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Dietrich Bonhoeffer: An Introduction to His Thought
In this book on Dietrich Bonhoeffer, author Sabine Dramm
examines the twentieth century’s best-known German pastor
and theologian. This is a book about Bonhoeffer’s vibrant
Christian faith and his profound yet very practical theological
thinking.
Although Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s passionate life and dramatic death
are familiar territory, this book examines his life and the death
he accepted in resistance to Hitler in the context of his faith and
thought, as found in his own writings.
Dramm explores Bonhoeffer’s sermons, letters, articles, and books.
She offers her readers an outstanding introduction to the breadth
of his writing and the depth of his theological thinking. Dramm
also traces how Bonhoeffer’s beliefs and understandings led
him to active resistance to the Nazi to the establishment
of alternative church groups, to espionage, and ultimately to
conspiracy to overthrow the government by assassinating Hitler.
examines the twentieth century’s best-known German pastor
and theologian. This is a book about Bonhoeffer’s vibrant
Christian faith and his profound yet very practical theological
thinking.
Although Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s passionate life and dramatic death
are familiar territory, this book examines his life and the death
he accepted in resistance to Hitler in the context of his faith and
thought, as found in his own writings.
Dramm explores Bonhoeffer’s sermons, letters, articles, and books.
She offers her readers an outstanding introduction to the breadth
of his writing and the depth of his theological thinking. Dramm
also traces how Bonhoeffer’s beliefs and understandings led
him to active resistance to the Nazi to the establishment
of alternative church groups, to espionage, and ultimately to
conspiracy to overthrow the government by assassinating Hitler.
- GenresTheology
258 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 15, 2017
Sabine Dramm received a doctorate in education science from the University of Bonn in Bonn, Germany. She has studied evangelical theology and social science as well as philosophy and education. Dramm is the author of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Resistance (Fortress Press, 2009) and Dietrich Bonhoeffer Eine Einführung in sein Denken (Gütersloher Verlagshaus, 2001). The present volume, Dietrich Bonhoeffer: An Introduction to His Thought (Hendrickson Publishers, 2015), is a reprint (previously published in 2007 by Hendrickson Publishers and 2010 by Baker Publishing Group) of the English translation of Dramm’s latter mentioned title.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer: An Introduction to His Thought is a unique and important work for anyone looking to get better acquainted with the life and theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Those familiar with Bonhoeffer (which should be many given the success of the biography Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas) will also find much to glean from Dramm’s work. The uniqueness of Dramm’s approach comes in the form of her unusual ability to intermingle a well-positioned introduction to Bonhoeffer’s thought (which encompasses Bonhoeffer’s sermons, letters, articles, and books) with a survey of his life story. Dramm not only captures Bonhoeffer’s theology with clarity, but she does it in a similar manner as Bonhoeffer did himself—integrating both life and theology.
There is much to be praised about Dramm’s work. For starters, she has meticulously documented her engagement and summation of Bonhoeffer’s work. The number of cross-references scattered throughout Dramm’s work is impressive. Unless otherwise mentioned, Dramm consistently references the official collection of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Works published by Fortress Press. Still, Dramm has provided more than a mere overview of Bonhoeffer’s works. She has developed a pattern of Bonhoeffer’s thought throughout his numerous works, and uses that pattern as a platform to guide the reader through the depths of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Finally, Dramm is extremely lucid and readable. Dietrich Bonhoeffer: An Introduction to His Thought is easily one of the the most accessible and informative books on Bonhoeffer available today.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer has fascinated the hearts and minds of many in the twenty-first century. He is a symbol of courage and fortitude, with a passion for God’s people and a determination for the wellbeing of the Church. Bonhoeffer is a man of many mysteries and is often overlooked in the arena of theological rigor. Still, Dietrich Bonhoeffer: An Introduction to His Thought by Sabine Dramm will rightly ignite a newfound flame of passion in that arena, and open the doors to invite those in the streets on a tour. In fact, anyone with even the slightest interest in Bonhoeffer will do themselves a disservice if they overlook this book. It comes highly recommended!
