Battle for Bonhoeffer: Debating Discipleship in the age of Trump

by Stephen R. Haynes

The figure of Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945) has become a clay puppet in modern American politics. Secular, radical, liberal, and evangelical interpreters variously shape and mold the martyr’s legacy to suit their own pet agendas. Stephen Haynes offers an incisive and clarifying perspective. A recognized Bonhoeffer expert, Haynes examines “populist” readings of Bonhoeffer, including the acclaimed biography by Eric Metaxas,  Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy . In his analysis Haynes treats, among other things, the November 2016 election of Donald Trump and the “Bonhoeffer moment” announced by evangelicals in response to the US Supreme Court’s 2015 decision to legalize same-sex marriage. The Battle for Bonhoeffer  includes an open letter from Haynes pointedly addressing Christians who still support Trump. Bonhoeffer’s legacy matters. Haynes redeems the life and the man.

Genres: Theology, History, Biography, Politics, Religion, Nonfiction, Faith

213 pages, Paperback

First published September 13, 2018

About the author

Stephen R. Haynes is Professor of Religious Studies, Albert Bruce Curry Professor of Religious Studies at Rhodes College. Dr. Haynes holds a Ph.D. in Religion and Literature from Emory University, the M. Div. from Columbia Theological Seminary, an M. A. from Florida State University, and a B. A. from Vanderbilt University. Professor Haynes has been at Rhodes since 1989 and offers courses on the Holocaust, the Bible and its reception, religion and reconciliation, and religion and addiction. In addition to these subjects, he has research interests in Jewish-Christian relations, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and the biblical justifications for slavery and segregation. Dr. Haynes was ODK Untenured Teacher of the Year at Rhodes in 1993 and SGA Outstanding Faculty Member in 1995. In 1997 he received the Clarence Day Award for Outstanding Research and in 2001 was awarded the Clarence Day Award for Outstanding Teaching. He is also a graduate of Leadership Memphis. Since 2016 he has directed the Rhodes Liberal Arts in Prison Program at West Tennessee State Penitentiary.

Reviews

[Corey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stephen Haynes is a professor at Rhodes College and one of the top Bonhoeffer scholars in the states. He specifically specializes in the reception of Bonhoeffer since his death. This book is the culmination of years of analysis. It is extremely thorough. If you wrote a book, blog post, tweet and included "Bonhoeffer" in it, he probably read it, and it is probably cited in the bibliography in this book.

The good:

The Hitler Complex:

Haynes is well researched and has a point to prove. A theme that comes across early and continues throughout the book is the desire for Christians to claim Bonhoeffer as their own and that our time is the same as WW2. Haynes provides evidence for both the left and the right claiming Bonhoeffer since his death, as well as a tendency to compare whoever the modern president is to Hitler. He goes through the Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations, all with various nuances, and shows how they were *literally* compared to Hitler and how Christians the on the left and the right claimed they were like Bonhoeffer.

The Metaxas Critique:
I first came across Bonhoeffer through Eric Metaxas's biography "Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy"in my sophomore year in my undergrad. The title was enough to get my interest, but I also found the writing very interesting and Bonhoeffer's story inspiring. Metaxas's book went on to become a worldwide best seller. I had heard rumblings online that it was flawed but Haynes lays out the argument for how flawed it was in this book. After reading the critique of Metaxas's book, and his co-opting Bonhoeffer to endorse Trump, (he literally said "Bonhoeffer would have voted for Trump) I feel kind of cheated. Metaxas actually invented quotes and citations in his book. He left out quite a bit of Bonhoeffer's more liberal theology that he didn't like. He didn't read through Bonhoeffer's corpus and he did not, and still does not, consult any actual Bonhoeffer scholars.

The Open Letter:
The post script is an open letter to evangelicals who still support president Trump. It is extremely well written and poignant.

The bad:
Not much really. I couldn't decide if I am just really biased in my political leanings or not when reading this book. Haynes would cover evangelical opposition to topics like abortion and wouldn't really comment on the validity of things like this, just state a fact and move on. Other than expecting that the author has different political leanings than I do, I really enjoyed this book.

If I was teaching a class on Bonhoeffer, I would include this book. It's an important work when it comes to understanding *exactly* how much Metaxas's biography has shaped the view of Bonhoeffer since 2010.

[Violinknitter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short book, but a really difficult read for me personally. Trump's rise basically was the last straw breaking my relationship with the evangelical church, and it’s painful re-reading the moral revisionism that led to the evangelical support of a nationalistic, authoritarian racist. I had a brief period when I was a Metaxas fan, but 2016 quickly revealed the man’s true (lack of) character.

