According to biographer Charles Marsh, Bonhoeffer was “mortified” by the critique. Yet it foreshadowed a momentous shift in Bonhoeffer’s life and thought. A classmate took him to Abyssinian Baptist Church, a historically black congregation in Harlem. Under the Reverend Adam Clayton Powell Jr., the church brought together religious feeling, social justice, and biblical teaching in a way that left a profound impression on the young German. Five years later Bonhoeffer would write The Cost of Discipleship, one of the classic texts in Christian ethics. It is perhaps best remembered for its
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