Theologian of Resistance: The Life and Thought of Dietrich Bonhoeffer

by Christiane Tietz

Overview

Since Dietrich Bonhoeffers 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 Bonhoeffers 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, Tietzs new account brings Bonhoeffers 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781506408446
Publisher:	Augsburg Fortress, Publishers
Publication date:	09/01/2016
Pages:	150
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Christiane Tietz is professor of systematic theology and social ethics at the University of Zurich and is chairperson of the German section of the International Bonhoeffer Society. She is a member of the council of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) and coeditor of Dietrich Bonhoeffers Christentum (2011).

Table of Contents

Preface vii

Chapter 1 From Breslau to Berlin, 1906-1923 1

Family Influences 1

Childhood and Youth in Berlin 3

The Decision to Study Theology 4

Chapter 2 The Return from Tubingen to Berlin, 1923-1927 7

Two Semesters at Tübingen 7

A Journey to Italy 8

Theological Berlin 9

The Community of Saints 10

"What Is Better: School or Vacation?" 12

Chapter 3 Wider Horizons, 1928-1931 13

Bonhoeffer's Time as Vicar in Barcelona 13

Assistantship in Berlin 18

A Student in New York 19

Chapter 4 Beginnings, 1931-1932 25

Bonhoeffer's Encounter with Karl Barth 25

First Ecumenical Engagement 26

First Pastorate 28

First Lectures at the University 30

"For the First Time, I Came to the Bible" 33

Chapter 5 The Beginning Church Struggle, 1933 35

Hitler Takes Power 35

The Situation of the Church 36

Chapter 6 Pastor in London, 1933-1935 45

The "Calm of the Parish Ministry" 45

"The Disloyal Clergy Abroad" 47

Bonhoeffer's Peace Speech in Fanø 49

Return to Germany 52

Chapter 7 Director of a Preachers' Seminary, 1935-1937 55

Brotherly Life 55

Discipleship 60

Pressures on the Confessing Church 64

Chapter 8 The Path into Illegality, 1937-1940 69

The New Form of Seminary 69

Life Together 71

The Crisis of the Confessing Church 73

A Way Out in the United States? 77

Chapter 9 The Conspiracy Period, 1940-1943 81

Preparations for a Coup 81

Ethics 83

"Dear Miss von Wedemeyer" 88

Chapter 10 Prisoner in Tegel, 1943-1945 93

Locked Up 93

Resistance and Submission 97

Love Letters from Cell 92 105

The Final Months 110

Epilogue: A Modern Saint? 111

The Reception of BonhoefFer after 1945 111

Dietrich Bonhoeffer Today 118

Chronology 123

Bibliography 131

Index 135