Life Together and Prayerbook of the Bible

by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, one of the most influential Christian martyrs in history, bequeathed to humanity a legacy of theological creativity and spirituality that continues to intrigue people from a variety of backgrounds. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, a sixteen volume series, offers a fresh, critical translation of Bonhoeffer's writings, with introductions, annotations, and interpretations.

The stimulus for the writing of Life Together was the closing of the preacher's seminary at Finkenwalde. The treatise contains Bonhoeffer's thoughts about the nature of Christian community based on the common life that he and his seminarians experienced at the seminary and in the "Brother's House" there. Bonhoeffer completed the writing of Life Together in 1938.

Prayerbook of the Bible is a classic of Christian spirituality. In this theological interpretation of the Psalms, Bonhoeffer describes the moods of an individual's relationship with God and also the turns of love and heartbreak, of joy and sorrow, that are themselves the Christian community's path to God.

Genres: Theology, Christian, Christianity, Religion, Church, Nonfiction, Discipleship

232 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1939

About the author

Works of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Protestant theologian of Germany, concern Christianity in the modern world; for his role in a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, people executed him.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer served as a Lutheran pastor. He, also a participant in the movement of Resistance against Nazism and a member, founded the confessing church. Members of the Abwehr, the military intelligence office planned his involvement, which resulted in his arrest in April 1943 and his subsequent hanging in April 1945 shortly before the end of the war. His secular view influenced very many people.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietric...

Reviews

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Christian cannot simply take for granted the privilege of living among other Christians. Jesus Christ lived in the midst of His enemies. In the end all His disciples abandoned Him. On the cross He was all alone, surrounded by criminals and the jeering crowds. He had come for the express purpose of bringing peace to the enemies of God. So Christians, too, belong not in the seclusion of a cloistered life but in the midst of enemies."

"It is easily forgotten that the community of Christians is a gift of grace from the kingdom of God, a gift that can be taken from us any day—that the time still separating us from the most profound loneliness may be brief indeed. Therefore, let those who until now have had the privilege of living a Christian life together with other Christians praise God’s grace from the bottom of their hearts. Let them thank God on their knees and realize: it is grace, nothing but grace, that we are still permitted to live in the community of Christians today."

"When God had mercy on us, when God revealed Jesus Christ to us as our brother, when God won our hearts by God’s own love, our instruction in Christian love began at the same time. When God was merciful to us, we learn to be merciful with one another. When we received forgiveness instead of judgment, we too were made ready to forgive each other. What God did to us, we then owed to others. The more we received, the more we were able to give; and the more meager our love for one another, the less we were living by God’s mercy and love. Plus God taught us to encounter one another as God has encountered us in Christ."

"The more genuine and the deeper our community becomes, the more will everything else between us recede, the more clearly and purely will Jesus Christ and his work become the one and only thing that is vital between us. We have one another only through Christ, but through Christ we really do have one another. We have one another completely and for all eternity."

"Self-centered love loves the other for the sake of itself; spiritual love loves the other for the sake of Christ."

“Emotional love lives by uncontrolled and uncontrollable dark desires; spiritual love lives in the clear light of service ordered by the truth. Self-centered love results in human enslavement, bondage, rigidity; spiritual love creates the freedom of Christians under the word. Emotional love breeds artificial hothouse flowers; spiritual love creates the fruit that grows healthily under God’s open sky, according to God’s good pleasure in the rain and storm and sunshine.”

"Where this discipline of the tongue is practiced right from the start, individuals will make an amazing discovery. They will be able to stop constantly keeping an eye on others, judging them, condemning them, and putting them in their places and thus doing violence to them. They can now allow other Christians to live freely, just as God has brought them face to face with each other. The view of such persons expands and, to their amazement, they recognize for the first time the richness of God’s creative glory shining over their brothers and sisters. God did not make others as I would have made them. God did not give them to me so that I could dominate and control them, but so that I might find the Creator by means of them. Now other people, in the freedom with which they were created, become an occasion for me to rejoice...I can never know in advance how God’s image should appear in others. That image always takes on a completely new and unique form whose origin is found solely in God’s free and sovereign act of creation."

