"Then came the crisis of 1933." This is Bonhoeffer's own phrase in a letter that documents a turning point in his own life as well as that of the nation. Of Bonhoeffer's own life at this time, his biographer writes, "The period of learning and roaming" from 1928 until 1931 "had come to an end" as the young lecturer, age 26, began to teach "on a faculty whose theology he did not share" and to preach "in a church whose self-confidence he regarded as unfounded." Bonhoeffer was becoming part of a society "that was moving toward political, social, and economic chaos."
Events moved quickly at the onset of 1933 in Berlin. In only one hundred days the path was cleared by the German Parliament and the Nazi Party for the establishment of the fascist dictatorship. These one hundred days, as well as the preceding and succeeding months, are reflected in the materials in this volume: in letters, in sermons, in Bonhoeffer's university teaching, in manifestos and a church confession, and in his proactive engagement in the developing church struggle. The vast majority of these are translated here for the first time.
"Then came the crisis of 1933." This is Bonhoeffer's own phrase in a letter that documents a turning point in his own life as well as that of the nation. Of Bonhoeffer's own life at this time, his biographer writes, "The period of learning and roaming" from 1928 until 1931 "had come to an end" as the young lecturer, age 26, began to teach "on a faculty whose theology he did not share" and to preach "in a church whose self-confidence he regarded as unfounded." Bonhoeffer was becoming part of a society "that was moving toward political, social, and economic chaos."
Events moved quickly at the onset of 1933 in Berlin. In only one hundred days the path was cleared by the German Parliament and the Nazi Party for the establishment of the fascist dictatorship. These one hundred days, as well as the preceding and succeeding months, are reflected in the materials in this volume: in letters, in sermons, in Bonhoeffer's university teaching, in manifestos and a church confession, and in his proactive engagement in the developing church struggle. The vast majority of these are translated here for the first time.
Isabel Best has contributed translations to a number of volumes in
the English language series of Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works published
by Fortress Press, including Letters and Papers from Prison, Vol. 8
(2009), Berlin: 1932-1933, Vol. 12(2009), London, 1933-1935, Vol.
13 (2007), and Ecumenical, Academic, and Pastoral Work: 1931-1932,
Vol. 11 (2012). She was also the translator of Ferdinand
Schlingensiepen"s Dietrich Bonhoeffer 1906-1945: Martyr, Thinker,
Man of Resistance (2010).
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was one of the most significant Protestant
theologians of the twentieth century, a legacy sealed by his
imprisonment in a German concentration camp and eventual execution.
His resistance against Nazism and pivotal role in the Confessing
Church movement have been key points of illumination for many on
the nature of Christian political witness and action. Millions have
been inspired by his rich reflections on the Christian life,
especially his beloved works on discipleship and ethics. As a
professor, seminary leader, and ecumenical theologian, Bonhoeffer's
work also profoundly shaped academic theology, especially
systematic theology, and the life of the church.
Larry L. Rasmussen, a renowned Christian environmental ethicist, is
Reinhold Niebuhr Professor of Social Ethics, emeritus, at Union
Theological Seminary. He is the author of Earth Community, Earth
Ethics; winner of the Grawemeyer Award; and a recipient of the
Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of Christian Ethics. He
has mentored a generation of scholars in eco-theology and green
religion, rooted in practices of environmental justice within
community contexts. He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
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