Dietrich Bonhoeffer: An Introduction to His Thought is a unique and important work for anyone looking to get better acquainted with the life and theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Those familiar with Bonhoeffer (which should be many given the success of the biography Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas) will also find much to glean from Dramm’s work. The uniqueness of Dramm’s approach comes in the form of her unusual ability to intermingle a well-positioned introduction to Bonhoeffer’s thought (which encompasses Bonhoeffer’s sermons, letters, articles, and books) with a survey of his life story. Dramm not only captures Bonhoeffer’s theology with clarity, but she does it in a similar manner as Bonhoeffer did himself—integrating both life and theology.
There is much to be praised about Dramm’s work. For starters, she has meticulously documented her engagement and summation of Bonhoeffer’s work. The number of cross-references scattered throughout Dramm’s work is impressive. Unless otherwise mentioned, Dramm consistently references the official collection of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Works published by Fortress Press. Still, Dramm has provided more than a mere overview of Bonhoeffer’s works. She has developed a pattern of Bonhoeffer’s thought throughout his numerous works, and uses that pattern as a platform to guide the reader through the depths of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Finally, Dramm is extremely lucid and readable. Dietrich Bonhoeffer: An Introduction to His Thought is easily one of the the most accessible and informative books on Bonhoeffer available today.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer has fascinated the hearts and minds of many in the twenty-first century. He is a symbol of courage and fortitude, with a passion for God’s people and a determination for the wellbeing of the Church. Bonhoeffer is a man of many mysteries and is often overlooked in the arena of theological rigor. Still, Dietrich Bonhoeffer: An Introduction to His Thought by Sabine Dramm will rightly ignite a newfound flame of passion in that arena, and open the doors to invite those in the streets on a tour. In fact, anyone with even the slightest interest in Bonhoeffer will do themselves a disservice if they overlook this book. It comes highly recommended!
December 9, 2016
mm
[Note: This book was provided free of charge by Hendrickson Publishers. All thoughts and opinions are my own.]
As someone who has read a fair amount by and about the noted German theologian and anti-Hitler conspirator Dietrich Bonhoeffer and who will likely read much more by and about him in the future [1], I found this book to be a highly quotable and thoughtful introduction to his thinking concerning matters of theology, philosophy, and culture. The author of this book wonders aloud about the various factors that could keep Bonhoeffer's thought and practice, some of which is admittedly radical and much of it is rather deeply complicated and even paradoxical and conflicted, on the sidelines and in the ghettos of Christian thought. However, as biased a reader as I am, I think that these worries are overblown, because as long as Christians are struggling in a post-Christian culture and as long as there is the threat of corrupt anti-Christian totalitarian political leadership, Bonhoeffer will continue to set a challenging standard for principled opposition to such corrupt and ungodly regimes. For those of us who, like Bonhoeffer, combine a strong intellectual interest in theology and philosophy with a tendency to oppose wicked authorities in our midst, as long as there is a threat that others will act like Hitler and other dictators, there will be a need for people to be like Bonhoeffer, despite his tragic end and the complicated nature of his life. This book gives a worthy introduction to that complexity insofar as it relates to Bonhoeffer as a Christian thinker, not as the fiance of a bright and charming German teenager while dealing with the abuses of Hitler's regime in prison before his untimely death before the age of 40, which is another story for another time.
Although this book is not particularly sizable at 230 pages of core material and a fairly sizable bibliography, it manages to deal with a great deal of the complexity of Bonhoeffer's thoughts. Part of the complexity results from the fact that Bonhoeffer wrote such a diverse body of work ranging from academic studies at the beginning of his career when he was still in his 20's, to works of practical theology on discipleship and living together as believers in the Christian community while engaged in efforts at opposing Hitler's regime by serving the interests of the Confessing Church and simultaneously helping to found the ecumenical movement and engaging in the promotion of Christian pacifism that did not prevent him from being a supporter of conspiracies to overthrow Hitler in an attempt to save Germany from destruction that landed him in jail and then to an early grave as a decidedly complex martyr. The fact that much of Bonhoeffer's work is fragmentary and was written in the not ideal circumstances of being a political prisoner in Hitler's Germany also gives a great deal of difficulty to understanding Bonhoeffer's meaning. Besides the complexity in genre and focus of Bonhoeffer's writing, though, Dramm does a good job at capturing the characteristically paradoxical nature of much of what Bonhoeffer said, and gives the reader excellent caution about not taking his statements out of context or failing to understand the larger conversation of German Lutheran thought in which his writing was an exciting and worthwhile part. And by writing a fairly large amount of somewhat short chapters, the author manages to capture the breadth of Bonhoeffer's religious thought across a range from his family background to his thoughts on post-Christian Western Civilization to his unusual concern for the Jews as well as his sympathies for at least some aspects of Roman Catholicism which were striking and unusual for his time, or any time within mainstream German Lutheranism.