"The first service one owes others in the community involves listening to them. Just as our love for God begins with listening to God's Word, the beginning of love for other Christians is learning to listen to them."

"The most experienced judge of character knows infinitely less of the human heart than the simplest Christian who lives beneath the cross of Jesus."

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, or two books in one, rather, is amazing. In Life Together, Bonhoeeffer examines what Christian community should look like. Granted, he is writing from an experience that few of us in the modern world can truly have. He lived in a true community that could get up, worship together with prayer and Scripture reading, first thing in the morning. Then, after their day of work, could all gather together again at the end of the day. This is simply not feasible in our society, at least not where I live.

However, there are many things that today's Christian can learn from this book about community. One thing that he pointed out is that, "The Christian cannot simply take for granted the privilege of living among other Christians." When read in the context of Nazi Germany (for that's when this book was originally written), this becomes even more meaningful. But we, in modern America, cannot take this for granted, either. Bonhoeffer also notes that, "The physical presence of other Christians is a source of incomparable joy and strength to the believer." We simply cannot survive alone. The idea of Christian community is not just an ideal, it is a "divine reality."

In reality, I could quote from this book all day long. I won't do that, because time forbids me. I gained much knowledge from this book; knowledge that I hope to be able to eventually pass on to our church's small group ministry.

In the smaller book, Prayerbook of the Bible, Bonhoeffer takes a close look at the Psalms. He believed that the church should be constantly praying the Psalms, and that all of them fit somewhere into the pattern that Jesus gave us in the Model Prayer. He breaks them into categories of Creation, The Law, The History of Salvation, The Messiah, The Church, Life, Suffering, Guilt, and Enemies. Very informative, very inspiring.

I recommend this volume to anyone who is serious about building a deeper relationship with Christ through the community of Christians.

[Butch · Rating 5 out of 5]

I became fascinated by Dietrich Bonhoeffer after reading Eric Metaxas' excellent biography of him a couple of years ago. These two books of Bonhoeffer add weight to the sense of alignment and fellowship I feel with him.
Life Together is a thought-provoking discussion of an area that the American church desperately needs to reclaim - the need for true community in the body of Christ. We were not meant to live in the individualistic way that most of us do - we need our brothers and sisters in Christ and Bonhoeffer profoundly describes why and what that could look like.
The Prayerbook of the BIble is a brief but challenging introduction to the use of the Psalms in our prayers. His idea that the Psalms represent Christ's own prayers and that by praying the Psalms we join Christ in prayer deserves further consideration.
Definitely worth a read.

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book on Christian community.
"He who is alone with his sin is utterly alone... The final breakthrough to community does not occur precisely because they enjoy community with one another as pious believers, but not with one another as those lacking piety, as sinners. For the pious community permits no one to be a sinner. Hence all have to conceal their sins from themselves and from the community. We are not allowed to be sinners. Many Christians would be unimaginably horrified if a real sinner were suddenly to turn up among the pious. So we remain alone with our sin trapped in lies and hypocrisy, for we are in fact sinners." p. 108.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best book I've ever read on Christian community. My only regret is that I did not read this 10 years ago.

The Prayerbook of the Bible, also included, is a nice little book. Honestly, I thought I was reading the introduction when I read it, it was so short. I finished and only then realized that was all it was; more of a pamphlet really.

[Shorel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most significant books that I have read in quite awhile. Life Together deals with the theological foundation and therefore practical implication of a community of faith living and working together.

Bonhoeffer’s entire approach to the community life experienced at Finkenwalde depends on a strong faith in the vicarious action of Christ in Word, sacrament, intercessory prayer, and service that makes it possible for Christians to be both “with one another” [miteinander] and “for one another” [füreinander]. The seminarians were to live with one another, but only in the spirit of being for one another. His community was a gathering of theological students whose “togetherness” was to be characterized by an unselfish love for one another expressed in the willingness to serve each other, even to be inconvenienced by one another, to intercede for one another in prayer, to extend forgiveness in the name of the Lord, and to share the bread of the Lord’s Supper. - pg. 8, loc. 318-324

While his community at Finkenwalde consisted primarily of (single, male) seminarians, I believe that his processes are applicable in intentional communities of faith.

The day should start with the Word of God:

For Christians the beginning of the day should not be burdened and haunted by the various kinds of concerns they face during the working day. The Lord stands above the new day, for God has made it. All the darkness and confusion of the night with its dreams gives way to the clear light of Jesus Christ and his awakening Word. All restlessness, all impurity, all worry and anxiety flee before him. Therefore, in the early morning hours of the day may our many thoughts and our many idle words be silent, and may the first thought and the first word belong to the one to whom our whole life belongs. “Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you” (Eph. 5:14).
- pg. 51, loc. 1121-1126

There should be unison singing. However, according to Bonhoeffer elements should be weeded out that detract others from worship. Namely the excellent singers (who sing harmony) and the bad singers.

There are several elements hostile to unison singing, which in the community ought to be very rigorously weeded out. There is no place in the worship service where vanity and bad taste can so assert themselves as in the singing. First, there is the improvised second part that one encounters almost everywhere people are supposed to sing together. It attempts to give the necessary background, the missing richness to the free-floating unison sound and in the process kills both the words and the sound. There are the bass or the alto voices that must call everybody’s attention to their astonishing range and therefore sing every hymn an octave lower. There is the solo voice that drowns out everything else, bellowing and quavering at the top of its lungs, reveling in the glory of its own fine organ. There are the less dangerous foes of congregational singing, the “unmusical” who cannot sing, of whom there are far fewer than we are led to believe. Finally, there are often those who will not join in the singing because they are particularly moody or nursing hurt feelings; and thus they disturb the community.
- pg. 67, loc. 1358-1366

There should be prayer together, but it should be ordered and prepared.

The extemporaneous prayer at the close of daily worship normally will be said by the head of the house [Hausvater]. But in any case it is best that it always be said by the same person. That places an unexpected responsibility on this person, but in order to safeguard the prayer from the wrong kind of scrutiny and from false subjectivity, one person should pray for all the community for an extended period of time. Extemporaneous prayer in daily worship together should be the prayer of the community and not that of the individual who is praying. It is this individual’s task to pray for the community. Thus such a person will have to share the daily life of the community and must know the cares and needs, the joys and thanksgivings, the requests and hopes of the others. The community’s work and everything that it involves must not be unknown to the individual who prays for the community. One prays as a believer among other Christians. It will require self-examination and watchfulness if individuals are not to confuse their own hearts with the heart of the community, if a person really is to be guided solely by the task of praying for the community. For this reason it will be good if the persons who have been assigned this task are constantly given the benefit of counsel and help from others in the community, if they receive suggestions and requests to remember this or that need, work, or even a particular person in the prayer. Thus the prayer will become more and more the common prayer of all.
- pg. 69, loc. 1396-1410

Finally, and perhaps the most impactful, there should be intercession for one another. This involves listening, serving, bearing with and forgiving one another:

We may suffer the sins of one another; we do not need to judge. That is grace for Christians. For what sin ever occurs in the community that does not lead Christians to examine themselves and condemn themselves for their own lack of faithfulness in prayer and in intercession, for their lack of service to one another in mutual admonition and comforting, indeed, for their own personal sin and lack of spiritual discipline by which they have harmed themselves, the community, and one another? Because each individual���s sin burdens the whole community and indicts it, the community of faith rejoices amid all the pain inflicted on it by the sin of the other and, in spite of the burden placed on it, rejoices in being deemed worthy of bearing with and forgiving sin. “Behold, you bear with them all and likewise all of them bear with you, and all things are in common, both the good and the bad” (Luther). The service of forgiveness is done by one to the other on a daily basis. It occurs without words in intercessory prayer for one another. And all members of the community who do not grow tired of doing this service can depend on the fact that this service is also being offered to them by other Christians. Those who bear with others know that they themselves are being borne. Only in this strength can they themselves bear with others.
- pg. 102, loc. 2213-2223