The ending letter to evangelicals is excellent, and worth the price of the book on its own.

(I listened to the audiobook, and I found the narrator painfully slow. I had to speed the narration up to 1.5x, and I rarely use the speed boosts for audiobooks or podcasts.)

[Baylor Heath · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must for those who know and appreciate Bonhoeffer’s life and theology — and especially those who came to the German pastor through Eric Metaxas (like myself). A thorough and deserved criticism is placed upon Eric Metaxas’ Bonhoeffer biography and his use of the man’s legacy in public comments for Metaxas personal, political agenda.

I’ll grant that Metaxas’ biography employed great storytelling, but I’m now appalled at the glaring biographical errors he made while molding Bonhoeffer in his own populist image. This is important because his work on Bonhoeffer has become the popular title that anyone would refer to first and because his use of Bonhoeffer’s legacy durning the 2016 election had an outsized effect on the way Evangelicals voted.

I’ll be seeking out more trusted Bonhoeffer scholars who have been handling his life and legacy carefully for decades.

Upon all this, Haynes covers a lot of prior Bonhoeffer reception up until the 2016 election which is fascinating and sometimes sickening. This provides all the context needed to understand the “Bonhoeffer moments” that were proclaimed around our last election. At the end, Haynes breaks with the scholarly and spectatorial tone and openly addresses “Christians who love Bonhoeffer but still support Trump” in a measured, but strong way. Kudos to him for that.

[Avril · Rating 4 out of 5]

I simply want to quote what Haynes wants to say to Eric Metaxas, who wrote a Bonhoeffer 'biography' that got many facts wrong in his quest for an American Evangelical hero: "You were grossly irresponsible to use your role as an influential interpreter of Bonhoeffer to endorse someone [Trump] whom Bonhoeffer would have found repulsive. You are entitles to your political opinions, of course. But you used credibility gained largely from your association with Bonhoeffer's estimable humanity to imply that voting for Donald Trump was incumbent on American Christians. You thus gave them permission to ignore their spiritual intuition that the man was a repudiation of everything they held dear. In the process you did a disservice to Bonhoeffer, to Americans, and to the cause of Christ."

[Damon Glassmoyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A masterful job of tracing the attempts to claim Dietrich Bonhoeffer's legacy by various factions in American Christianity, with a look at the consequences of that appropriation, especially when done without regard for the actual true-life Bonhoeffer. Haynes's open letter to evangelicals who support Donald Trump is worth the time and price you'll spend on this book by itself...but read the whole thing.

[Alex Connell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn't add much to my understanding of Bonhoeffer, but did highlight how Bonhoeffer's name and legacy are used and abused.

It's a good reminder to be careful of the way we use people's names and their ideas.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stephen Haynes is a recognized scholar regarding the life and theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. This book, however, is not about either one, but about how Bonhoeffer has been injected into popular culture and appropriated by various political agendas. Those with political agendas on the right and the left have used Bonhoeffer as their hero to support a political position. Fore example, the right wing during the Obama Administration saw Bonhoeffer as a leader against a culture that has forsaken the American Way. Conversely, the left sees Trump as a new Hitler and calls upon Americans to "put a spoke in the wheel" before tyranny takes over.
I have been a student of Bonhoeffer since the late 70's and wrote my master's thesis on his Ethics. He is surely turning over in his grave to see how his writings have been co-opted to support various political agendas. Bonhoeffer was primarily a pacifist and hoped to go to India to sit at the feet of Gandhi. He wrote more about the establishment of the Kingdom of God in the midst of the world than about using Christianity to support a political agenda.
This book is an interesting survey of the popularization of Bonhoeffer over the past 10 years. Haynes warns against the creation of a hero for a political cause, but in the last chapter is guilty of using Bonhoeffer in his polemic against Trump and those who have forsaken their faith to follow him. It is an interesting slice of American popular history, but no more than that.
Thanks to Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company and NetGalley for providing a pre-publication copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

In what world do we live in which a historian feels the need to write a book about the battle over/for a theologian? An odd world for sure.

Interestingly enough there was a NEED for this book because Bonhoeffer has been claimed by everyone from liberals to conservatives and everything in between. One wonders if Bonhoeffer himself would even recognize the person whom others claim him to be.