This is not to say that the book is perfect. Though the book is highly quotable [2], the author clearly engages in some begging of questions, by stating that things 'must be' a certain way and also engages in some unfortunately antinomian arguments. That said, the author makes no pretense about being unbiased and freely admits that the very act of writing an introduction to a subject, particularly one as complicated as Bonhoeffer's life and thought, inevitably involves interpretation. Reasonable people may quibble if the author always interprets Bonhoeffer's thoughts correctly, and given the fragmentary nature of some of his writings (his Ethics and prison writings come particularly to mind here) does not help matters. Nevertheless, this is an excellent book about an excellent subject, and Bonhoeffer continues to have a lot to say to contemporary Christianity in complex ways. Had he lived longer, or lived in less dangerous times, he would likely have engaged his world in far different ways. To the extent that we face the threat of prison, exile, or death for being decent people in an indecent world, understanding the thought and practice of Bonhoeffer is important in helping to inspire our own responses to our own social, cultural, political, and religious context. This book is a worthy help for that difficult and important task.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2014...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2012...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
[2] See, for example:
"The spoken and written word must have been unusually important to Bonhoeffer. He read extensively and widely, and as frequently as possible during his months in prison. Indeed it was during this time, when he was driven to psychological and physical limits, that the activity of writing became an inner, and apparently a successful, attempt at self-rescue (16)."
"Just as for him faith could not exist without understanding, so also faith could not be mute. Faith for Bonhoeffer always involved two things: putting faith into words and making faith understandable, both to oneself and to others. The spoken and written word played an eminently important role in his life and theology, and this all the more so with regard to faith. It was the primary vehicle by which faith expressed itself and poured itself out. This is the only possible explanation for his viewpoint that silence plays a role of major importance, namely, as a contrast to the written and spoken word (33)."
"Viewed generally, the church has a number of alternatives in choosing its behavior toward the State. The first is to ask the question already mentioned, regarding the responsibility of the State. Here Bonhoeffer presents a sort of "three-stage plan" that bears a peculiar resemblance to his own biography. Stage 1: question the humanity and legitimacy of the State's actions (the key idea here is the church's mission as a watchman of society). Stage 2: help the victims of State despotism (the key idea here is political diaconate). And Stage 3: as ultima ratio, exercise direct political intervention (the key idea is active resistance). (166)."
[Note: This book was provided free of charge by Hendrickson Publishers. All thoughts and opinions are my own.]
As someone who has read a fair amount by and about the noted German theologian and anti-Hitler conspirator Dietrich Bonhoeffer and who will likely read much more by and about him in the future [1], I found this book to be a highly quotable and thoughtful introduction to his thinking concerning matters of theology, philosophy, and culture. The author of this book wonders aloud about the various factors that could keep Bonhoeffer's thought and practice, some of which is admittedly radical and much of it is rather deeply complicated and even paradoxical and conflicted, on the sidelines and in the ghettos of Christian thought. However, as biased a reader as I am, I think that these worries are overblown, because as long as Christians are struggling in a post-Christian culture and as long as there is the threat of corrupt anti-Christian totalitarian political leadership, Bonhoeffer will continue to set a challenging standard for principled opposition to such corrupt and ungodly regimes. For those of us who, like Bonhoeffer, combine a strong intellectual interest in theology and philosophy with a tendency to oppose wicked authorities in our midst, as long as there is a threat that others will act like Hitler and other dictators, there will be a need for people to be like Bonhoeffer, despite his tragic end and the complicated nature of his life. This book gives a worthy introduction to that complexity insofar as it relates to Bonhoeffer as a Christian thinker, not as the fiance of a bright and charming German teenager while dealing with the abuses of Hitler's regime in prison before his untimely death before the age of 40, which is another story for another time.
