Bonhoeffer

A Review of Reconciliation: Restoring Justice by John W. De Gruchy

[1] John W. De Gruchy’s book Reconciliation: Restoring Justice is an appealing exploration of the process of truth and reconciliation in South Africa. In the history of truth commissions throughout the world, South Africa was the first to combine notions of truth and reconciliation. This combination, I believe, was due to the commission’s Chairman, the […]

Why Bonhoeffer? And, Why Now? A preface

A preface to a JLE portfolio on the life, theology and ethical constructs of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. [1] For the last two years running the semester’s start brought a knot of students to my door demanding a special reading course on Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Interest sparked by the week-long courses offered each January by the Rev. Dr. […]

A Spoke in the Wheel

[1] On April 9, 1945, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Protestant theologian and pastor of the Confessing Church, was condemned to death on charges of high treason by an SS special court and hanged in Flossenbürg concentration camp. He was one of the millions of victims of Nazi barbarity, one who had conciously taken sides with the persecuted […]

Bonhoeffer and Resistance to Evil

[1] “Who are you, Christ?” In her paper, “A Spoke in the Wheel,” Dr. Renate Wind has presented a compelling glimpse of a Christian whose probing of that question, that prayer, over the course of some of the most perilous years in human history can provide insight for us in our own potentially “perilous praxis.” […]

Bonhoeffer: The Movie

Interested in purchasing the movie? Click on this link to learn more about purchasing Bonhoeffer. [1] Year after year, decade after decade, the star of Dietrich Bonhoeffer seems to grow brighter and brighter. The impact of this inspiring martyr of the church struggle in Germany and throughout all of Europe in the decades of the […]

Bonhoeffer’s Appeal for Ethical Humility

[1] In 1939 Dietrich Bonhoeffer made his fateful decision to return to Germany from the United States. Within a year of his return, he became involved in the conspiracy against Adolf Hitler. [2] His involvement in the conspiracy led to his imprisonment and finally to his execution by the Nazis. Today Bonhoeffer is often celebrated […]

Readings from the Underside of Selfhood: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Spiritual Formation

Dahill, Lisa E. Readings from the Underside of Selfhood: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Spiritual Formation. Spiritus: A journal Of Christian Spirituality 1:2(2001), 186-203. ©The Johns Hopkins University Press. Reproduced with permission of The Johns Hopkins University Press. [1] Shirley is a bright, charming woman in her early sixties. She is a member of the congregation I […]

Rumors of War: The Need for a Lutheran Voice

[1] Lutherans will be of various minds regarding an impending war with Iraq. If you are like I am, you are still trying to sort out the “issues.” At this point, I do not know what we should say, but I am convinced that we should be involved in the debate. Specifically, I am convinced […]