the veracity of Dietrich’s ethics.
Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace was critiqued by a wide variety including a Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Ginsberg. In her response to the movie, she says, “Most people, like me, have been very lucky. We have not had our morals tested the way he did. And it's a question we ask ourselves: We'd like to be like Bonhoeffer, but could we be?” If a Supreme Court Justice, who deals with rulings on laws and morals everyday, is concerned about her own testing on morals, then a movie about Bonhoeffer is an extremely important example of how one man passed his own test.
The final critique which most reviewers shared was from the Robert-Forster Movie Reviews. This review is based on the portrayal of Dietrich’s young fiancé.
There are also a few unfortunate liberties taken with the story--liberties that do not make
the film more understandable but less--the most perplexing of which is the decision to
make Bonhoeffer's teenage fiancée seem quite ditzy. This makes it hard to imagine what
Bonhoeffer saw in her, other than youth, beauty, and availability, and, I thought, gave their
relationship an almost creepy quality. From what I've been able to find in reading about
them, she was actually quite intelligent.
The review is highly critical of the depiction of Bonhoeffer’s fiancée. The change in her character makes the movie confusing and somewhat unethical for Dietrich. It places an unusual romantic twist on something that does not really exist. Most reviews praise the humble portrayal of Bonhoeffer, while expressing their disapproval for the liberties taken which are not necessary to tell the story.
As I began watching Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace I quickly became captivated by Ulrich Tukur’s portrayal of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He was shown as a quiet but thoughtful man. I was intrigued by his peacefulness and the aura that surrounded him. As Hitler may have been captivating in his powerful speeches, so Bonhoeffer was captivating in his humble sermons. I was fascinated by the ethical debates he had within himself. I found myself wondering which lesser of two evils I would pick.
When one of his ethics in question was presented in the movie, it never seemed as if he believed in what he had written. The actor seemed hesitant to agree with what had been said from his own books. He may have been portraying Bonhoeffer’s uncertainty or just allowing for some more dramatic moments in an otherwise boring recitation of his views.
The portrayal of Bonhoeffer’s fiancée was the main drawback in the movie. It led me to both question Bonhoeffer’s true character and wonder if Hollywood had placed its usual romantic spin on a story line without a complicated relationship. His fiancée seemed too young and ignorant for Bonhoeffer to be honorably pursuing her at his age.
The final scene was the most captivating and worth watching the entire movie. Bonhoeffer is shown in the most humiliating and frightening environment and yet remains both peacefully and courageous. He strips down and walks benevolently towards his certain death. In this image, it is easy to see the parallel to Christ’s death. In this scene, Bonhoeffer’s conveys his entire life with simple and humble actions as a reflection of what he thought Christ would also do.
The actual Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born on February 4th, 1906 and died April 9th, 1945. In between these two dates, he was involved with many things and challenged the authority that ruled over him.
Sept. 4 1940 forbidden to speak in public.
Jan. 17 1943 engagement to Maria
13 and 15 March 1943 attempted assassinations on Hitler
5 April 1943 house search and arrest; also Hans von Dohnanyi and Muller arrested with their wives
1944 January chief interrogator Roeder dismissed
22 Sept 1944 Gestapo commissar Sonderegger discovers files in the Abwehr binker in Zossen
Oct. 1944 escape plan, but abandoned for fear of others’ arrest
8 Oct. 1944 taken to Gestapo prison at Prinz-Albrecht-Strasse
9 April 1945 executed with 5 other men (Bethge).
“Dietrich Bonhoeffer...was a German Lutheran theologian and preacher who worked for the ecumene and strongly opposed the anti-semitic policies of Nazi Germany.
He returned to Germany in 1931, where he lectured on theology in Berlin and wrote several books. A strong opponent of fascism, he fled to London when Adolf Hitler rose to power in 1933. He returned after Martin Niemoller and Karl Barth formed the anti-Nazi Confessing Church, only to have his seminary closed down at the outbreak of World War II. The Gestapo also banned him from preaching. During this time, Bonhoffer worked closely with numerous opponents of Hitler”.
http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/b/bon...
Bonhoeffer's active opposition to National Socialism in the thirties continued to escalate until his recruitment into the resistance in 1940. The core of the conspiracy to assassinate Adolph Hitler and overthrow the Third Reich was an elite group within the Abwehr (German Military Intelligence), which included, Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, Head of Military Intelligence, General Hans Oster (who recruited Bonhoeffer), and Hans von Dohnanyi, who was married to Bonhoeffer's sister, Christine.
http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/b/bon...
A constant theme echoes throughout: ‘Don't get tired and depressed, my dearest Dietrich, it won't be much longer now.’
One of the most refreshing dimensions of this book is the marvelous picture it paints of Maria, a personality quite distinct and in many ways contradictory to Bonhoeffer's. She took great interest in the minutiae of bourgeois trivialities—"I hate sideboards, and really decent cupboards arc quite unobtainable"—while church missionary meetings bored her to tears. For that matter, she had little patience for theology: "Theology strikes me as an incomprehensible discipline. … I always get the feeling that it's seeking an intellectual explanation for what is quite simply a question of faith." (She adds at the end of that letter: "you mustn't think I disapprove of your work.") One is tempted to wonder how the champion of single-minded obedience could have fallen for a woman whose priorities are so different from his own.
After his death, Maria moved to the United States, where she carved out a successful career in mathematics and computer technology. She also married and divorced, twice. One wonders what would have become of her marriage to Bonhoeffer. http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2...
“Now Maria von Wedemeyer, unfamiliar with the background of the political conspiracy and, at least at the beginning, with no knowledge of all the personal connections to government departments and Berlin acquaintances, had to leave plans and other considerations up to her in-laws and their friends, whom she hardly knew” (Bethge).
“We know practically nothing about each other, have no common experiences yet, even for these months we are going through separately. Maria thinks I am a model of virtue, an exemplary Christian and, to satisfy her, I have to write letters like an early martyr, and her image of me becomes more and more false…And yet she goes through everything with a marvelous naturalness” (Bethge).
Bibliography
Bethge, Eberhard. Dietrich Bonhoeffer: a Biography. Fortress Press, Minneapolis 2000.
Bruce, David. Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace. HollywoodJesus.com, 2004,
(7 February 2004).
Coffman, Elesha. “Christian History Corner: Agent of Grace” Christianity Today 9 June
(8 February 2004).
Ginsberg, Ruth. “Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace” Oregon Public Broadcasting, Aid Association for
Lutherans, and PBS Online, 2000
(7 February 2004).
Huff, Douglas. “Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945)” The Internet Encyclopedia, 2004.
(7 February 2004.)
The Record, Hackensack, NJ “Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace” Oregon Public Broadcasting, Aid
Association for Lutherans, and PBS Online, 2000 /film/reviews.html> (7 February 2004).
Robert-Forster. “Bonhoeffer:Agent of Grace” Robert-Forster Movie Reviews
<
Forster_3.html" http://www.vhs-movie-review.com/Ridle...-
Forster_3.html> (7 February 2004).
Schroth, Raymond A. “A theologian in Nazi Germany `AGENT OF GRACE'.(Review)
(television program review)” National Catholic Reporter, 16 June 2000
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m1... (7
February 2004).
Zoba, Wendy Murray. “C.T. Classic: Bonhoeffer in Love” “Christianity Today” October, 23 1995. 2001 http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2...
Crafton
Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace:
A Reflection of a Historical Work
Lauren Crafton
History 495
Professor Thomas
2 February 2004
“Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace” is a made-for-TV movie that focuses on the last sixteen years of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s life. The movie portrays his struggle with morality and ethics during a time when the government had none. It begins with Bonhoeffer in Chicago debating whether he should go back to Germany. He decides to go back or he would be a hypocrite in all that he believes. This seems to be a constant theme throughout the movie. He must reevaluate what he believes is moral in the midst of constant immorality.
The story line then takes Bonhoeffer to Germany where he quickly becomes involved with an anti-Nazi effort to take out Hitler. He debates whether it is worse to kill and stop evil than to allow evil to continue terrorizing an entire nation. In the process he becomes deeply incriminated by documents that his group tries to use to prove Hitler’s wrong-doings.
Manfred Roeder, Bonhoeffer’s archenemy, imprisons Bonhoeffer and tries to find incriminating information on Bonhoeffer. During his time in prison, Maria von Wedemeyer, his fiancée visits him and brings him cryptic messages. While he is there, he consoles his prison-mates and writes important letters on ethics. Later actual incriminating information was found in the Abwehr, German Military Intelligence, archives. He was transported to Flossenberg to be hanged.
The last scene may be the most important in conveying who Dietrich Bonhoeffer actually was. He is portrayed in a Christ-like manner in his last few moments. He is ordered to strip down and walk to the gallows. At this point his is serene and shivering but only because he is cold, not because he is afraid. As he reaches the gallows, he says a quiet prayer asking for peace for God’s servants. Then he calmly and humbly allows himself to be hanged.