Some takeaways from the book:

1. Eric Metaxas comes in for some severe criticism for his influential biography (among evangelicals) of Bonhoeffer in which Metaxas makes Bonhoeffer into a sort of evangelical Trumpian Republican 😳.
I recall a conversation with my brother—who is a theologian—and asking him what he thought of Bonhoeffer and his answer was something along the lines of "he was an interesting theologian and Christian, but I don't think we could consider him an evangelical." Somehow Mr. Metaxas neglected all the data and information that didn't support his thesis.

2. Bonhoeffer was an eclectic mix of liberal and conservative in regards to theology, so he is kind of hard to pin down. You can make him into whatever you want him to be if you ignore enough data.

3. The term "Bonhoeffer moment" has been coopted by both liberal and conservative Christians and used in regards to whatever particular issue for which they are advocating.

[Brian Hutzell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have not read any of Stephen R. Haynes’s previous books about Bonhoeffer, nor have I read Eric Metaxas’s Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy, with which Haynes takes considerable issue. Having done so would no doubt have made The Battle for Bonhoeffer even more meaningful. Even so, I love this book! It is not a biography; rather, it is about Bonhoeffer’s legacy and its place in today’s political atmosphere. As with so much information today, this book will no doubt be loved by those inclined to agree with Haynes, as I do, and loathed by those inclined to disagree. The big takeaway here is that the author believes enlisting Bonhoeffer in support of Trump is at best disingenuous and at worse wrong-headed and dangerous. This is made explicit in the book’s closing chapter, in which Haynes appeals directly to Trump’s supporters. I wish those supporters would read it, but I fear they will not and that even if they did, their unwavering loyalty to Trump would render them incapable of seeing the strength of Haynes’s argument.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haynes's book is an essential read, not just for its examination of how Bonhoeffer has been used in political/mass culture over the past few decades, but also for the implicit questions it raises about how we use language, how we study history, how opposed groups can turn the same figures to their own end, etc. There's plenty to think about here, packaged in good scholarship and effective writing.

[Jasonlylescampbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stephen Haynes is a professor of religious studies at Rhodes College in Memphis. This is his fourth publication about the young German theologian who was famously killed for being part of the Abwehr conspiracy to kill Hitler. He felt compelled to write this book to address the outsized use of the “Bonhoeffer moment” language that Eric Metaxes utilized in pleading for evangelicals to vote for Trump, among other battles raging over this long dead young pastor/leader.

To get us there, Haynes takes us back to 9/11 and the way Bonhoeffer was utilized to justify America's take down of Sadam Hussein. This was clear appropriation of the most general idea of who Bonhoeffer was. It shows the plasticity of Bonhoeffer in the hands of popular American writers and public figures. Much like Jesus or God is good to pull in to justify/rationalize what power wanted to do anyway. Actually, Bonhoeffer is an even better cloak because most people don’t know who Bonhoeffer is anyway so when they hear bits of his story, they are impressed that you have someone like that on your side.


Eric Metaxes takes all this to another level. Metaxes is a popular writer who decided to tackles a Bonhoeffer biography (published 2010) and virtually makes Bonhoeffer a household name in many Christian circles (There were popular renderings before him, but his was bigger by a degree). He also tells Glen Beck, National Review and the Wall Street Journal that scholars throughout the years have gotten Bonhoeffer wrong and he is finally setting the record straight. Playing on public ignorance, Metaxes conflates the initial and admittedly wrong headed “Death of God” movement of the 60s which only addressed small fragments of Bonhoeffer's writing with all scholarship on Dietrich Bonhoeffer. With this move Metaxes runs the playbook on modern right-wing populism--- institutions are all liberal and therefore depraved (including Yale which is his own peacock plume); scholars and experts are idiots; we either don't need to listen to them (irrelevant) or we actively should not listen to them (malicious). Kevin Young writes “The best way to commit a hoax now is to claim you’ve spotted one.” That is Metaxes’s game and it works in marvelous fashion.


Repeatedly factual errors have been pointed out in his book by the scholarly community. Rather than addressing them, he doubles down in interviews saying he stands behind every syllable. I think this is because he is delusional in a way that is currently prevalent---Metaxes is engaged in hero worship where he re-writes history to suit ambitions for his group. Then he and his group can also be heroes beyond critique. This is the danger of his loose populism that casts out scholarship. Nevermind that Metaxes doesn’t read German, so, of course, he owes an undisclosed debt for his own bestseller to the work of the very scholars he is actively condemning.


