Dietrich Bonhoeffer was one of the most influential theologians of the 20th century. His imprisonment in a German concentration camp and eventual execution only served to solidify his legacy. Bonhoeffer's resistance to Nazism and his pivotal role in the Confessing Church movement have illuminated the nature of Christian political witness and action for many.
In our own time, as we face increasing political unrest, injustice, and cultural divides, Bonhoeffer's insights into the Christian life, discipleship, and ethics are more essential than ever. He focused on the question of who Jesus Christ is and the call to live like Christ in the modern world.
We invite you to discover a collection of Bonhoeffer titles beyond the DBW series that belong on your reading list.
Bonhoeffer for the Church: An Introduction
Matthew D. Kirkpatrick
Dietrich Bonhoeffer is one of the most widely read Christian writers of the twentieth century. Although his work has been influential among academics, his widest readership has always been the church. Each Sunday, Bonhoeffer's writings are referenced in sermons and study groups around the world. And yet no systematic introduction to Bonhoeffer exists for this audience. In Bonhoeffer for the Church, Matthew Kirkpatrick corrects this omission. Structured around topics such as preaching, worship, sacraments, prayer, pastoral care, confession, evangelism, and apologetics, Bonhoeffer for the Church offers an accessible but comprehensive introduction to Bonhoeffer's life and thought for those in ministry or interested in understanding their life in community better.
In making Bonhoeffer accessible for the church, Kirkpatrick also reveals Bonhoeffer's astonishing message to the church. Despite his well-known conflicts with the churches and church leaders of his time, the church remained for Bonhoeffer the foundation for God's redeeming activity to the world and in individual lives. Drawing on the full range of his writings, including his less well-known sermons, diaries, and letters, Bonhoeffer for the Church presents this astonishing vision and shows how Bonhoeffer can revitalize and inspire the life and ministry of the church and our individual relationships. For those who struggle in their ministry, doubt the relevance of the church, or who simply need to be reenergized in their relationships with other Christians, Bonhoeffer for the Church offers a crucially important message.
There Is No God and Mary Is His Mother: Rediscovering Religionless Christianity
Thomas Cathcart
Is the Western world really post-Christian, or does Christianity simply need a reinterpretation? What did Dietrich Bonhoeffer mean by "religionless Christianity"? Is it passé? Or was it perhaps ahead of its time? In an era of dramatically increased religious pluralism and the emergence of large numbers of people identifying as "spiritual but not religious," so-called "religionless Christianity" can speak to those who find both biblicism and "belief-based" religion irrelevant. In this personal, witty, and timely book, New York Times bestselling author Thomas Cathcart takes readers on a journey into belief and unbelief and leads them through to the other side. Drawing from deep philosophical and theological wells, There Is No God and Mary Is His Mother demonstrates the meaningfulness of being a Christian in a secular age. Cathcart shows that, even absent traditional theological formulas and doctrines, Christianity can be a credible, meaningful, and practical means of negotiating worldly existence and experience. For Christians, There Is No God and Mary Is His Mother offers encouragement. For ex-Christians, it presents a different way of being a Christian than the one they've rejected. For atheists, it shows how Christianity can be an ally in affirming the here and now. Religionless Christianity is possible and desirable wherever and whenever it awakens personal and social transformation.
"After Ten Years" : Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Our Times
Victoria Barnett
How does one read the signs of the times? What does it mean to resist? How do we engage faithfully in struggle? Dietrich Bonhoeffer has achieved iconic status as one who epitomizes what it means to struggle and resist tyranny and fascism and how one acts in faithful witness as a religious and political commitment.
Bonhoeffer’s witness and example is more relevant than ever. A testimony to that is a crucial essay penned by Bonhoeffer in 1942; "After Ten Years" is a succinct and sober reflection, and remains one of the best descriptions ever written about what happened to the German people under National Socialism. This volume presents this timely and unique essay in a fresh translation and a penetrating introduction and analysis of the importance of this essay—in Bonhoeffer’s time and now in our own.
Theologian of Resistance: The Life and Thought of Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Christiane Tietz
Since Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s death in 1945, he has continued to fascinate and compel readers as a theologian, witness, and martyr. In this new biography, Christiane Tietz masterfully portrays the interconnectedness of Bonhoeffer’s life and thought, theology and politics, discipleship, witness, and resistance, tracing the path from his childhood to his imprisonment and execution. Brief, lucid, and accessible, Tietz’s new account brings Bonhoeffer’s story and work to life in a vivid retelling, unfolding his important and widely read texts in the process. The volume also includes previously unseen pictures.
Engaging Bonhoeffer: The Impact and Influence of Bonhoeffer's Life and Thought
Engaging Bonhoeffer documents the extraordinary impact of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's life and writing on later thought. Despite his lasting legacy, little substantial scholarship has been conducted in this area. In this magisterial collection, leading international scholars fill this striking gap and critically demonstrate the ways in which Bonhoeffer has been one of the most inspirational writers of the twentieth century. In addition to shedding light on the different trajectories that Bonhoeffer's work may forge, Engaging Bonhoeffer offers a critical window through which to view the ideas of many leading theological voices.