Eric Till, the co-writer and director of the film, had several reasons for doing a made for TV film about Dietrich Bonhoeffer. When asked what he set out to accomplish with Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace, he said,
To bring to the public a story of someone who shows us moral action in a period of great
evil. I have great admiration for that. I had often been fascinated by Bonhoeffer, a man
who, while having of course lectured and written a book about ethics, was confronted by a
situation which just threw that right out the window and how he had to deal with it. I
wanted to do a film showing the dilemma that confronts a righteous man when he's dealing
with people who have no scruples.
Till was intrigued by a man who struggled so much with ethical and moral questions. He wanted to capture the essence of that in his made-for-TV movie. He strays from the actual historical settings of what took place in order to capture the heart of what was going on inside Bonhoeffer as well as the external events he experienced. In a review by Elesha Coffman, she quotes Till as saying, “You can get bogged down by the truth of it all,” Till says. “At the same time, one is most anxious not to in any way distort the essence of the real story itself.” He shows the essence of the real events that took place by not using the traditional location of the events.
Most reviews on the movie praise its excellent representation of the man Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his internal conflict with morality. A few critics complain about the movie’s lack of drama compared to other Bonhoeffer films; however, most critics enjoy Ulrich Tukur’s portrayal of an externally calm and patient man. In a review by The Record, they state, “By not presenting him as a standard hero, the film makes Bonhoeffer's life even more dramatic; for it shows a rather 'ordinary' man living in difficult times whose faith leads him to do extraordinary things.” They appreciate the humanness of Bonhoeffer as opposed to another glorified superhero.
Raymond A. Schroth of the National Catholic Reporter critiques a line in the movie delivered by an elderly escaping Jew, who is questioning using Nazi help to escape. “But she warns him, ‘Don't win the war to lose your soul.’ It's a strange moment, and we don't expect a Jew to paraphrase Jesus to a Lutheran. But it's the only minute in the film's 85 minutes to suggest that Bonhoeffer's ethical system might have some holes in it.” Schroth is appreciative that the movie at least portrays at least one question on the veracity of Dietrich’s ethics.
Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace was critiqued by a wide variety including a Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Ginsberg. In her response to the movie, she says, “Most people, like me, have been very lucky. We have not had our morals tested the way he did. And it's a question we ask ourselves: We'd like to be like Bonhoeffer, but could we be?” If a Supreme Court Justice, who deals with rulings on laws and morals everyday, is concerned about her own testing on morals, then a movie about Bonhoeffer is an extremely important example of how one man passed his own test.
The final critique which most reviewers shared was from the Robert-Forster Movie Reviews. This review is based on the portrayal of Dietrich’s young fiancé.
There are also a few unfortunate liberties taken with the story--liberties that do not make
the film more understandable but less--the most perplexing of which is the decision to
make Bonhoeffer's teenage fiancée seem quite ditzy. This makes it hard to imagine what
Bonhoeffer saw in her, other than youth, beauty, and availability, and, I thought, gave their
relationship an almost creepy quality. From what I've been able to find in reading about
them, she was actually quite intelligent.
The review is highly critical of the depiction of Bonhoeffer’s fiancée. The change in her character makes the movie confusing and somewhat unethical for Dietrich. It places an unusual romantic twist on something that does not really exist. Most reviews praise the humble portrayal of Bonhoeffer, while expressing their disapproval for the liberties taken which are not necessary to tell the story.
As I began watching Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace I quickly became captivated by Ulrich Tukur’s portrayal of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He was shown as a quiet but thoughtful man. I was intrigued by his peacefulness and the aura that surrounded him. As Hitler may have been captivating in his powerful speeches, so Bonhoeffer was captivating in his humble sermons. I was fascinated by the ethical debates he had within himself. I found myself wondering which lesser of two evils I would pick.
When one of his ethics in question was presented in the movie, it never seemed as if he believed in what he had written. The actor seemed hesitant to agree with what had been said from his own books. He may have been portraying Bonhoeffer’s uncertainty or just allowing for some more dramatic moments in an otherwise boring recitation of his views.
The portrayal of Bonhoeffer’s fiancée was the main drawback in the movie. It led me to both question Bonhoeffer’s true character and wonder if Hollywood had placed its usual romantic spin on a story line without a complicated relationship. His fiancée seemed too young and ignorant for Bonhoeffer to be honorably pursuing her at his age.
The final scene was the most captivating and worth watching the entire movie. Bonhoeffer is shown in the most humiliating and frightening environment and yet remains both peacefully and courageous. He strips down and walks benevolently towards his certain death. In this image, it is easy to see the parallel to Christ’s death. In this scene, Bonhoeffer’s conveys his entire life with simple and humble actions as a reflection of what he thought Christ would also do.
The actual Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born on February 4th, 1906 and died April 9th, 1945. In between these two dates, he was involved with many things and challenged the authority that ruled over him.
Sept. 4 1940 forbidden to speak in public.
Jan. 17 1943 engagement to Maria
13 and 15 March 1943 attempted assassinations on Hitler
5 April 1943 house search and arrest; also Hans von Dohnanyi and Muller arrested with their wives
1944 January chief interrogator Roeder dismissed
22 Sept 1944 Gestapo commissar Sonderegger discovers files in the Abwehr binker in Zossen
Oct. 1944 escape plan, but abandoned for fear of others’ arrest
8 Oct. 1944 taken to Gestapo prison at Prinz-Albrecht-Strasse
9 April 1945 executed with 5 other men (Bethge).
“Dietrich Bonhoeffer...was a German Lutheran theologian and preacher who worked for the ecumene and strongly opposed the anti-semitic policies of Nazi Germany.
He returned to Germany in 1931, where he lectured on theology in Berlin and wrote several books. A strong opponent of fascism, he fled to London when Adolf Hitler rose to power in 1933. He returned after Martin Niemoller and Karl Barth formed the anti-Nazi Confessing Church, only to have his seminary closed down at the outbreak of World War II. The Gestapo also banned him from preaching. During this time, Bonhoffer worked closely with numerous opponents of Hitler”.
http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/b/bon...
Bonhoeffer's active opposition to National Socialism in the thirties continued to escalate until his recruitment into the resistance in 1940. The core of the conspiracy to assassinate Adolph Hitler and overthrow the Third Reich was an elite group within the Abwehr (German Military Intelligence), which included, Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, Head of Military Intelligence, General Hans Oster (who recruited Bonhoeffer), and Hans von Dohnanyi, who was married to Bonhoeffer's sister, Christine.
http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/b/bon...
A constant theme echoes throughout: ‘Don't get tired and depressed, my dearest Dietrich, it won't be much longer now.’
One of the most refreshing dimensions of this book is the marvelous picture it paints of Maria, a personality quite distinct and in many ways contradictory to Bonhoeffer's. She took great interest in the minutiae of bourgeois trivialities—"I hate sideboards, and really decent cupboards arc quite unobtainable"—while church missionary meetings bored her to tears. For that matter, she had little patience for theology: "Theology strikes me as an incomprehensible discipline. … I always get the feeling that it's seeking an intellectual explanation for what is quite simply a question of faith." (She adds at the end of that letter: "you mustn't think I disapprove of your work.") One is tempted to wonder how the champion of single-minded obedience could have fallen for a woman whose priorities are so different from his own.
After his death, Maria moved to the United States, where she carved out a successful career in mathematics and computer technology. She also married and divorced, twice. One wonders what would have become of her marriage to Bonhoeffer. http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2...
“Now Maria von Wedemeyer, unfamiliar with the background of the political conspiracy and, at least at the beginning, with no knowledge of all the personal connections to government departments and Berlin acquaintances, had to leave plans and other considerations up to her in-laws and their friends, whom she hardly knew” (Bethge).
“We know practically nothing about each other, have no common experiences yet, even for these months we are going through separately. Maria thinks I am a model of virtue, an exemplary Christian and, to satisfy her, I have to write letters like an early martyr, and her image of me becomes more and more false…And yet she goes through everything with a marvelous naturalness” (Bethge).
Bibliography
Bethge, Eberhard. Dietrich Bonhoeffer: a Biography. Fortress Press, Minneapolis 2000.
Bruce, David. Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace. HollywoodJesus.com, 2004,
(7 February 2004).
Coffman, Elesha. “Christian History Corner: Agent of Grace” Christianity Today 9 June
(8 February 2004).
Ginsberg, Ruth. “Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace” Oregon Public Broadcasting, Aid Association for
Lutherans, and PBS Online, 2000
(7 February 2004).
Huff, Douglas. “Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945)” The Internet Encyclopedia, 2004.
(7 February 2004.)
The Record, Hackensack, NJ “Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace” Oregon Public Broadcasting, Aid
Association for Lutherans, and PBS Online, 2000 /film/reviews.html> (7 February 2004).
Robert-Forster. “Bonhoeffer:Agent of Grace” Robert-Forster Movie Reviews
<
Forster_3.html" http://www.vhs-movie-review.com/Ridle...-
Forster_3.html> (7 February 2004).