I read Eric Metaxes biography when it came out. I had family that knew I liked Bonhoeffer (at that point I had read three or four of the six books Bonhoeffer published before his death). They saw Metaxes on Glenn Beck and ordered me the book. I did not like the writing style in places (based on my margin scribbling), but mostly I thought it was really good. A readable and fairly deep introduction to a hero of mine. I went to see Metaxes talk about the book at Perimeter church and mostly he walked through Bonhoeffer’s life. (The typical attender of an event like this has not read the book so this part is necessary). Afterwards Metaxes started to make application to our current time and shared his views of creeping socialism, public healthcare and abortion as the main issues that Bonhoeffer would be fighting today. I remember thinking … does this guy know what he is talking about? We just went through a catastrophic recession brought about by deregulated banks and wild, legal investment schemes. The war on terror was not going well and no exit in sight. (Not to mention all the other issues I was blind to at that time). And this guy really thinks Bonhoeffer would be protesting abortion clinics?


Haynes says in order to make use of Bonhoeffer, in order to set the stage for your big Bonhoeffer moment, you have to see Hitler everywhere. It's no wonder as obsessed as we are with WWII that these moments would happen over and over. When Barrack Obama was elected president in 2008, the evangelical right acted like a socialist regime was coming to destroy all our freedoms. There was a group of very educated people (and some not so educated) who got together and drafted the Manhattan Declaration: A Call To Christian Conscience that same year. They were convinced that with gay marriage rights looming, state suppression of “Merry Christmas", continuing abortion rights—it was time to take a stand for Jesus! Haynes says, ”Restrictions on freedom of conscience, the declaration claimed, lead inevitably to 'soft despotism' and the disintegration of civil society that is 'a prelude to tyranny.'" Ha! I think they were about 8 years too early on this one.


The authors styled themselves (especially Colson) as the Confessing Church in Nazi Germany. They talked and thought of this document as the Barmen Declaration which they thought Bonhoeffer helped write with the confessing church. In Germany, there were a bunch of regular Christians who fell for Hitler as a strongman and joined in. You know, regular christiana, nominal Christians and, of course, the liberal ones. But the confessing church were the true christians, who knew right from wrong, read their bibles and who would not stand for the nazification of church. Also, they took a stand for the Jewish people.


Almost none of this is history. The confessing church was only a slightly less compromised church movement. They did take a stand, but not against Jewish persecution, more against the Nazi state telling them what to do and who they could baptize. The Barmen Declaration was written under the leadership of Karl Barth (whom evangelicals have a mostly negative view of as liberal, though liberals view him as conservative). Bonhoeffer wasn't even there. He was an outsider to this. AND the confessing church did not last or take a very bold stand in the end.


People have tried to get Bonhoeffer the status of “Righteous Gentile” at least three times and it has been denied because of the things he wrote about Jewish people during this time. Of course, this reality did not stop Eric Metaxes from including exactly that language in his subtitle to his book. (Never let truth get in the way of a good story, even if you are writing history). So not only is they’re home-grown Hitler laughable and delusional, but the history they take inspiration from is the kind of delusion.


In the little book The Crucifixion of the Jews Franklin H. Littell writes—"the worst crimes in the history of mankind were...committed by baptized Christians. Until the churches have to come clean on that massive Event and stop trying to hide behind the skirts of an occasional Bonhoeffer or Delp, of whom they aren't worthy" no amount of rhetoric will save them from "damnation." Yep, he goes there. I guess that is what happens to a Methodist minister turned scholar spends his time studying the Christian church's complicity in the Holocaust.


But here is the grossest part to me. When these wealthy successful men and women are writing out and signing the Manhattan Declaration, there is brutality, mistreatment, persecution, disregard for human rights all happening in our country. Yet, under the cover of pro-life, they attach their own petty little persecution (not being able to lead prayer in public places, not being able to tack tacky pictures of the Ten Commandments on courthouse walls, having to say Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas, having to explain to their grandchildren why a man can marry a man). Conservative Christians have a persecution complex. Even when they have largely run the government since Reagan (after they kicked out that no-good Sunday school teacher Carter). When will they surrender the myth that they are under attack, poor and miserable. When will they stop with their snowflake identity politics that we all have to hear about ALL THE TIME.


And of course, these people can’t keep their hand out of the till. It’s not enough that they claim Bonhoeffer as their forerunner, but they pull in Martin Luther King, Jr as inspiration for their refusal to follow unjust laws. I could be wrong, but I don’t recognize any of these signatures as having anything to do with MLK or the civil rights effort when it was happening. In fact, Haynes points out that we have it on record some of these Moral Majority people were actively preaching segregation from the pulpit (looking at you Jerry Falwell). In a sermon from 1958, Fallwell preaches - “when God has drawn a line of distinction, we should not attempt to cross that line.” (92) Chuck Colson ran the southern strategy for Nixon with Strom Thurman for god’s sake. Does anyone know if he apologized for that?