Although this book is not particularly sizable at 230 pages of core material and a fairly sizable bibliography, it manages to deal with a great deal of the complexity of Bonhoeffer's thoughts. Part of the complexity results from the fact that Bonhoeffer wrote such a diverse body of work ranging from academic studies at the beginning of his career when he was still in his 20's, to works of practical theology on discipleship and living together as believers in the Christian community while engaged in efforts at opposing Hitler's regime by serving the interests of the Confessing Church and simultaneously helping to found the ecumenical movement and engaging in the promotion of Christian pacifism that did not prevent him from being a supporter of conspiracies to overthrow Hitler in an attempt to save Germany from destruction that landed him in jail and then to an early grave as a decidedly complex martyr. The fact that much of Bonhoeffer's work is fragmentary and was written in the not ideal circumstances of being a political prisoner in Hitler's Germany also gives a great deal of difficulty to understanding Bonhoeffer's meaning. Besides the complexity in genre and focus of Bonhoeffer's writing, though, Dramm does a good job at capturing the characteristically paradoxical nature of much of what Bonhoeffer said, and gives the reader excellent caution about not taking his statements out of context or failing to understand the larger conversation of German Lutheran thought in which his writing was an exciting and worthwhile part. And by writing a fairly large amount of somewhat short chapters, the author manages to capture the breadth of Bonhoeffer's religious thought across a range from his family background to his thoughts on post-Christian Western Civilization to his unusual concern for the Jews as well as his sympathies for at least some aspects of Roman Catholicism which were striking and unusual for his time, or any time within mainstream German Lutheranism.
This is not to say that the book is perfect. Though the book is highly quotable [2], the author clearly engages in some begging of questions, by stating that things 'must be' a certain way and also engages in some unfortunately antinomian arguments. That said, the author makes no pretense about being unbiased and freely admits that the very act of writing an introduction to a subject, particularly one as complicated as Bonhoeffer's life and thought, inevitably involves interpretation. Reasonable people may quibble if the author always interprets Bonhoeffer's thoughts correctly, and given the fragmentary nature of some of his writings (his Ethics and prison writings come particularly to mind here) does not help matters. Nevertheless, this is an excellent book about an excellent subject, and Bonhoeffer continues to have a lot to say to contemporary Christianity in complex ways. Had he lived longer, or lived in less dangerous times, he would likely have engaged his world in far different ways. To the extent that we face the threat of prison, exile, or death for being decent people in an indecent world, understanding the thought and practice of Bonhoeffer is important in helping to inspire our own responses to our own social, cultural, political, and religious context. This book is a worthy help for that difficult and important task.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2014...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2012...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
[2] See, for example:
"The spoken and written word must have been unusually important to Bonhoeffer. He read extensively and widely, and as frequently as possible during his months in prison. Indeed it was during this time, when he was driven to psychological and physical limits, that the activity of writing became an inner, and apparently a successful, attempt at self-rescue (16)."
"Just as for him faith could not exist without understanding, so also faith could not be mute. Faith for Bonhoeffer always involved two things: putting faith into words and making faith understandable, both to oneself and to others. The spoken and written word played an eminently important role in his life and theology, and this all the more so with regard to faith. It was the primary vehicle by which faith expressed itself and poured itself out. This is the only possible explanation for his viewpoint that silence plays a role of major importance, namely, as a contrast to the written and spoken word (33)."
"Viewed generally, the church has a number of alternatives in choosing its behavior toward the State. The first is to ask the question already mentioned, regarding the responsibility of the State. Here Bonhoeffer presents a sort of "three-stage plan" that bears a peculiar resemblance to his own biography. Stage 1: question the humanity and legitimacy of the State's actions (the key idea here is the church's mission as a watchman of society). Stage 2: help the victims of State despotism (the key idea here is political diaconate). And Stage 3: as ultima ratio, exercise direct political intervention (the key idea is active resistance). (166)."
June 11, 2021
only recommend for true fans of Bonhoeffer
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews