Theological Education at Finkenwalde

Works #14

by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, H. Gaylon Barker (Editor)

In the spring of 1935 Dietrich Bonhoeffer returned from England to direct a small illegal seminary for the Confessing Church. The seminary existed for two years before the Gestapo ordered it closed in August 1937. The two years of Finkenwalde's existence produced some of Bonhoeffer's most significant theological work as he prepared these young seminarians for the turbulence and risk of parish ministry in the Confessing Church. Bonhoeffer and his seminarians were under Gestapo surveillance; some of them were arrested and imprisoned. Throughout, he remained dedicated to training them for the ministry and its challenges in a difficult time. This volume includes bible studies, sermons, and lectures on homiletics, pastoral care, and catechesis, giving a moving and up-close portrait of the Confessing Church in these crucial yearsthe same period during which Bonhoeffer wrote his classics, Discipleship and Life Together.

1258 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996

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

[Corey · Rating 5 out of 5]

The least researched volume in the Bonhoeffer works, but it's clear he is reaching his prime here. This volume contains all of his lectures that he gave in the secret seminary while writing Discipleship. The result of this time leads him to write Life Together. It's really really good.
Second time through this beast - still good

[Ennis Macleod · Rating 5 out of 5]

Long ago and far away

There is so much more to a person than what they are famous for, and reading letters they wrote (from the time when letters were written) gives one a peek into their lives. Hence, a deeper understanding of the pressures, the arguments, the day to day life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer deepens one's understanding of his writing about the seminary he ran from 1935 to 1937. The most interesting aspect is reading what is written by someone ignorant of the facts of the future; ignorant also of the present in other places. My final conclusion: please oh please let humanity have learned the lessons of the 20th century.

[Tim Shaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Important volume in the DIETRICH BONHOEFFER WORKS IN ENGLISH series. The committed advocate and academic Systematic Theologian / Ecumenicist worked during the "Confessing Church" era of German Weimar and Nazi regimes (20th century). His output as far as letters, student lectures while at a Confessing Pastor's Seminary (Finkewalde) is preserved here along with some contextual timeline and analysis. Well worth reading in the 21st century as we in America also face a crisis of generational obsession and MAGA idolatrous worship of a narcissistic demagogue. Hitler took note of Bonhoeffer's "The Church and the Jewish Question" radio talk (1933) and tried to suppress and undercut any such opposition that would oppose Hitlerism and the NAZI takeover of civil-religious cultural institutions. Bonhoeffer was also writing Christian classics during this Finkelwalde era (The Cost of Discipleship : NACHFOLGE (in German language) and Life Together (Gemeinsames Leben). His Christocentric, daring Theological efforts remain challenging as the Church faces new crises of relevancy and mission / evangelism. I give this book 4* because of its daunting length and high cost as far as unavailability to general readers of timely theology and church History.

[Neil White · Rating 3 out of 5]

This covers the critical years when Dietrich Bonhoeffer was leading the Confessing Church seminary at Finkenwalde. The casual reader of Bonhoeffer is probably not going to spend much time in the later volumes of the Bonhoffer Works and this volume in particular is full of lectures reconstructed from student notes. There are some insights in this volume but much of the Bonhoeffer who we see in the teaching seems dated and his sermons have the formality of that age.