In some ways I think Metaxes represents a larger slide into a new world where truth is only found through trust and mistrust of individual personalities … ie, like our current president, Metaxes tells his audience that they do not have to do any further work, they can trust him that he knows who the real/true Bonhoeffer is. Ignore the experts, ignore the scholars, ignore any new research that comes to light … just trust me. (I can imagine that part in the jungle book where the snake is singing charms to Mowgli).


Here are a few of my own personal takeaways from reading this book: A) Always pause and think before giving into the temptation to make a Hitler reference; B) regardless of bias, we must have scholarship and welcome the world of scholars if we are to have anything like truth; C) Don’t allow your heroes to become gods or you will be tempted to use them as a shield and justification for your ideas … better to just own up and take responsibility for your ideas and be open to the fact that they may be crap.

[Scott Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I developed a scholarly interest in the churches' role during the Nazi era in part so I could help ensure that Christians would never repeat the mistakes they made under Hitler. Similarly, Dietrich Bonhoeffer is one of my heroes in part because he was able to resist eh wave of Hitler worship that swept up many German Protestants."

So writes Stephen Haynes in the postscript of The Battle for Bonhoeffer: Debating Discipleship in the Age of Trump. This is a sentiment which I share wholeheartedly with Dr. Haynes. I, too, became fascinated with the story of Bonhoeffer and the Church Struggle of the Nazi era, first as a college student beginning to explore the content and questions of my Lutheran faith as a young adult, then later as a seminarian pondering the deeper questions of the Church, faith, the state/government, and personal responsibility and action in circumstances not easily interpreted into categories such as right/wrong or good/evil. I was just beginning a one year seminary internship in Florida when planes were used as weapons of mass destruction on 11 September 2001; from that moment to today, Bonhoeffer has been one of my constant interpretive companions in navigating an age which does not appear to have a peaceful ending in sight. I am one of many who has been comforted, challenged, and confounded by Bonhoeffer in these years. Haynes makes one point abundantly clear: however wide we think the application of Bonhoeffer has been, our estimations haven't been wide enough to encompass the breadth of the political and religious appropriation of Bonhoeffer, justified or not.

While Bonhoeffer is the main subject of the book, Haynes has divided his text into two main sections: Bonhoeffer before Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy, the 2010 biography written by Eric Metaxas, and Bonhoeffer after. True, the official table of contents lists three parts, but Metaxas is the prime meridian here, and deservedly so.

Haynes does a serviceable job examining the Bonhoeffer legacy prior to Metaxas. However, those who are unfamiliar with Bonhoeffer's story and the ongoing devotion surrounding him might not appreciate the entire picture if Haynes is their first exposure to the topic. Any Bonhoeffer text which only mentions Eberhard Bethge four times is counting on readers already being familiar with Bonhoeffer and knowing the importance of Bethge and other particulars such as the Barmen Declaration, Finkenwalde, and the Abwehr. This is not a biography, nor does it need to be; omitting these particulars leaves Haynes with more room to discuss his main topic, which he does particularly well.

For the majority of the book, Haynes provides a sharp analysis of Bonhoeffer appropriation, particularly in the post-9/11 years and in the rise of electronic media. This is an exhaustively researched book, though the presentation doesn't belabor points or get lost in what I'm certain are some incredibly deep internet rabbit holes.

Once the Metaxas biography arrives on the scene, however, some of the gloves come off. Haynes addresses some of the numerous inaccuracies, misquotes, and problematic interpretations in Metaxas' book, and reviews from reliable Bonhoeffer scholars which pointed out these issues, with a good balance of economy and clarity to prove his point while keeping the text manageable (I can assure you, the list of problems with Metaxas' appropriation of Bonhoeffer could be very long, indeed). In the last chapters, Haynes paints himself as something of an outsider even among Bonhoeffer scholars, acknowledging that he often advocated for conversation with Metaxas among Bonhoeffer scholars prior to the 2016 presidential election. That election, however, was the straw which broke Haynes' willingness to suffer Metaxas gladly.