In another Christian’s presence I am permitted to be the sinner that I am, for there alone in all the world the truth and mercy of Jesus Christ rule. Christ became our brother in order to help us; through Christ other Christians have become Christ for us in the power and authority of Christ’s commandment. Other Christians stand before us as the sign of God’s truth and grace. They have been given to us to help us. Another Christian hears our confession of sin in Christ’s place, forgives our sins in Christ’s name. Another Christian keeps the secret of our confession as God keeps it. When I go to another believer to confess, I am going to God.
- pg. 109, loc. 2363-2368

Wow.

Let me encourage you, you who has made it through this review, to be intentional in seeking at least a little community. Even if only two or three persons who you can fully trust and who desire to grow eac other in Christ. People who can commit to embody Christ to one another. Praying, singing, studying the Word and interceding in complete openness with one another and for one another. That would be a life together!

[Isak Voie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ganske så bra! Leser den dog litt for fort, siden den er så bra. Kommer til å bli brukt som en viktig ressurs/oppslagsverk framover.

[Ken McGuire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dietrich Bonhoeffer is probably the most famous 20th century Lutheran Theologian, and Life Together is his "best seller". It is, indeed often considered a modern spiritual classic. Unlike most German theology, this does not have not multiple page paragraphs with convoluted sentence structure. To some extent it is quite easy to read. Yet it is not really that easy to digest.

I must confess that my introduction to Bonhoeffer was that he was an advocate of a Religionless Christianity that wanted to abandon all this religious heritage in order to do more important political stuff. This is certainly a misreading of some of his Letters and Papers from Prison outside the context of everything else he wrote. While I have been aware that of this for a while, I have not really faced what he indeed DID write. I have rather been fed by others. But it was well past time for me to actually read him.

The main text in this book was written in a very short time - 4 weeks. It was written to a large extent because of the conflict between Bonhoeffer's Christian community and the Nazi leadership - a conflict in which the Nazis tried to destroy this very community, closing the school where this was put into practice. And so the book is a reflection on this recent experience.

For those at Finkenwalde (reading between the lines) it is a powerful reminder of the true source of their community in Christ, and so it is not truly destroyed, even by the Gestapo. But to those of us who were not there, it is a documentation of what they had there, and a reminder of the roots of our Christian communities, and even an invitation into the true community of Christ's body.

This review is not the place for a history of these practices in Reformation Christianity. I will only say that at least for Lutherans, besides the critique of medieval practices, there are also reformulations of these very practices based upon Word Alone, Christ Alone, Faith Alone, and Grace Alone - reformations that have not always been retained in the centuries since the Reformation. And so Bonhoeffer is reintroducing us to them.

Some other reviews here talk about how we need to transcend this reformation lens which Bonhoeffer uses. To this reader, that seems to miss his point. We cannot transcend ourselves. Jesus is needed for that! While there is room to debate some points Bonhoeffer makes, I must give it a solid 5/5. In fact, I can see why this is so often re-read, and may do so myself.

Also included is Bonhoeffer's brief introduction to the Psalms. I found myself wishing for more, and arguing a bit more with him on some Law/Gospel issues. But it remains a good introduction to praying the Psalms.

In addition to Bonhoeffer's texts, this edition adds scholarly footnotes and introductions. These add needed context to those of us who are not 1930's German church figures. They are a good start at preventing misreadings like those with which I first heard of Bonhoeffer, and so are to be commended. There is room for more though. I remember one footnote that made me chuckle because it spoke only of the 1930's on an issue that goes back to at least St. Augustine. But all writing has to set limits, or else it will never be finished. I give the notes a 4/5.

I wish I could say good things about the printing. There is a minor issue with footnote numbering on page 61. More seriously, I purchased the cloth edition of this since I recognized that this is a major work of a major figure. This was a mistake. While I have not lost any pages (yet?), this is a poor example of the art of book making. It looks like a glue binding from a paperback glued to a couple of boards. Save your money and buy the paper edition from Fortress.