Schroth, Raymond A. “A theologian in Nazi Germany `AGENT OF GRACE'.(Review)
(television program review)” National Catholic Reporter, 16 June 2000
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m1... (7
February 2004).
Zoba, Wendy Murray. “C.T. Classic: Bonhoeffer in Love” “Christianity Today” October, 23 1995. 2001 http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2...
January 19, 2015
At 933 pages, I can hardly embark upon an in-depth review of this book, nor would I hardly want to, as this author includes much more detail than is realistically necessary to simply relate the life of Bonhoeffer. In fact, there are times when this biography actually wanders into detailed accounts of the lives of Bonhoeffers acquaintances. Similarly, this is as much a history of the German church as it is a biography of Bonhoeffer. This author needs to understand that sheer page numbers is not what makes a book. The difficulties of wordiness are exacerbated by a disorganization that is created by failing to follow a chronological relating of events. Nevertheless, this book has allowed me to gain some significant insights. My review will list some of these in the paragraphs that follow:
The Failure of the German People:
History has the tendency to vilify Hitler without fully recognizing the shortcomings of the German people. Regardless of how diabolical Hitler may have been, the German people allowed their society to be misdirected by a madman.
The German people failed to openly criticize the social order with enough courage and vehemence. This is largely because their national ethos served as their primary value. They associated the Germanic ethos with lofty humanist standards that they demanded of themselves and expected from other Germans. They embraced propaganda that displaced “God the Father”, with the “fatherland”.
Placing faith in government to do the right thing is ultimately going to go awry. How difficult it is, even today? How many of us are willing to risk offending our conservative friends by standing up against the formation of ghettos, abject poverty, educational blight, or lack of healthcare? The Nazi regime is a case study for the danger of passiveness in society. The choices became either Germanism or Christianity.
German society lost a fight against adverse principalities. Germanic national pride allowed these principalities to proliferate until they became unwieldy. Under Nazism, German society became “possessed” with the principalities of power, greed, and pride. Hitler clearly offered himself to be worshiped and to be hailed as supreme. This book details the efforts of Hitler’s administration to destroy the Christian church. Hitler sought to displace the person of Christ with his own person.
One must wonder, did Hitler ever really entertain any real hope to be able to actually keep the countries he attacked? If he had, he certainly never would have attacked Russia or even occupied France for any length of time. More diabolically, Hitler’s aim was simply to instigate war in order to infuse suffering and misery into the world. And this aim was certainly achieved in indisputable success.
Hitler was anti-human. Photo of human atrocities of starvation, torture, & slave labor inflicted at Nazi concentration camp at Mauthausen.
Conscientious Objectors:
We must always ask ourselves, even today: does the pledge to our nation state supersede our devotion to that which is most high? Do we blindly support wars, foreign policies, and administrations that we really know nothing about? Are we that different from the Germans?
Can we really deny the rights of conscientious objectors to refrain from war? Are we justified in prosecuting, jailing, and belittling conscientious objectors? What else is conscription and the draft but a forceful call to participate in murder? How much longer might President Johnson have continued to sacrifice American soldiers in Vietnam because of his nationalistic pride, had not society ultimately arose in protest? The evil of war will never be defeated by negotiations between leaders of nation states who are intoxicated with their own power. The evil of war will only be defeated by the absolute refusal of people to murder one another without sufficient reason.
Sufficient reason goes beyond the mere enticements of propaganda, which lure our youth toward death and suicide, like a modern song of Sirens. Somehow our society sees acceptability in the sacrifice of ones life in war for a nation state but absurd the sacrifice of ones life in non-violent protest. So long as men allow themselves to be manipulated into believing it is somehow right to kill one another, war will continue.
Wouldn’t it be much better to sacrifice ones life in protest as a conscientious objector, standing for what one believes, than to be killed as a soldier in a war over something that one doesn’t fully understand? John F. Kennedy said: “War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today.” Albert Einstein remarked: “The Conscientious objector is a revolutionary. On deciding to disobey the law he sacrifices his personal interests to the most important cause of working for the betterment of society.”
Conscientious Objector’s helped bring the Vietnam War to an end. Like Hitler’s ridiculous foray, the Vietnam War accomplished nothing but death, injury, imprisonment, destruction, and wasted natural resources.
Untruth:
The Nazi’s used distorted truths in propaganda to solidify their political clout. Discerning and unveiling the truth is part of our obligation as Christians, but we must understand that everything cannot be true so long as we are in the world, for if everything becomes true, the concept of “false” is eliminated, and hence truth becomes so generic that we are unable to see it clearly. In the absence of falsity, we cannot clearly distinguish truth and would take it for granted. Falsehood serves to highlight truth for us, so that we can see it, understand it, and support it. Seeing Hitler helps us to better see Christ!
German Propaganda Posters
We use falsity to uncover and illuminate truth when, for example, we deploy a fairytale or myth that may not necessarily be literally true but may still convey an important moral truth. For example, the story of the Prodigal Son need not have occurred in the exact literal fashion that it is related in order for us to understand the important moral truths of love and forgiveness that it conveys. As a people, it is our obligation to recognize whether any joke, propaganda, book, fairytale, myth, fiction, show, political expose’, or other communication has sufficient worth in bearing forth the truth to be permitted residence in our consciousness. We must reject situations when such materials are used to spread evil and deception.
We define ourselves within the medium of the world by what we stand for and what we uphold. This is how we paint the essence of ourselves against the canvas of the world with the paintbrush of volitional choice that God has handed us. It is the brave souls, like Jesus, Martin Luther, MLK, Gandhi, and others, willing to stand against convention, that move humanity forward toward the truth. That is why such men become historical icons.
Ultimately, our faith may eventually gain sufficient proportion that we are able to jettison all doubt and see truth as concrete fact, at which time we become anew. God sprouts truthful attributes in humans who may then grow spiritually to bear fruits of truthfulness. God wants to grow within us, not within complex doctrines, rituals, dogma, and rules. God is manifest in people, not in theology! Our attempt to box God up into neat theologies is what separates us into denominations. God simply doesn’t fit within boxes designed by humans.
There can be no religion, without free will:
Anytime religion becomes forced, it is no longer religion, but a program. Religion cannot be authentic unless it is the exercise of volitional choice. God does not want to be served under compulsion, nor is it really possible to truly know God except by ones free choice. Without freewill there is nothing but indoctrination.
The foundation of belief rests within a love for God. He who fails to love God does not yet fully understand what God is. Knowledge can bring us to the outskirts of God, but only a love of God can bring us fully into God’s abundance. Without love, no list of rules, dogma, theology, or doctrine can ever get us there.
During our journey, there must be a synthesis from a strict following of defined rules to a discernment of particular situations. It is not about legalism but rather about pursuing what you love. We must come to comprehend God and to fall in love with our comprehension. This love creates a new and full existence, a new point of reference that frees us fully from legalism. It does not create decrees; it brings human beings into relation with each other.
Amidst such love, we lose the desire to judge and to apportion blame. Instead we seek to share in our brother’s burden, to serve, to help, to forgive without measure, without conditions, and without end. And we do so, not out of obligation, not to accumulate a prize, not to fulfill some regimen, but simply for the joy that it brings. A joy that is much more fun than any other past time I’ve ever experienced.
Christianity necessitates hope:
Christianity involves a pursuit of a “promised land” in which justice and peace and love prevail. Hence, Christianity necessitates a hope, a belief, and an expectation for the arrival of the kingdom. Expanding hope is authenticated in how our right actions alter situations about us. Authentic belief is what spurs us to action. For Christians, “being” is action.
Bonhoeffer came to accept the burden of collective responsibility for a heinous world that his class had inadvertently helped to bring about in Germany. Instead of merely protesting on ideological grounds, Bonhoeffer sought to work with those who were trying to overthrow Hitler and shape a new future. The significance of Bonhoeffer’s decision to do this should not be discounted.
Bonhoeffer’s decision to stand with the opposition might be better understood by an American in relation to the institution of slavery in the United States. It is one thing to stand ideologically against slavery as a concept. It is quite another to recognize that ones inheritance and position in the world has been elevated on the backs of slave laborers, who’s prodigy still remain disadvantaged as a result of the culture shock inflicted by kidnapping them from a native continent and forcing them to labor in an entirely new world. And it is still quite another to position oneself to aid in rectifying such an evil.
The true martyr is not simply one who dies physically on behalf of his beliefs, but one who sacrifices daily for his beliefs: by living openly for that which his inner conviction confirms to be right, at all costs. Standing against the Nazi’s was social suicide, as it was for any white person standing up for the Civil rights movement in the 60’s, as it is still today for the conscientious objector. Bonhoeffer made the decision to remain in Germany and accept the consequences of his nations error. Unsurprisingly, those consequences proved fatal for him. Yet, he calmly adopted 1 Peter 3:14 for himself: “But even if you do suffer for righteousness sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them nor be troubled.”
Protestors during American Civil Rights movement.