The last two chapters really dig into misappropriations of Bonhoeffer, particularly for evangelicals who joined Metaxas in ascribing support for Donald Trump as something Bonhoeffer would have wholeheartedly endorsed. This argument receives the evisceration it deserves, but Haynes also offers a countering warning to those who misappropriate Bonhoeffer to align themselves against an imagined parallel between Trump and Adolf Hitler. There are similarities, Haynes acknowledges, but our times and contexts do not allow us to simplistically (and lazily) call Trump a Nazi and be done. Perhaps the best argument he presents is a quote from an article written by Victoria J. Barnett in the Washington Post:

"If we can understand Bonhoeffer outside the box - not as saint, not as mythological hero, but as someone who reflected poignantly on evil's consequences for the human conscience and spirit, for an entire culture and country, we may begin to uncover the person behind the mythology: a man who tried to face the darkness of his times. In the process, we may discover someone who can speak more directly to the darknesses and failures of our own."

I wish I could leave this review here. However, a postscript is appended in which Haynes writes a letter to "Christians who Love Bonhoeffer but (Still) Support Trump." I didn't find anything disagreeable in the open letter itself, but it seemed an odd bit of editorializing added on to a book which, to this point, had done an admirable job of avoiding it. Perhaps my discomfort arises from my being largely opposed to most of the Trump agenda, because I'm certainly not the intended audience for such a letter. However, I'm not sure anyone who still supports Trump would have picked up Haynes' book in the first place, and I'm fairly certain anyone who did would have abandoned it long before reaching the postscript Haynes apparently really wanted them to read. But there it is, putting a confusing coda at the end of a good discussion. It doesn't ruin the book, not by any means, but it doesn't measure up to the rest of it, either, and that's a shame. On the whole this is a worthy interpretation of the title: the "battle for Bonhoeffer" is ongoing and needs interpreters like Haynes to help the rest of us navigate a landscape we can't always see clearly.

[Joelendil · Rating 4 out of 5]

The tone of this book differed from what I was expecting, but I still appreciated it. Stephen Haynes critiques how various groups have invoked, used, and abused the name and writings of anti-Nazi pastor/theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I was hoping for a full-orbed (if brief) analysis of Bonhoeffer and his theology, but the author mostly pointed out where he believed others were wrong without ever giving a complete summary of his own understanding of the man and his work (though frequently mentioning "complexity" and the "give and take" of scholarly opinion).

Though Haynes covers a wide variety of those who have sought to co-opt Bonhoeffer's legacy, his primary animus is directed against Eric Metaxas. In fact, the subtitle to the book could have been "Why Eric Metaxas' book is oversimplified, erroneous tripe and his political advocacy disgusts me." Haynes spends much of his page count criticizing Metaxas' book, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy and excoriating his invocation of Bonhoeffer in support of Donald Trump. The book crescendos with this denunciation:

"You [Metaxas] were grossly irresponsible to use your role as an influential interpreter of Bonhoeffer to endorse someone whom Bonhoeffer would have found repulsive. You are entitled to your political opinions, of course. But you used credibility gained largely from your association with Bonhoeffer's estimable humanity to imply that voting for Donald Trump was incumbent on American Christians. You thus gave them permission to ignore their spiritual intuition that the man was a repudiation of everything they held dear. In the process you did a disservice to Bonhoeffer, to Americans, and to the cause of Christ" - p. 131

This is shortly followed by a final chapter entitled Your Bonhoeffer Moment: An Open Letter to Christians Who Love Bonhoeffer but (Still) Support Donald Trump. As far as calm, thoughtful political rants (if that's a thing) go, it was pretty good. Overall, I would have liked more detail on historical Bonhoeffer and some warning that this book was primarily about confronting Metaxas, but there was plenty of food for thought here.

[Stephen McIntosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This engaging book was a terrific companion on a recent cross-country road trip. Parts 1 and 2 provide a readily accessible and highly informative historical understanding of the way Bonhoeffer has been viewed, used and discussed by Americans since his execution. I learned a great deal about Bonhoeffer's role in academia, as well as in the influencing of popular minds and political agendas. But perhaps the best part of the book for me, as a non-scholar who still values critical academic analysis, was Part 3, "Triumph of the Populist Bonhoeffer". Haynes chronicles the way Bonhoeffer has been molded by evangelicals and liberals in recent years with a thoroughly referenced and analyzed description of the writings, television transcript excerpts, blog postings, newspaper columns, and other sources devoted to Bonhoeffer from the full spectrum of political and religious thought. This portion was an important way for me to understand and to reflect on both the issues of our current time and on how external perspectives are mobilized to shape our reality. Haynes' "Open Letter to Evangelicals" at the book's conclusion is powerful. It is a heartfelt and candid challenge that left me actively exploring the role of all Christians (including my own) in this divisive, tumultuous and critical period of our nation's history. An excellent, accessible read and especially pertinent if you have any prior awareness of Bonhoeffer, or an interest in how Christianity intersects, or should, with our politics and lives as Americans.

