BONHOEFFER, CHRIST AND CULTURE
Edited by Keith L. Johnson & Timothy Larsen
Apollos (IVP). 216 pages. £12.99
ISBN 978 1 844 746 279
The 2012 Wheaton Theology Conference was dedicated to exploring aspects of the thought and ministry of Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945).
This book is the result of that, with ten contributors describing the ongoing and powerful legacy, especially among evangelicals, of this influential theologian, whose life was prematurely and cruelly ended by the Nazi regime just a month before the end of World War II.
The essays look at such diverse subjects as his visit to black churches in Harlem, New York, which so influentially shaped his views and contributed to his deeply-rooted opposition to Nazism, his founding of an ‘underground’ pastor’s seminary, and his ‘take on vocation’. Others deal with his theology of the Bible, his teaching on rulers and politics, technology, ministry among the poor, and the academy.
Biographical knowledge required
They all assume prior knowledge of Bonhoeffer’s life and some of his more well-known writings. Many refer to the recent and best-selling biography, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by the evangelical, Eric Metaxas.
They vary in readability, clarity and helpfulness. I found the most accessible Timothy Larsen’s description of the varying evangelical reception to Bonhoeffer. This has ranged from extreme suspicion to wide-eyed embrace. He rightly highlights the fact that readers from a spectrum of theological views tend to find in Bonhoeffer’s work what they are looking for and then claim him as ‘one of ours’. His assessment is astute and insightful, both of Bonhoeffer and of evangelicalism’s whims!
The most helpful and stimulating essay for me was Joel Lawrence’s ‘Death Together’ in which he describes Bonhoeffer’s famous dictum, ‘Becoming a church for others’. His strong theology of sin (in which the human heart is described as ‘curved in on itself’), his emphasis on costly, not cheap, grace, and his Lutheran portrayal of justification in Christ is described. Bonhoeffer grounded these in practical, everyday life by advocating an ongoing discipline of personal and corporate confession to produce disciples and churches more reflective of Christ – ‘the One for others’. You may not go along with all Bonhoeffer’s views here, but it is thought-provoking.
This book is not an easy read, and is aimed at those both in the academic world and beyond who are familiar with Bonhoeffer. So, it is not an introduction to him, but a stimulating reflection for those who want to know him better, and further understand and appreciate his on-going impact. If that’s you, you will want to read this volume.