Ecumenicalism:
Dietrich Bonhoeffer spent much effort in furthering the ecumenical movement in the world during his time. He was, I think, enthusiastic about how ecumenism could ultimately be the church, through the process of placing the grace of God above denominational doctrines.
The extinguishment of war, race hatred, and social exploitation is a common goal that should bind the churches of the world together in ecumenism. It is the idea that we should subordinate our individual doctrines about Christ to what indisputably constitutes the presence of Christ in the world: to that which is “real” about Christ. To fail to do so is a sin against the reality of Christ.
Non-reality is the desire of man to effectuate circumstances of his own choosing, to build “a tower of Babel” out of divergent theologies, to set forth doctrines of his own making, and to declare such doctrines holy above all other doctrines of the world. Conversely, recognizing reality is to discern our way through the spirit of goodness in all of our relations with one another. It is much less difficult than we make it. It becomes complex because of the complexities we bring to it that are associated with our pride, nationalism, culture, and perceived social status.
To live in reality is to consummate what you believe in the flesh by doing it. This is what makes our beliefs real. Goodness is not found in war, poverty, retribution, race hatred, or social exploitation. To be Christian is to stand against these things, to extinguish them, to make them “unreal”, and to have faith in the hope of the ultimate finality. We must ask what the WORD is to the world, not to just our nation state. Instead of nation-hoods we need brotherhoods. Christendom must react to the world if it is to be fully of Christ and not just a multitude of divergent cults of narrow denominations.
The Penultimate:
Bonhoeffer spoke much of the “penultimate”, or that which comes before the last. If our focus is solely upon our perception of the perfect heaven, of that which comes in the hereafter, then we tend to forget the “penultimate” or the time just before, within which God has destined that we should live. Because the final revelation has not yet been revealed to us, we must work in the penultimate, the time before, and follow our callings within the penultimate to proceed toward that finality. We must admit to ourselves that we do not know everything there is to know about this finality and that anyone who presupposes to have the ultimate truth is actually being arrogant before God and disregarding the penultimate, within which God has destined them to live.
This concept of the “penultimate” thus provides a basis for solidification of the ecumenical movement. To fight against ecumenism is to promote disunity. To fight ecumenism is to promote chaos by clinging to a narrow interpretation of God’s will, specific to a particular culture or denomination. The commandment to love ones neighbor must gain traction on the world stage.
The separation of the sheep from the goats is the separation of those who understand their place in the penultimate and embrace hope for a better future from those who are nihilistic, fatalistic, and think only of the hereafter (or only of the here and now). The sheep give of themselves daily by considering what they can do, how they can move, what they can say, how they can act, or how they might foster the expansion of God’s Word in the earth. Because of their lack of faith, hope, and belief in the coming kingdom, the goats fight and compete incessantly to be king of the “here and now”.
Hitler and his cronies were goats. They would not stop their aggression because that would mean a settling down and an ultimate return to sensibility for the German populace. Warmongers are goats that desire and seek the adrenalin rush they achieve from open conflict. Those who constantly prepare for war are subconsciously inclined toward war as an ultimate fulfillment of their devotion.
Ritualistic symbolism:
Much divisive denominationalism occurs over differences in how, whether, or why rituals should be conducted. Many fail to realize that the rituals men mimic from the Bible were intended to be purely symbolic.
Take Baptism for example, particularly infant Baptism. Certainly an infant yet lacks the cognizance to make a choice of freewill. Surely we are not superstitious enough to believe that the mere rite, incantation, or magical ritualistic process somehow ensures salvation? Didn’t John the Baptist start baptism by baptizing adults? Wasn’t Jesus baptized as an adult? Is this really something worth arguing about and even more: is it something worth dividing a church over?
Even for adults, it is not the “process” of baptism, but the awakening realization of God that we are seeking. Baptism is something that is simply symbolic of how easily sin is washed away by authentic repentance. As we must “willingly” submerge in water, so we must “willingly” repent. The process of baptism is a teaching tool to help one understand forgiveness.
The Eucharist is similarly symbolic. The fact that denominations would argue in this day and time over whether or not the elements in communion really become the actual blood and body of Christ in the stomach is quite preposterous. Christ performed this event at the last supper to convey that one is called to service. By washing the feet of the disciples he displayed how we are to humble ourselves in service to others. In sharing the bread and wine, Christ illustrated how, if necessary, we are to sacrifice even our bodies and blood for righteousness.
“Do this in remembrance of me” means to serve one another in remembrance of Christ, not to reenact the exact same event over and over in ritualistic paralysis! It’s like trying to communicate something to someone by example and seeing them become fixated on the example. It’s funny how certain fundamentalists are so quick to wash one another’s feet but you never see them nailing one another up on crosses! But goodness gracious, let me not give them any ideas!
Jesus told parables and participated in symbolic events to give thrust to a moral message through time, not to have men copy the event. Overturning the tables in the temple was meant to send a message, not to establish a longstanding ritual for everyone to begin overturning all of the tables in their churches! To convert such things into primitive superstitious rites is to pervert the Gospel by rendering it ambiguous and shoo away non-Christians.
Christians must come to understand that the Word is the kingdom of God and that it is better to display “naturalness” in obedience to God than to construct elaborate superstructure that unbelievers must climb through just to get to the simplicity of the Word. We must break through the primitive mythology so we can instead uplift the majestic simplicity of the Word of God and by so doing we will unleash its true power to liberate!
CONTINUED IN COMMENT SECTION BELOW
The Failure of the German People:
History has the tendency to vilify Hitler without fully recognizing the shortcomings of the German people. Regardless of how diabolical Hitler may have been, the German people allowed their society to be misdirected by a madman.
The German people failed to openly criticize the social order with enough courage and vehemence. This is largely because their national ethos served as their primary value. They associated the Germanic ethos with lofty humanist standards that they demanded of themselves and expected from other Germans. They embraced propaganda that displaced “God the Father”, with the “fatherland”.
Placing faith in government to do the right thing is ultimately going to go awry. How difficult it is, even today? How many of us are willing to risk offending our conservative friends by standing up against the formation of ghettos, abject poverty, educational blight, or lack of healthcare? The Nazi regime is a case study for the danger of passiveness in society. The choices became either Germanism or Christianity.
German society lost a fight against adverse principalities. Germanic national pride allowed these principalities to proliferate until they became unwieldy. Under Nazism, German society became “possessed” with the principalities of power, greed, and pride. Hitler clearly offered himself to be worshiped and to be hailed as supreme. This book details the efforts of Hitler’s administration to destroy the Christian church. Hitler sought to displace the person of Christ with his own person.
One must wonder, did Hitler ever really entertain any real hope to be able to actually keep the countries he attacked? If he had, he certainly never would have attacked Russia or even occupied France for any length of time. More diabolically, Hitler’s aim was simply to instigate war in order to infuse suffering and misery into the world. And this aim was certainly achieved in indisputable success.
Hitler was anti-human. Photo of human atrocities of starvation, torture, & slave labor inflicted at Nazi concentration camp at Mauthausen.
Conscientious Objectors:
We must always ask ourselves, even today: does the pledge to our nation state supersede our devotion to that which is most high? Do we blindly support wars, foreign policies, and administrations that we really know nothing about? Are we that different from the Germans?
Can we really deny the rights of conscientious objectors to refrain from war? Are we justified in prosecuting, jailing, and belittling conscientious objectors? What else is conscription and the draft but a forceful call to participate in murder? How much longer might President Johnson have continued to sacrifice American soldiers in Vietnam because of his nationalistic pride, had not society ultimately arose in protest? The evil of war will never be defeated by negotiations between leaders of nation states who are intoxicated with their own power. The evil of war will only be defeated by the absolute refusal of people to murder one another without sufficient reason.
Sufficient reason goes beyond the mere enticements of propaganda, which lure our youth toward death and suicide, like a modern song of Sirens. Somehow our society sees acceptability in the sacrifice of ones life in war for a nation state but absurd the sacrifice of ones life in non-violent protest. So long as men allow themselves to be manipulated into believing it is somehow right to kill one another, war will continue.
Wouldn’t it be much better to sacrifice ones life in protest as a conscientious objector, standing for what one believes, than to be killed as a soldier in a war over something that one doesn’t fully understand? John F. Kennedy said: “War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today.” Albert Einstein remarked: “The Conscientious objector is a revolutionary. On deciding to disobey the law he sacrifices his personal interests to the most important cause of working for the betterment of society.”
Conscientious Objector’s helped bring the Vietnam War to an end. Like Hitler’s ridiculous foray, the Vietnam War accomplished nothing but death, injury, imprisonment, destruction, and wasted natural resources.
Untruth:
The Nazi’s used distorted truths in propaganda to solidify their political clout. Discerning and unveiling the truth is part of our obligation as Christians, but we must understand that everything cannot be true so long as we are in the world, for if everything becomes true, the concept of “false” is eliminated, and hence truth becomes so generic that we are unable to see it clearly. In the absence of falsity, we cannot clearly distinguish truth and would take it for granted. Falsehood serves to highlight truth for us, so that we can see it, understand it, and support it. Seeing Hitler helps us to better see Christ!