[Adam Shields · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short review: There is some enjoyment in reading a very well written screed about the misuse of Bonhoeffer. The screed isn't unwarranted, there really is a need for books like this. Bonhoeffer may not be of particular interest to you, so you may not want to pick this up. But this is a good reminder of the value of intellectual honesty, academic rigor and fully understanding a subject before you use the subject to prove your point.

It is a brief read, but I think worth picking up.

The subtitle is Debating Discipleship in the Age of Trump and the end of the book deals directly with how Bonhoeffer has been used and mostly misused as a patron saint by different political sides over the past 8 to 10 years. Eric Metaxas is specifically and extensively called out for his bad use of Bonhoeffer. And the author is not writing as a disinterested academic. He ends the book with an open letter to Christians that continue to support Trump after the election. And while I think all of this is appropriate, I really doubt that a lot of Trump supporters will be picking the book up, even if it is actually a good book that is primarily focused on helping Christians rightly use historical data.

My full review: http://bookwi.se/battle-for-bonhoeffer/

[Bebe (Sarah) Brechner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extraordinary work on the appropriation of Bonhoeffer in Christianized American politics, primarily since 9/11. Haynes sets the record straight with an in-depth, scholarly analysis of how Bonhoeffer became the standard-bearer of Christian theological politics, both for right and the left, in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Haynes covers the "Bonhoeffer Moment" as announced by evangelicals after the 2015 US Supreme Court decision on same sex marriage, as well as the 2016 election of Trump.
Most affecting and powerful is the end of the book, where Haynes reflects on the Bonhoeffer phenomenon, and his personal change from a hard right political position, after deep consideration of his Christian faith. Haynes presents a shocking comparison of similar elements between the main Christian church in Germany that supported Hitler and similar support of Christians in the US for Trump's policies. Highly recommended.

Haynes is a professor of religious studies at Rhodes College, with a Ph.D. in Religion and Literature from Emory University, the M. Div. from Columbia Theological Seminary, an M. A. from Florida State University, and a B. A. from Vanderbilt University.

[Zachary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haynes is a bona fide Bonhoeffer scholar with a lot to say about the rhetorical and cultural deployment of the iconic theologian in the contemporary American moment. This book is eminently readable, quick, and to the point: Bonhoeffer has been misappropriated by figures on the right who consistently misinterpret his work and sully his reputation. One of the more intriguing elements to this story is the way that varied political alliances have called upon Bonhoeffer to make their claims, only to often see those claims or stances twisted back around on them when circumstances change. This makes for a fascinating narrative of Bonhoeffer's life and work that is also an ultimately sad tale about the way that certain figures are misused for earthly political gain. That this figure is Bonhoeffer makes the circumstances all the more upsetting, given the beauty of his witness and the depth of his theological writings. Haynes does an admirable job here narrating Bonhoeffer's story in American evangelicalism in particular, and respectably calls us to action on behalf of the man's theology in our current world circumstance.

[Daniel Gullotta · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a helpful and concise book for anyone studying Bonhoeffer, particularly in an American context. Haynes demonstrates impressive historiographical command of the many ways Bonhoeffer has been interpreted, appropriated, and—at times—misused. The book isn’t exhaustive, but it works very well as a quick tour through the landscape of Bonhoeffer scholarship, making it accessible to undergraduates or interested lay readers. That said, I found the book somewhat uneven in its assessments. While Haynes rightly criticizes the distortions of theological and political progressives, he directs much more forceful fire toward evangelicals and conservatives. His sustained attention to Metaxas is warranted, but some of his broader critiques of evangelical engagement struck me as unnecessarily harsh. I would have preferred a more evenhanded treatment of Bonhoeffer’s reception across the spectrum. Admittedly, my own conservative evangelical leanings shape this reaction. Still, even with these reservations, I found the book engaging, informative, and worth recommending as an introduction to the complicated legacy of Bonhoeffer in American religious life.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This very interesting - and very timely - book by Stephen Haynes takes a look at how the theology, life and legacy of Bonhoeffer have been adopted (and adapted) by groups across political and religious spectrums. He also explores how there are differences even within particular segments, as in the fascinating look at how there are varying views of Bonhoeffer's importance and message in the evangelical movement (represented at one end for instance by James Dobson and the other by Jim Wallis). Heavy emphasis is placed on the fresh exposure to Bonhoeffer given by Eric Metaxas in ihs best-selling biography, and in the push back and criticism of it offered by Bonhoeffer scholars. Haynes makes his own views clear (which I will not share here; read the book) and is upfront about his own struggle in the way Bonhoeffer has been seized upon (read "co-opted") in the past five years. If you're interested in the legacy of Bonhoeffer and in how he is viewed today, this book is worth your time.

