Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Reality And Resistance

By Larry L. Rasmussen

What led Dietrich Bonhoeffer to his momentous decision to be involved in the plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler on July 20, 1944? What is the relation between his resistance activities and his theological and ethical reflections? Exploring these and other intriguing and complex relationships in Bonhoeffer's life and throughout the turbulent 1930s and 1940s, Larry Rasmussen characterizes Bonhoeffer's resistance as an enactment of his Christology lived out with utter seriousness. Originally published in 1972 and now updated with a new introduction by the author, Dietrich Bonhoeffer remains the defining study of Bonhoeffer's views of Jesus Christ, his ethics, and his resistance against Hitler and the Nazi regime.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0664230113
• ISBN13: 9780664230111
• Release Date: November 2005
• Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Bonhoeffer: Reality and Resistance

The author sets out to show that the changes in Bonhoeffer's Pacifism was not a turn around in his ethical or theological thinking, but an expansion of both ethical and theological interpretation that was at the heart of Bonhoeffer's earlier work. His search through the writings of Bonhoeffer plus interviews and writings of contemporary leaders and friends shows us in some detail how changing contemporary Social Patterns and Leadership had much to do with his re-thinking and actions and how those actions fitted in with his ethics and theology as written works. While some difference of opinion on these "adjustments" or "Changes" can be held, the author has written a very thorough analysis of Bonhoeffer through both his written works, both early and late. He also does a good job of showing how his actions follow his ethics and theology. This is a good academic study that is readable.