[Mick Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

Life Together was written during an interesting period in the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. At that time, he was leading an underground seminary, evading Nazi persecution and the party's domination and corruption of the Christian church and its institutions.

Bonhoeffer's religious instruction and devotional practices are described in Eric Metaxas's engaging biography, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy. Life Together fills in the specifics and context behind Bonhoeffer's personal habits, such as meditating on small portions of scripture for extended periods of time.

Life Together is a guidebook for Christians living out their faith with one another in small communities such as families. Bonhoeffer explains not only why such communities exist but also how they ought to operate and view each other, with Christ always at the center, bringing a new reality to every relationship.

Bonhoeffer emphasizes the necessity of taking the world as it is, and the importance of accepting the church as she is, not as one might wish her to be. That's not to say accepting of sin, but rather accepting of reality, and embracing the role God would have us assume and learning the lessons He desires to teach us.

A brief study, Life Together focuses mainly on the basic elements of Christian life and practice: prayer, scripture reading, worship, fellowship, confession and meditation. As standard as these practices are in the church, Bonhoeffer provides deep and profound insights revealing meaning and importance that may not be obvious to the average Christian.

Life Together contains many of the signature, stylistic features of Bonhoeffer's Ethics, but is more polished and organized because it is a completed work, where Ethics was left unfinished because of the author's murder at the hands of the national socialists.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the title might imply, this is actually two books combined into one volume. Life Together is the longer one and comprises the first 155 pages of the book, while Prayerbook of the Bible takes up the last 31 pages.

Life Together was written in 1938 after the Nazis forcibly closed the seminary where Bonhoeffer was the president and chief instructor. Several of the brothers lived together in a sort of commune type setting. Every morning and evening they would get together for prayer, worship, and Bible study before beginning the day's theological studies or going to bed. They all lived together, ate together, worshiped together, etc. for two years before the Nazis closed them down. This book is Bonhoeffer's experiences with it and what he learned about living in community.

Prayerbook of the Bible is a short book that discusses the various types of psalms and how to pray them. It is very readable and can be finished in easily in one sitting.

Both books were very interesting. This is the first time I have ever read anything by Dietrich Bonhoeffer who was one of my theology professor's favorite theologians. Perhaps I will read some more of Bonhoeffer's works at another time.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is two distinct works rolled into one volume. I found Life Together to be a life-changing sort of work, the type that influences how you think about a topic over the long term. Bonhoeffer is serious, thoughtful, and at times unrealistically practical about what Christian life in community looks like in practice (the latter not being his fault, living a couple generations ago in a different culture). I came away from this book with a deeper reverence for God, and the understanding that Christian community cannot truly exist without a deep and constant practice of individual relationship with God. My Kindle copy is deeply scarred with highlighted passages that I will revisit again and again to reconsider.

I've never spent much time thinking about praying through the Psalms. The Prayerbook of the Bible was a solid first introduction to the topic for me, and something I plan to spend more time pursuing.

Overall, a super solid read from a man who has earned the right to be listened to.

[Allen Jr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Life Together" caught me off guard. Often recommended, and regarded as a classic, I'm somewhat surprised it has such broad appeal.

The content ranges widely--from the intensely practical, to the elegantly theological, and on to the somewhat esoteric philosophical. With such breadth, I am surprised that so many people have found it beneficial. It is not easy reading in most parts, and its highly specific context (a seminary community experience was in Bonhoeffer's mind when he wrote it) means that a reader may have to do some work to determine how the principles apply to his/her own particular circumstances of Christian church or community.

Yet somehow his words have appealed to many.

I appreciate his brilliance, and his commitment to the church, his exaltation of community as an inherent aspect of the Christian life. And to this end, "Life Together" is indeed an inspiring read.

(This review is only for the "Life Together" portion of this book.)