[Michelle Kidwell · Rating 3 out of 5]


The Battle for Bonhoeffer
by Stephen R. Haynes, Foreword by Charles Marsh
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
Christian , Religion & Spirituality
Pub Date 13 Sep 2018
I am reviewing The Battle For Bonhoeffer through WM.B Eerdman's Publishing Company and Netgalley:
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born in 1906 and died in 1945. In this book biographer Stephen Haynes talks about how many in politics have come to use him as a clay puppet. Secular, radical, liberal and evangelical each try to shape this Martyr’s legacy to fit their agendas
As much as the author accuses those of fitting Bonhoeffer’s legacy to fit their own agenda’s I found the author of this book disappointingly did the same!
I give The Battle for Bonhoeffer three out of five stars!
Happy Reading!


[Kristjan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not exactly what I was expecting ...

Narration was as expected within a lecture stye presentation where it is tough to break out.

The book itself covers a number of examples where the right wing of the christian evangelical movement incorrectly appropriated the legacy of Bonhoeffer to support their struggle to demonize their opponents in what they see as a culture war. In particular, this book highlights significant scholastic deficiencies with the work of Eric Metaxas (Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy) that was used to launch their current fasciation and association with Bonhoeffer's fight against the WWII Nazi regime.

I was given this free advance listener copy (ALC) audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

#TheBattleForBonhoeffer #AudibookFree

[Teresa]

The author is a well-known expert on Bonhoeffer. However, this book is an examination of how his writings are being used as political agendas.

I have a problem with the author's editorializing about the current administration. Whether or not you are a Trump supporter, by adding the postscript, "Christians who love Bonhoeffer but (still) support Trump..." and attacking Eric Metaxas' book, "Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy," he turned me off any of the positive things that were part of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

More on Bonhoeffer and those who write or speak about him

A veritable cottage industry has arisen around the memory and interpretation of Bonhoeffer’s life and ministry. Clearly, it cant all be honest and accurate. Every book is written from a point of view. This one, too., but if you’ve come to an evaluation of Bonhoeffer this book might be a good one for you to take a look at before settling in. Profusely documented.

[J. Robin Whitley · Rating 3 out of 5]

To say I "liked" this book doesn't quite fit how it strikes me. Why? Because I love Bonhoeffer, I was disappointed to read how Bonhoeffer's life and work has been misappropriated. I do think this is an important book, because it both corrects the misinterpretations by a Bonhoeffer scholar and also shows us as readers how easy it is for people to twist a powerful message of servanthood into something much less than that.

[Beth Rogers · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am saddened that he has written nothing in this continuing moment, even though he notes that he found he just had to stop scrolling through daily updates to trump’s horrific use of evangelicalism. Even just a blog post or something. We are now in a facist Bonhoeffer moment as people are deported and racism and sexism and transphobia are on display. What do you have to say about the use of Bonhoeffer now?

[Tim Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent survey and assessment

This was an excellent survey and assessment of how Bonhoeffer has been invoked and used for political purposes in the US. It opened my eyes to how misleading some of the rhetoric has been. Haynes lays down the facts and then offers his own opinion at the end of the book.

[Jadon Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

A powerful caution against misappropriating Bonhoeffer’s legacy. Beware of those who over-simplify Dietrich’s story, tossing around the phrase “Bonhoeffer moment” with no real knowledge of his life or what it means for us today. Well honestly, just beware of anyone who uses “Bonhoeffer moment” pretty much ever lol.

[Jamey Yadon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful account of the ways Bonhoeffer has been used and abused in American evangelicalism in recent decades. Fans of Bonhoeffer should read this to get a sense of the different perspectives that are out there, many of them responsible, but some irresponsible.

[Willie Krischke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I picked this up because I was interested in how Bonhoeffer, a pacifist, became involved in a plot to assassinate Hitler. And I don't really trust Eric Metaxis, just based on his Twitter feed.

Now I feel suspicious of any and all Bonhoeffer biographies.

[Mike Fedewa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. My takeaway is that Bonhoeffer cannot be claimed by any side of the theological perspective. He was a man of his own time. We can all admire his striving for faithfulness.

On the other hand, the author clearly disagrees with the perspective offered by Eric Metaxas.