German Propaganda Posters
We use falsity to uncover and illuminate truth when, for example, we deploy a fairytale or myth that may not necessarily be literally true but may still convey an important moral truth. For example, the story of the Prodigal Son need not have occurred in the exact literal fashion that it is related in order for us to understand the important moral truths of love and forgiveness that it conveys. As a people, it is our obligation to recognize whether any joke, propaganda, book, fairytale, myth, fiction, show, political expose’, or other communication has sufficient worth in bearing forth the truth to be permitted residence in our consciousness. We must reject situations when such materials are used to spread evil and deception.
We define ourselves within the medium of the world by what we stand for and what we uphold. This is how we paint the essence of ourselves against the canvas of the world with the paintbrush of volitional choice that God has handed us. It is the brave souls, like Jesus, Martin Luther, MLK, Gandhi, and others, willing to stand against convention, that move humanity forward toward the truth. That is why such men become historical icons.
Ultimately, our faith may eventually gain sufficient proportion that we are able to jettison all doubt and see truth as concrete fact, at which time we become anew. God sprouts truthful attributes in humans who may then grow spiritually to bear fruits of truthfulness. God wants to grow within us, not within complex doctrines, rituals, dogma, and rules. God is manifest in people, not in theology! Our attempt to box God up into neat theologies is what separates us into denominations. God simply doesn’t fit within boxes designed by humans.
There can be no religion, without free will:
Anytime religion becomes forced, it is no longer religion, but a program. Religion cannot be authentic unless it is the exercise of volitional choice. God does not want to be served under compulsion, nor is it really possible to truly know God except by ones free choice. Without freewill there is nothing but indoctrination.
The foundation of belief rests within a love for God. He who fails to love God does not yet fully understand what God is. Knowledge can bring us to the outskirts of God, but only a love of God can bring us fully into God’s abundance. Without love, no list of rules, dogma, theology, or doctrine can ever get us there.
During our journey, there must be a synthesis from a strict following of defined rules to a discernment of particular situations. It is not about legalism but rather about pursuing what you love. We must come to comprehend God and to fall in love with our comprehension. This love creates a new and full existence, a new point of reference that frees us fully from legalism. It does not create decrees; it brings human beings into relation with each other.
Amidst such love, we lose the desire to judge and to apportion blame. Instead we seek to share in our brother’s burden, to serve, to help, to forgive without measure, without conditions, and without end. And we do so, not out of obligation, not to accumulate a prize, not to fulfill some regimen, but simply for the joy that it brings. A joy that is much more fun than any other past time I’ve ever experienced.
Christianity necessitates hope:
Christianity involves a pursuit of a “promised land” in which justice and peace and love prevail. Hence, Christianity necessitates a hope, a belief, and an expectation for the arrival of the kingdom. Expanding hope is authenticated in how our right actions alter situations about us. Authentic belief is what spurs us to action. For Christians, “being” is action.
Bonhoeffer came to accept the burden of collective responsibility for a heinous world that his class had inadvertently helped to bring about in Germany. Instead of merely protesting on ideological grounds, Bonhoeffer sought to work with those who were trying to overthrow Hitler and shape a new future. The significance of Bonhoeffer’s decision to do this should not be discounted.
Bonhoeffer’s decision to stand with the opposition might be better understood by an American in relation to the institution of slavery in the United States. It is one thing to stand ideologically against slavery as a concept. It is quite another to recognize that ones inheritance and position in the world has been elevated on the backs of slave laborers, who’s prodigy still remain disadvantaged as a result of the culture shock inflicted by kidnapping them from a native continent and forcing them to labor in an entirely new world. And it is still quite another to position oneself to aid in rectifying such an evil.
The true martyr is not simply one who dies physically on behalf of his beliefs, but one who sacrifices daily for his beliefs: by living openly for that which his inner conviction confirms to be right, at all costs. Standing against the Nazi’s was social suicide, as it was for any white person standing up for the Civil rights movement in the 60’s, as it is still today for the conscientious objector. Bonhoeffer made the decision to remain in Germany and accept the consequences of his nations error. Unsurprisingly, those consequences proved fatal for him. Yet, he calmly adopted 1 Peter 3:14 for himself: “But even if you do suffer for righteousness sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them nor be troubled.”
Protestors during American Civil Rights movement.
Ecumenicalism:
Dietrich Bonhoeffer spent much effort in furthering the ecumenical movement in the world during his time. He was, I think, enthusiastic about how ecumenism could ultimately be the church, through the process of placing the grace of God above denominational doctrines.
The extinguishment of war, race hatred, and social exploitation is a common goal that should bind the churches of the world together in ecumenism. It is the idea that we should subordinate our individual doctrines about Christ to what indisputably constitutes the presence of Christ in the world: to that which is “real” about Christ. To fail to do so is a sin against the reality of Christ.
Non-reality is the desire of man to effectuate circumstances of his own choosing, to build “a tower of Babel” out of divergent theologies, to set forth doctrines of his own making, and to declare such doctrines holy above all other doctrines of the world. Conversely, recognizing reality is to discern our way through the spirit of goodness in all of our relations with one another. It is much less difficult than we make it. It becomes complex because of the complexities we bring to it that are associated with our pride, nationalism, culture, and perceived social status.
To live in reality is to consummate what you believe in the flesh by doing it. This is what makes our beliefs real. Goodness is not found in war, poverty, retribution, race hatred, or social exploitation. To be Christian is to stand against these things, to extinguish them, to make them “unreal”, and to have faith in the hope of the ultimate finality. We must ask what the WORD is to the world, not to just our nation state. Instead of nation-hoods we need brotherhoods. Christendom must react to the world if it is to be fully of Christ and not just a multitude of divergent cults of narrow denominations.
The Penultimate:
Bonhoeffer spoke much of the “penultimate”, or that which comes before the last. If our focus is solely upon our perception of the perfect heaven, of that which comes in the hereafter, then we tend to forget the “penultimate” or the time just before, within which God has destined that we should live. Because the final revelation has not yet been revealed to us, we must work in the penultimate, the time before, and follow our callings within the penultimate to proceed toward that finality. We must admit to ourselves that we do not know everything there is to know about this finality and that anyone who presupposes to have the ultimate truth is actually being arrogant before God and disregarding the penultimate, within which God has destined them to live.
This concept of the “penultimate” thus provides a basis for solidification of the ecumenical movement. To fight against ecumenism is to promote disunity. To fight ecumenism is to promote chaos by clinging to a narrow interpretation of God’s will, specific to a particular culture or denomination. The commandment to love ones neighbor must gain traction on the world stage.
The separation of the sheep from the goats is the separation of those who understand their place in the penultimate and embrace hope for a better future from those who are nihilistic, fatalistic, and think only of the hereafter (or only of the here and now). The sheep give of themselves daily by considering what they can do, how they can move, what they can say, how they can act, or how they might foster the expansion of God’s Word in the earth. Because of their lack of faith, hope, and belief in the coming kingdom, the goats fight and compete incessantly to be king of the “here and now”.
Hitler and his cronies were goats. They would not stop their aggression because that would mean a settling down and an ultimate return to sensibility for the German populace. Warmongers are goats that desire and seek the adrenalin rush they achieve from open conflict. Those who constantly prepare for war are subconsciously inclined toward war as an ultimate fulfillment of their devotion.
Ritualistic symbolism:
Much divisive denominationalism occurs over differences in how, whether, or why rituals should be conducted. Many fail to realize that the rituals men mimic from the Bible were intended to be purely symbolic.
Take Baptism for example, particularly infant Baptism. Certainly an infant yet lacks the cognizance to make a choice of freewill. Surely we are not superstitious enough to believe that the mere rite, incantation, or magical ritualistic process somehow ensures salvation? Didn’t John the Baptist start baptism by baptizing adults? Wasn’t Jesus baptized as an adult? Is this really something worth arguing about and even more: is it something worth dividing a church over?
Even for adults, it is not the “process” of baptism, but the awakening realization of God that we are seeking. Baptism is something that is simply symbolic of how easily sin is washed away by authentic repentance. As we must “willingly” submerge in water, so we must “willingly” repent. The process of baptism is a teaching tool to help one understand forgiveness.
The Eucharist is similarly symbolic. The fact that denominations would argue in this day and time over whether or not the elements in communion really become the actual blood and body of Christ in the stomach is quite preposterous. Christ performed this event at the last supper to convey that one is called to service. By washing the feet of the disciples he displayed how we are to humble ourselves in service to others. In sharing the bread and wine, Christ illustrated how, if necessary, we are to sacrifice even our bodies and blood for righteousness.
“Do this in remembrance of me” means to serve one another in remembrance of Christ, not to reenact the exact same event over and over in ritualistic paralysis! It’s like trying to communicate something to someone by example and seeing them become fixated on the example. It’s funny how certain fundamentalists are so quick to wash one another’s feet but you never see them nailing one another up on crosses! But goodness gracious, let me not give them any ideas!
Jesus told parables and participated in symbolic events to give thrust to a moral message through time, not to have men copy the event. Overturning the tables in the temple was meant to send a message, not to establish a longstanding ritual for everyone to begin overturning all of the tables in their churches! To convert such things into primitive superstitious rites is to pervert the Gospel by rendering it ambiguous and shoo away non-Christians.
Christians must come to understand that the Word is the kingdom of God and that it is better to display “naturalness” in obedience to God than to construct elaborate superstructure that unbelievers must climb through just to get to the simplicity of the Word. We must break through the primitive mythology so we can instead uplift the majestic simplicity of the Word of God and by so doing we will unleash its true power to liberate!
CONTINUED IN COMMENT SECTION BELOW
Read
April 17, 2018For the serious Bonhoefferphile, this is still the most comprehensive fact-based chronological telling of his story. Still, even Bethge misses some of the inner life of DB, best treated by Marsh in Strange Glory.
July 6, 2015
Nearly 1,000 pages on the life and thought of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and I loved it. Eberhard keeps an objective tone, rarely referring to himself in the first person, though on occasion it is necessary, yet, knowing their deep friendship it was easy to feel his affection for the man behind the story he is telling.
This is a story of someone going beyond all borders in an effort to take responsibility for his actions. From a very early age Bonhoeffer wanted to be theologian, which surprised his family (his father was a psychiatrist). But after completing his PHD at 21 and writing a dissertation that is still read today, he turned toward pastoral work as more meaningful than mere academic study. He never left behind this pastoral drive and even when his Finkenwalde students were scattered through military conscription and mass printing was illegal, he would hand copy letters in mass to continue to encourage and inform his old students.
But he went behind the church work as well. His brother-in-law, a lawyer and non-religious, was very high up in the conspiracy against Hitler. Before it was over, two brothers and two brothers-in-law would be hung by Hitler's orders for their involvement and high treason. Bonhoeffer left nearly all of his church relationships behind and entered into the conspiracy. Not that even there he was alone, one of his main sources of encouragement and connections on the outside was Bishop George Bell of Chinchestor.
Well at some point, connected with an operation to help 11 Jews to escape, Bonhoeffer and Dohnanyi were arrested and sent to prison to be interrogated. At this point, Dohnanyi had actually been the record keeper of all the Nazi criminal activity (Zossen Files) in an attempt to gather leaders for a cou attempt, had been involved personally in two attempts to plant explosives on Hitler's plane (both times, the fuses failed to detonate) among other things. In prison, they attempted to continue to throw the interrogators off the scent as Canaris and Oster and others continued in their attempted assassination.
Finally, in July 1944, they positioned a bomb in the Wolf Lair, but it failed to kill Hitler and a deep investigation began of the entire Abwehr (German secret service) which resulted in finding at least a portion of the Zossen Files. All this meant the end for Bonhoeffer and those of his family who were involved. Klaus was tortured and by the end only hoped to never see the interrogators again, live or die.
It was while Bonhoeffer was in prison that he wrote letters that were smuggled out, mainly to Eberhard about the Christ in the world come of age, nonreligious interpretation, Christ as the "man for others" and a return to the arcane discipline. Eberhard's review of these concepts is the best I have seen and filled me with many thoughts for our times.
Well, the baby is waking and I need to finish up. I hope to write more about this book and the reasons I feel so drawn to Bonhoeffer on my blog jaypercival in the coming weeks if you have further interest.
This is a story of someone going beyond all borders in an effort to take responsibility for his actions. From a very early age Bonhoeffer wanted to be theologian, which surprised his family (his father was a psychiatrist). But after completing his PHD at 21 and writing a dissertation that is still read today, he turned toward pastoral work as more meaningful than mere academic study. He never left behind this pastoral drive and even when his Finkenwalde students were scattered through military conscription and mass printing was illegal, he would hand copy letters in mass to continue to encourage and inform his old students.
But he went behind the church work as well. His brother-in-law, a lawyer and non-religious, was very high up in the conspiracy against Hitler. Before it was over, two brothers and two brothers-in-law would be hung by Hitler's orders for their involvement and high treason. Bonhoeffer left nearly all of his church relationships behind and entered into the conspiracy. Not that even there he was alone, one of his main sources of encouragement and connections on the outside was Bishop George Bell of Chinchestor.
Well at some point, connected with an operation to help 11 Jews to escape, Bonhoeffer and Dohnanyi were arrested and sent to prison to be interrogated. At this point, Dohnanyi had actually been the record keeper of all the Nazi criminal activity (Zossen Files) in an attempt to gather leaders for a cou attempt, had been involved personally in two attempts to plant explosives on Hitler's plane (both times, the fuses failed to detonate) among other things. In prison, they attempted to continue to throw the interrogators off the scent as Canaris and Oster and others continued in their attempted assassination.
Finally, in July 1944, they positioned a bomb in the Wolf Lair, but it failed to kill Hitler and a deep investigation began of the entire Abwehr (German secret service) which resulted in finding at least a portion of the Zossen Files. All this meant the end for Bonhoeffer and those of his family who were involved. Klaus was tortured and by the end only hoped to never see the interrogators again, live or die.
It was while Bonhoeffer was in prison that he wrote letters that were smuggled out, mainly to Eberhard about the Christ in the world come of age, nonreligious interpretation, Christ as the "man for others" and a return to the arcane discipline. Eberhard's review of these concepts is the best I have seen and filled me with many thoughts for our times.
Well, the baby is waking and I need to finish up. I hope to write more about this book and the reasons I feel so drawn to Bonhoeffer on my blog jaypercival in the coming weeks if you have further interest.
November 14, 2017
I am under no illusion. I know Ebehard Bethge was Dietrich Bonhoeffer's student, good friend, and, by marriage, relative. Could this presentation of Bonhoeffer be unforgivably biased in his favor? Of course. Yet, having read other works about Bonhoeffer and by him, I feel like having now read Bethge's account, I know him better. I admire him more. And I have a deeper thirst to read more of what Bonhoeffer wrote, and to read more of what has been written about him. Bethge's work has stoked the flames of my own admiration for this great 20th century Christian who, in my own view, is equaled only by Martin Luther King Jr. in the power of his testimony.
June 21, 2014
Exceptional biography of Bonhoeffer, covering many many details of his life. There is no replacement for this book, written by someone who personally knew and was a dear friend of Bonhoeffer's, a confidante during some of the most critical portions of Bonhoeffer's later life. A little weak on the early years, before Bethge met Bonhoeffer, but very detailed on the years in Finkewalde, on the Resistance and up to his death. A translation and with a decidedly academic bent, this might be daunting for some, but Victoria Barnett's cleaned up translation is not challenging to read.
February 4, 2015
This is an absolutely intriguing, educational, inspiring and sobering read. Reading this book, I felt the reality of what happened, learned so much about someone so committed to the Truth and realized that we are not immune to this evil which hostile to Truth. Not only does one learn from the teaching and life of Bonhoeffer, but the reader will take away much from Eric Metaxas' own words and teaching as he shares with us a very close look at the life of Bonhoeffer.
December 26, 2014
A definitive book about a truly remarkable individual. Certainly a must read by anyone wanting to know the real Bonhoeffer. Each period of Bonhoeffer's life is covered in reasonable depth with hundreds of endnotes for follow up in the English translation of "Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Works."
June 26, 2018
This is a massive book on the life of Dietrick Bonhoeffer. To understand the man, one must understand his past, experiences, and decisions. Bethge eloquently presents us with a mass of information that shows us just that. I highly recommend this book to all!
January 20, 2025
This translation is really well done & the whole book was thoroughly enjoyable (shout out girlboss Victoria Barnett). I will say there are times when terms and historical events are not defined (Bethge assumes we know what’s up & sometimes I don’t lol). But other than that, this was a great read. Bonhoeffer isn’t made to fit into a certain narrative but instead is presented with all of his complexities. He seems like he was a lovely man who truly understood the call to faith was a call to die. Makes me want to learn more about his Christology. Thank God he was given such determination to stand up for Jewish people when many in the Confessing church deemed that it was not their problem.
May 13, 2025
Summary: Despite its age, this is still one of the best biographies of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Bethge was one of Bonhoeffer's students at Finkenwalde, and became his closest friend and he was the one responsible for compiling Letters and Papers from Prison, the book that made Bonhoeffer a widely known theologian.
It took me almost two months to finish, but Eberhard Bethge's biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, despite being over 50 years old, is still well worth reading. I read the first edition, published in English in 1970 because that was the edition my library had. But I would recommend picking up the 2000 edition from Fortress Press because the first edition was slightly abridged at only 867 pages, compared to 1068 pages in the revised edition.
If you are new to Bonhoeffer, I think Charles Marsh's biography is the best introduction, but Bethge's is the most complete. That makes sense because it is the longest by quite a bit. Marsh's biography is 528 pages, Metaxes biography (which I do not recommend) is 640 pages, Schlingensiepen's biography is 470. It isn't just that this biography is longer, although that is part of it, but this biography is just more comprehensive of areas that the others just do not get to.
Bethge was friend and student of Bonhoeffer's. He was conscripted into the German army for a time, and later was also imprisoned because of his connection to the Bonhoeffer family. (He married Bonhoeffer's niece and her father was part of the resistance movement that Bonhoeffer was also connected to.) I think that Marsh handle's Bonhoeffer's childhood and early development better than Bethge, but especially from 1932 on, Bethge is much more detailed, and much more focused on the way that German church's response to Hitler influenced Bonhoeffer's life. Other biographies hit the major developments and life events, but Bethge talks about ways church politics and especially the politics of the global ecumenical movement worked in a level of detail and nuance that was helpful to me to understand the particulars. But I also think that level of detail is probably too much for those who are new to Bonhoeffer.
My rough evaluation of a biography is that if a biography makes me want to read more by or about a figure, then it is doing its job. After finishing Bethge's biography, I am going to read a biography of Bethge and a biography of Bishop Bell that I have. I also want to read the complete Letters and Papers from Prison. I have read portions, but not all. And the edition that I have is 614 pages compared to the earlier editions that were around 400 pages. There is the Bonhoeffer's Works edition that is 776 pages as well.
Part of what inspired me to pick up Bethge's biography now is reading Mark Nation's book on the legacy of Bonhoeffer. Nation believes that Bethge got some aspect of Bonhoeffer wrong, especially the way that Bethge frames the theological changes over time and his perspectives on pacifism. Having read Bethge after Nation, I think Nation has a point. Bethge was writing about Bonhoeffer at a time when even though there was a condemnation of Hitler and Nazism, there was still come resistance to seeing the resistance movement as an appropriate response. Nation suggests that Bonhoeffer continued to be a pacifist and wasn't involved in the actual plots to kill Hitler, only the efforts to communicate to the outside world that there was a movement to remove Hitler. I think Nation has a point, but I am not sure that the evidence is strong enough to make that point too strongly. I think Bethge does show that the initial resistance movement was attempting to stage a coupe and arrest Hitler for various human rights violations and war crimes. But once the senior military leaders who were involve in the resistance movement were removed from their positions, that option was lost. A coupe was no longer possible and assassination was the only option. I have not read Bonhoeffer the Assassin? which directly addresses this point and it is edited by Mark Nation, but it is an earlier book to Discipleship in a World Full of Nazi's so I am not sure that there will be more evidence there.
I do think that Nation is right that the main reason Bonhoeffer was arrested was because of his use of his role in the Abwehr as a means of avoiding conscription. Being a pacifist and/or refusing to fight was punished by death. As a secondary offense, Bonhoeffer helped to get some Jewish people out of Germany, which was really the excuse used by take down Admiral Canaris, the head of Abwehr as a separate military intelligence agency and to subsume it into the SS intelligence agency. Bonhoeffer was a minor figure in that, but after the discovery of several diaries that recorded – in great detail, and in Admiral Canaris’ handwriting – the activities of the anti-Nazi movement since the 1930s, Canaris, Bonhoeffer, several other members of Bonhoeffer's family and many others were executed just before the end of the war. Bethge and Nation have the same basic facts but they understand some of those facts differently. That is in part why reading multiple biographies matters because there are often different ways to evaluate what is known, especially in cases like Bonhoeffer where there is controversy.
One of the biggest weaknesses of Metaxes's biography was his lack of understanding of Germany's political and church politics. Bethge was not an outsider. He was intimately involved and has that level of detail and understanding matters to understanding the context of why Bonhoeffer continues to be an interesting and important figure today. Books like Haynes' Battle for Bonhoeffer are helpful to look at how Bonhoeffer has been misused, but reading the original biographies not just the evaluation of those biographies, is really helpful.
I also agree with Reggie William's contention in Bonhoeffer's Black Jesus, that Bethge and most other biographers do not adequately address how Bonhoeffer's theology and ecclesiology were influenced by his time in Harlem. So even at over 1000 pages, there are areas where I think this biography could be expanded. I have been listening to Homebrewed Christinaity's Rise of Bonhoeffer podcast documentary and one of the interviews mentioned that there was interest in another revision of Bethge's biography to add in details that have been discovered in the years since Bethge's death. That project did not happen, but there are holes here.
The revised version of Bethge's biography is only available in paperback. And it is expensive, $80 from the publisher and over $50 from most booksellers. There is no ebook or audiobook versions. And even at that high price, multiple book sellers I looked at did not have it available to order.
This was originally posted on my blog at https://bookwi.se/dietrich-bonhoeffer/
It took me almost two months to finish, but Eberhard Bethge's biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, despite being over 50 years old, is still well worth reading. I read the first edition, published in English in 1970 because that was the edition my library had. But I would recommend picking up the 2000 edition from Fortress Press because the first edition was slightly abridged at only 867 pages, compared to 1068 pages in the revised edition.
If you are new to Bonhoeffer, I think Charles Marsh's biography is the best introduction, but Bethge's is the most complete. That makes sense because it is the longest by quite a bit. Marsh's biography is 528 pages, Metaxes biography (which I do not recommend) is 640 pages, Schlingensiepen's biography is 470. It isn't just that this biography is longer, although that is part of it, but this biography is just more comprehensive of areas that the others just do not get to.
Bethge was friend and student of Bonhoeffer's. He was conscripted into the German army for a time, and later was also imprisoned because of his connection to the Bonhoeffer family. (He married Bonhoeffer's niece and her father was part of the resistance movement that Bonhoeffer was also connected to.) I think that Marsh handle's Bonhoeffer's childhood and early development better than Bethge, but especially from 1932 on, Bethge is much more detailed, and much more focused on the way that German church's response to Hitler influenced Bonhoeffer's life. Other biographies hit the major developments and life events, but Bethge talks about ways church politics and especially the politics of the global ecumenical movement worked in a level of detail and nuance that was helpful to me to understand the particulars. But I also think that level of detail is probably too much for those who are new to Bonhoeffer.
My rough evaluation of a biography is that if a biography makes me want to read more by or about a figure, then it is doing its job. After finishing Bethge's biography, I am going to read a biography of Bethge and a biography of Bishop Bell that I have. I also want to read the complete Letters and Papers from Prison. I have read portions, but not all. And the edition that I have is 614 pages compared to the earlier editions that were around 400 pages. There is the Bonhoeffer's Works edition that is 776 pages as well.
Part of what inspired me to pick up Bethge's biography now is reading Mark Nation's book on the legacy of Bonhoeffer. Nation believes that Bethge got some aspect of Bonhoeffer wrong, especially the way that Bethge frames the theological changes over time and his perspectives on pacifism. Having read Bethge after Nation, I think Nation has a point. Bethge was writing about Bonhoeffer at a time when even though there was a condemnation of Hitler and Nazism, there was still come resistance to seeing the resistance movement as an appropriate response. Nation suggests that Bonhoeffer continued to be a pacifist and wasn't involved in the actual plots to kill Hitler, only the efforts to communicate to the outside world that there was a movement to remove Hitler. I think Nation has a point, but I am not sure that the evidence is strong enough to make that point too strongly. I think Bethge does show that the initial resistance movement was attempting to stage a coupe and arrest Hitler for various human rights violations and war crimes. But once the senior military leaders who were involve in the resistance movement were removed from their positions, that option was lost. A coupe was no longer possible and assassination was the only option. I have not read Bonhoeffer the Assassin? which directly addresses this point and it is edited by Mark Nation, but it is an earlier book to Discipleship in a World Full of Nazi's so I am not sure that there will be more evidence there.
I do think that Nation is right that the main reason Bonhoeffer was arrested was because of his use of his role in the Abwehr as a means of avoiding conscription. Being a pacifist and/or refusing to fight was punished by death. As a secondary offense, Bonhoeffer helped to get some Jewish people out of Germany, which was really the excuse used by take down Admiral Canaris, the head of Abwehr as a separate military intelligence agency and to subsume it into the SS intelligence agency. Bonhoeffer was a minor figure in that, but after the discovery of several diaries that recorded – in great detail, and in Admiral Canaris’ handwriting – the activities of the anti-Nazi movement since the 1930s, Canaris, Bonhoeffer, several other members of Bonhoeffer's family and many others were executed just before the end of the war. Bethge and Nation have the same basic facts but they understand some of those facts differently. That is in part why reading multiple biographies matters because there are often different ways to evaluate what is known, especially in cases like Bonhoeffer where there is controversy.
One of the biggest weaknesses of Metaxes's biography was his lack of understanding of Germany's political and church politics. Bethge was not an outsider. He was intimately involved and has that level of detail and understanding matters to understanding the context of why Bonhoeffer continues to be an interesting and important figure today. Books like Haynes' Battle for Bonhoeffer are helpful to look at how Bonhoeffer has been misused, but reading the original biographies not just the evaluation of those biographies, is really helpful.
