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Dietrich Bonhoeffer's theology emerged from the intersection of several contesting streams of the Protestant tradition: high theological liberalism, and the 'Luther renaissance' and 'dialectical theology' movements of the early decades of the 20th century. It is marked by consistent and intense engagement with the Bible read as Christian Scripture and so centred upon Jesus Christ. To appreciate Bonhoeffer's theology requires that we grasp his commitment to Christ as the self-communicative presence of the living God whose identity and agency determines not only Christian life and thought, but all of reality itself. Bonhoeffer's theology continues to influence the direction of contemporary Christian life as well as provoke serious theological reflection wherever it is engaged. Examining Bonhoeffer's theology as a whole, this book points readers to the essential concerns of Bonhoeffer's theology with an eye to the varied careers this theology has had since his death. Following an introductory discussion of his life and literary legacy, Part One considers Bonhoeffer's christology, arguing for its decisive significance to his vision of the nature and tasks of Christian theology. Part Two traverses Bonhoeffer's thought, treating in turn his ecclesiology, anthropology and ethics, and Christian politics. Exploration of each of these themes is deepened by examining the reception and impact Bonhoeffer's theology upon the intense church struggles of the last half of the 20th century, particularly those within the former East Germany, North America, and South Africa under apartheid
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About the author
Philip Ziegler is presently Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology at the Atlantic School of Theology, Halifax, Canada. Before joining this teaching faculty, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Princeton University's Center for the Study of Religion, where he researched the work on Paul L. Lehmann, Bonhoeffer's closest American associate. In addition to editing a special Festschrift issue of the Toronto Journal of Theology (Spring 2001) and a posthumous collection of the work of George P. Schner, Essays Catholic and Critical (Ashgate, 2002), he has translated articles by Eberhard Jÿngel and Wolf Krötke for publication in English. His own published writing includes "Doing Conscience Over: The Reformulation of the Doctrine of Conscience in Karl Barth and Paul Lehmann", Toronto Journal of Theology (1998), "God and Some Recent Public Theologies", International Journal of Systematic Theology (2002), "Authority" in The Encyclopedia of Protestantism. (Routledge, 2003) and "Justification and Justice-The Promising Problematique of Protestant Ethics in the Work of Paul L. Lehmann," in the Berliner Theologische Zeitschift (2004). He is the General Secretary of the Karl Barth Society of North America, as well a member of the Canadian Theological Society and the American Academy of Religion.
Summary
Dietrich Bonhoeffer's theology emerged from the intersection of several contesting streams of the Protestant tradition: high theological liberalism, and the 'Luther renaissance' and 'dialectical theology' movements of the early decades of the 20th century. It is marked by consistent and intense engagement with the Bible read as Christian Scripture and so centred upon Jesus Christ. To appreciate Bonhoeffer's theology requires that we grasp his commitment to Christ as the self-communicative presence of the living God whose identity and agency determines not only Christian life and thought, but all of reality itself. Bonhoeffer's theology continues to influence the direction of contemporary Christian life as well as provoke serious theological reflection wherever it is engaged. Examining Bonhoeffer's theology as a whole, this book points readers to the essential concerns of Bonhoeffer's theology with an eye to the varied careers this theology has had since his death. Following an introductory discussion of his life and literary legacy, Part One considers Bonhoeffer's christology, arguing for its decisive significance to his vision of the nature and tasks of Christian theology. Part Two traverses Bonhoeffer's thought, treating in turn his ecclesiology, anthropology and ethics, and Christian politics. Exploration of each of these themes is deepened by examining the reception and impact Bonhoeffer's theology upon the intense church struggles of the last half of the 20th century, particularly those within the former East Germany, North America, and South Africa under apartheid
