Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Ethical Self: Christology, Ethics, and Formation

by Clark J. Elliston

Dietrich Bonhoeffers work has persistently challenged Christian consciousness due to both his death at the hands of the Nazis and his provocative prison musings about Christian faithfulness in late modernity. Although understandable given the popularity of both narrative trajectories, such selective focus obscures the depth and fecundity of his overall corpus. Bonhoeffers early work, and particularly his Christocentric anthropology, grounds his later commitments to responsibility and faithfulness in a "world come of age." While much debate accompanies claims regarding the continuity of Bonhoeffers thought, there are central motifs that pervade his work from his doctoral dissertation to the prison writings. This book suggests that a concern for otherness permeates all of Bonhoeffers work. Furthermore, Clark Elliston articulates, drawing on Bonhoeffer, a constructive vision of Christian selfhood defined by its orientation towards otherness. Taking Bonhoeffer as both the origin and point of return, the text engages Emmanuel Levinas and Simone Weil as dialogue partners who likewise stress the role of the other for self-understanding, albeit in diverse ways. By reading Bonhoeffer through their voices, one enhances Bonhoeffers already fertile understanding of responsibility.

236 pages, Hardcover

Published October 1, 2016

Reviews

[Caleb Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elliston has written a very solid, informative book on Bonhoeffer and his understanding of who and how human beings are to be ethical beings. Within the book, multiple other thinkers, philosophers, theologians, and writers are engaged with to grow and shape Bonhoeffer's idea of the ethical self. Of most interest to me was Elliston's chapter on Simone Weil's attention. Elliston is one of only a few authors to write in depth on Weil and Bonhoeffer, and the chapter was well written. Although at times I feel he does not give enough time to Weil and sides with Bonhoeffer rather quickly, it is a great place for me as I begin to write on a similar thesis.