I also agree with Reggie William's contention in Bonhoeffer's Black Jesus, that Bethge and most other biographers do not adequately address how Bonhoeffer's theology and ecclesiology were influenced by his time in Harlem. So even at over 1000 pages, there are areas where I think this biography could be expanded. I have been listening to Homebrewed Christinaity's Rise of Bonhoeffer podcast documentary and one of the interviews mentioned that there was interest in another revision of Bethge's biography to add in details that have been discovered in the years since Bethge's death. That project did not happen, but there are holes here.
The revised version of Bethge's biography is only available in paperback. And it is expensive, $80 from the publisher and over $50 from most booksellers. There is no ebook or audiobook versions. And even at that high price, multiple book sellers I looked at did not have it available to order.
This was originally posted on my blog at https://bookwi.se/dietrich-bonhoeffer/
June 2, 2022
It took me an entire year to read this massive book! And I'm glad to say it was worth it. The second half of the book is really captivating. It offers a view of life for Germans as their country transforms under Nazi rule. It answered for me the question: why did people not do more to fight against Hitler? And we get to watch it happen through the perspective of a unique person. I have never encountered anyone quite like Bonhoeffer, so I was glad to meet him here!
Though the content is interesting, the book itself isn't easy to read. Some of the parts discussing Bonhoeffer's theology are a bit out of reach for the general audience, so I wouldn't shy away from skipping some of it. There are names and historical references that are hard to stay on top of. Some sentences are clunky, and some don't make sense. Nevertheless, this is a mighty feat of a biography, with lots of primary sources included and you feel through the pages that the author really loved Bonhoeffer. It makes the biography better, and I would recommend it to anyone interested.
Though the content is interesting, the book itself isn't easy to read. Some of the parts discussing Bonhoeffer's theology are a bit out of reach for the general audience, so I wouldn't shy away from skipping some of it. There are names and historical references that are hard to stay on top of. Some sentences are clunky, and some don't make sense. Nevertheless, this is a mighty feat of a biography, with lots of primary sources included and you feel through the pages that the author really loved Bonhoeffer. It makes the biography better, and I would recommend it to anyone interested.
September 10, 2021
It’s hard to believe that I have finally finished reading this 950 page biography on Dietrich Bonhoeffer. And now I am recommending it to you. Never have I read such a detailed biography that allowed me to get into the head of this man whose God was very real to him and he followed Him in nearly every aspect of his life. When others around him would not stand up for the oppressed and downtrodden, Dietrich Bonhoeffer did.
This biography is long and very detailed, but I think it would benefit you greatly if you read about this great man.
P.S.- I don’t agree with everything he said or did, but I think the vast majority of his life is something that we can look to to see what it looks like to follow Jesus.
This biography is long and very detailed, but I think it would benefit you greatly if you read about this great man.
P.S.- I don’t agree with everything he said or did, but I think the vast majority of his life is something that we can look to to see what it looks like to follow Jesus.
December 1, 2020
I interview Bonhoeffer scholars regularly and almost all of them say this is the best secondary work on Bonhoeffer. It's over 1000 pages and is incredibly detailed. All of the recent biographies about Bonhoeffer have been shaped primarily by this work. My one knock on it is that it isn't as readable as other biographies. I'm not sure if its due to the author or if the flow of the German doesn't translate well to English. Either way, its absolutely the most thorough and is THE must-read secondary source on Bonhoeffer.
September 30, 2012
Very intense, and draws you right it. The scary thing is that there are SO many thing he saw that I see happening now . The churches and families being torn apart and a cradle to grave mentality. That government i s the source of everything and it IS NOT ! I sure DO not want to see crosses in churches removed with a picture of Bo in their place. Bonhoeffer was a truly great man !
October 1, 2012
I found this book very challenging, both in the ethical and the theological sense. This 20th century martyr, advanced in his thinking, sacrificed his life in order to be true to his beliefs. I am in awe of this individual, but the book is not an easy read.
Read
November 28, 2012Brilliant
Read
August 5, 2016This was a great read. Answered my question on the place of Christianity in governanceand social life.
February 16, 2019
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a theologian of mid-20th century, was arrested for been involved in a conspiracy having as goal Hitler's assassination. He was hanged in 1945, just 3 weeks before the end of WWII. Bonhoeffer's uncompromising Godly spirit is a true inspiration -- a true man of God and a great mind. This book is great, especially because it is written by Bonhoeffer's best friend and assistant. It is a great book that gives the reader an in depth understanding not only of Bonhoeffer's character but also of the character of the Christian church before and during WWII and the moral dilemmas the church had to face. Moreover, if you have ever questioned how a whole nation (Germany) got so deceived in supporting one of the most evil leaders and his actions so blindly and how a whole world stayed silent long enough to watch millions of people be tortured and murdered, this book will give you an insight to all these questions and more…
January 11, 2018
This book is a biography for young readers (I'd say age 12 +) in the "Christian Heroes: Then and Now" series. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born in 1906 in Germany. He pursued life as a pastor, teacher and theologian.
The book follows his life as a young boy through his jobs and opportunities in England, Spain and America. It uses letters Dietrich wrote to family and friends to chronicle his thoughts about Hitler and his changes to the German church. Dietrich saw that the changes to the church were not in line with the teachings of Christ and worked to help those targeted by Hitler. He eventually joined a resistance group with a plot to assassinate Hitler.
The book also documents Hitler's rise to power and the changes in the government that allowed Hitler to gain so much power and how Hitler over time solidified his own power for his own purposes.
The book follows his life as a young boy through his jobs and opportunities in England, Spain and America. It uses letters Dietrich wrote to family and friends to chronicle his thoughts about Hitler and his changes to the German church. Dietrich saw that the changes to the church were not in line with the teachings of Christ and worked to help those targeted by Hitler. He eventually joined a resistance group with a plot to assassinate Hitler.
The book also documents Hitler's rise to power and the changes in the government that allowed Hitler to gain so much power and how Hitler over time solidified his own power for his own purposes.
June 2, 2020
Excellent book about a man worthy of emulation. Bonhoeffer attempted to make faith and Lutheran theology real and relevant amidst the intellectualism in his native Germany that treated it as merely another learned discipline. He was given ample opportunity to do so as he became caught up in clandestine plans to overthrow the Nazi government in power under Hitler, and eventually to aiding attempts to assassinate Hitler which unfortunately all failed. He was imprisoned and finally executed in a German prison camp, not long before the war came to an end. A man has no greater love than he lay down his life for his friends--and so he had. Please read!
November 30, 2019
If you want to know anything about the life of Bonhoeffer- this is the book to read. Not only is it a biography of his life; but Bethge also has a great deal to say about his writings and theology. This is must useful to know what was going on in the life of DB and what he was writing at the time. I am sure this is not a spoiler to many; but in summary Karl and Paula (von Hase) Bonhoeffer had 8 children; 4 boys and 4 girls. 1 was killed in WW1; 2 were executed by the Nazi's and 2 sons-in-law were also executed. All 4 executions took place during the last month of WW2.
February 2, 2023
Amazing story about a courageous group of people trying to put a stop to Hitler’s reign of terror who paid with their lives. Written by a close friend and fellow prisoner of Bonhoeffer’s.
Only gave 3 stars because it is overly long and difficult to track. I skimmed a great deal of the middle of the book because I just couldn’t get through all the details and jumping around. But overall inspiring and made me want to investigate more of the story. Looking forward to reading Bonhoeffer’s own works.
Only gave 3 stars because it is overly long and difficult to track. I skimmed a great deal of the middle of the book because I just couldn’t get through all the details and jumping around. But overall inspiring and made me want to investigate more of the story. Looking forward to reading Bonhoeffer’s own works.
July 16, 2025
This is an EXHAUSTIVE account of Bonhoeffer’s life, work, and the events surrounding him. Not only does Bethge explain Bonhoeffer in a way that only a true friend can, he explains the religious, theological, political and familial context in which Bonhoeffer lived in excruciating detail. The book is incredibly interesting, but it will take you awhile to finish.
This is by far the best biography of a man that is all too often misunderstood and claimed by extremists of both a religious and political bent. I high recommend it.
This is by far the best biography of a man that is all too often misunderstood and claimed by extremists of both a religious and political bent. I high recommend it.
July 7, 2017
Nice historical piece about a young Pastor who decided if the church will not do anything to stop the Nazi's, he would. Bonhoffer is a legend in Christian theology, a young Pastor who quickly became a noted theologian, and then became a member of the Resistance during WWII. Good read.
July 29, 2019
The book is excellent and very detailed. This biography may bore some people because of its length but if I were to recommend a biography on Bonhoeffer it would be Metaxes’ biography. If you’re a big Bonhoeffer fan read this one.
November 15, 2024
By far the best and most authoritative biography of Bonhoeffer. Recent attempts at a revisionist right- wing Bonhoeffer fail utterly to capture the intellectual grasp, spiritual commitment and uncanny physical courage of this remarkable man.
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