[Ken · Rating 3 out of 5]

I went through this book recently with two friends. We wanted to challenge ourselves in the area of living life together. We wanted to grow beyond superficial relationship in the church. Bonhoeffer is challenging. He thinks in such different categories, that sometimes it is hard to grasp what he means to say. In other passages, it is painfully clear what he means to say, and thus he also convicts my heart.

Bonhoeffer was more of a mystic then I realized. That is not bad, in my view, as long as we keep the Scripture and Jesus himself front and center. Who would deny that there is much mystery in connection with Jesus, and Scripture?

This book probably requires me to read it again. There is too much to fully grasp on one pass through.

[-kevin- · Rating 4 out of 5]

This translation is much easier to read. I found this out as I read it with some of my friends and they were reading the older version. More expensive but definitely worth it. I'm even thinking of getting Discipleship (The Cost of Discipleship) and reading it. Which I've wanted to for years, but just couldn't motivate. This might just be the thing to push me over the edge.

This book really opens ones eyes in a timeless manner to the possibility, even the hope of true community. Life giving and ground breaking. Read it and awaken to the possibilities of life together.

[Jasonlylescampbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

He wrote this book in 2 weeks (the only distractions was occasional tennis and running into Berlin to get news about the war). This was after Finkenwilde was closed down. There is incredible insight, both psychological and theological, in this work. I really enjoyed reading it again in the new translation ... though there were some occasions where I liked my older translation better. Great book!

[Ben De Bono · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fantastic read by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I'd read a good portion of Life Together previously but I got much more out of it this time around as I'm now more familiar with Bonhoeffer's life and work. The real highlight for me though was the Prayerbook of the Bible. It's a fantastic, though far too short, exploration of the book of Psalms. The points he makes about prayer are very powerful and challenging. You'll never read the Psalms the same again!

[Stephen Buerger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Both books were great correctives for our hyper-individualistic society. Life with Jesus means life together. And life together means prayer, and what better guide than the prayerbook about, from, and for the sake of Jesus--the Psalter?

[Corey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must be my 5th time through. Still think it’s the best work of theology I’ve ever read.

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of great wisdom from Bonhoeffer in this volume, even though I’m not the biggest fan of his writing style he still just has so many bangers. I read this for Life Together but even his commentary on the Psalms included with this volume called “The Prayerbook of the Bible,” was really helpful. Gave me good thoughts for an upcoming sermon on the Psalter.

The reason this version isn’t getting a five star from me is the translation. It was down well, as far as I can judge, but I don’t appreciate the censoring of Bonhoeffer through the use of changing his language to be gender inclusive.

I know that’s a big debate in Bible translations, and for some of those changes I’m sympathetic because while things are presented in the masculine eg “brothers” actually can and does have a fuller meaning of brothers and sisters. However, getting rid of male pronouns for God which this volume does admit to in the translator’s preface is weak sauce. Let Bonhoeffer be Bonhoeffer, if readers can’t get past that, it’s their problem. I would have guessed this was published more recently but no, 2004, crazy. Just shows how long this language misunderstanding has been in these mainline publishers.

Definitely read Life Together and the Prayerbook of the Bible but just not the Fortress Press versions. You’re getting a much too filtered work with this translation.

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amazing treatise on community, done in an urbanely scriptural manner. Yet while there are wonderful anecdotes and practical plans of attack, the presentation sometimes comes off as dry and lecture-based than a spirited and rousing work meant to convince and compel into action. Still, there is much fodder from which a missionary disciple can feed from to propel their ministry to include and acknowledge all.

[Sam Nesbitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful volume containing two complimentary works from Bonhoeffer. Life Together is a convicting, encouraging, and moving work, and the Prayerbook of the Bible is a useful resource for understanding the Psalms.

[Karen Soole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth it just for the discussion on Christian unity. Many pearls here.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just read “The Prayerbook of the Bible”

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every so often I re-read this book because of the basic theology in it. This time I read it to help me live through a time much like Bonhoeffer's time in which evil and authoritarianism is ruling.

[Logan Oviatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

All immediacy is disastrous

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

***Note: I've read and reviewed "Life Together" previously, so this review is solely for "Prayerbook of the Bible."***

About a year ago I read "Life Together" and a small collection of devotionals compiling some of Bonhoeffer's reflections on the Psalms. Both of these books whet my appetite for a fuller treatment of the Psalms by this master theologian, and I'm grateful for this slim volume as an accessible entrance point to Bonhoeffer's views.

The introduction by the editor, Geffrey B. Kelly, is a concise and helpful introduction to the rhetorical situation surrounding the publication of the original book. Understanding Bonhoeffer's subversive purpose--namely, the affirmation of the OT and thereby his support of the Jews persecuted in Germany--adds depth to this otherwise tame exposition of the Psalms.

As for the text itself, "The Prayerbook of the Bible" is a fascinating exploration of Luther's view that we pray the Psalms along with Jesus. Or, put differently, the words are the Psalms are the words of Christ himself. Thanks to my exposure to Bonhoeffer's comment in "Life Together" about the Psalms aligning with the Lord's Prayer, this wasn't a radically new idea, but my thoughts about interpreting the Psalms have been more in line with Eugene Peterson's view in "Answering God" that the Psalms are words provided by God to help us speak to God (I think Peterson says something like, "words by God about God").

I'm skeptical about Bonhoeffer's insistence that this is the primary way we should understand the Psalms (some of his statements about interpreting the imprecatory psalms, for example, didn't seem very convincing), but I think his approach could be a helpful practice for 21st century Christians immersed in historical-critical methods and/or reading practices that ultimately revolve about the reader's subjective experience. Joining my voice with Jesus as I read and pray these Psalms--the good, the bad, and the (seemingly) ugly--strikes me as compelling and enlivening practice.

[James Korsmo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've just finished rereading Life Together, and I would give it six stars if I could. Bonhoeffer's vision of Christian community is deep yet accessible. This book is a classic for a reason! The challenges are so practical. He calls us not to get caught up in some mythical vision of what Christian community should be but to instead do the hard work of living in the Christian community that God has actually given to us: it's already the real thing! We embrace, forgive, and live with other sinners, and that is Christian community. He reflects deeply about how we can spend our time together, how each believer can and should spend time alone, and how the cross of Christ must be at the foundation of it all. We bear with one another joyfully because Christ has borne our sin and the sins of our brothers and sisters. That creates the most profound community imaginable. And it all comes to crescendo in the Lord's Supper, the celebration together of the grace of Christ embodied in his life, death, and resurrection. Stunning in its depth but also in its practicality.

[Gary Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This classic work was the common reading for St. Paul's United Methodist Church during lent. The idea was to give up meetings for lent and devote the time to the reading and discussion of the book. I was able to attend just two of the four discussions, but it was still an excellent experience.
Bonhoeffers book was first intended to be a guide for his small, secret society of Christians in pre-war Nazi Germany, and the text applies clearly to that, but the intent of our reading it was to provide a guide for some difficult times we have ahead as a church. The potential crisis ahead is how we can navigate different views about human sexuality, marriage, and ordination of clergy. Our church doctrine is in conflict with the way many of us view this subject, and resolving this conflict is on the agenda for this year.
How effective will this reading be in guiding our life and work together? Time will tell. The book shows the value of Christian community, but how will we define those communities?

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two separate works in one volume, a new 1996 translation with two new editor's introductions and a foreword and afterword for each of the books.

"Life Together" is Bonhoeffer's thoughts on Christian community and relationships in the context of Nazi Germany. 140 dense pages! Lots of footnotes from Bonhoeffer + notes from the editors.

"Prayerbook of the Bible" is very short -- Bonhoeffer's take on the Psalms is more Christ-oriented than modern scholarship thinks.

Would read these again.

[Adam Shields · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short review: (Only Life together, I haven't read Prayerbook of the Bible yet). I have read this a couple times in the past. This time his comments on the expectations of community and living in the community that God has placed you in were the sections that most struck me. This is a short book and if you have not read it yet, you really need to.

Full review on my blog at http://bookwi.se/life-together-bonhoe...