The Doubled Life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Women, Sexuality, and Nazi Germany
Few twentieth-century theologians have had a bigger impact on theology than Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a man who lived his faith and died at the hands of the Nazis. For Bonhoeffer, the theological was the personal, life and faith deeply intertwined--and to this day the world is inspired by that witness. Yet the true story of the women in this remarkable man's life has until now been obscured by a conventional narrative that has distorted their role. Using primary source material by the women, and even including the first ever photo of alleged "first fiancee" Elisabeth Zinn, this book "sees" these women fully for the first time. A highly readable but scholarly work of narrative nonfiction, The Doubled Life places Bonhoeffer's theology of love and sexuality within the context of his struggles with women, friendship, and the evils of Nazi Germany.
"Bonhoeffer finally learned the best theology is a kind of
writing that spans systematics, confession, narrative and poetry.
The engaging biographical writing of Diane Reynolds presents a
neglected side of the Bonhoeffer story: the place of women and the
presence of sexuality in the Christian discipleship and political
resistance of this German saint. This book will be a required text
in my Bonhoeffer graduate seminar."
--Scott Holland, Slabaugh Professor of Theology & Culture,
Director of Peace Studies at Bethany Theological Seminary;
contributing editor for CrossCurrents
"In her new book about Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Diane Reynolds
illuminates, for Bonhoeffer neophytes (like myself) and acolytes
alike, the shadows obscuring an enigmatic, influential Christian
author, whose crucial female influences have heretofore been
overlooked. Diane, a cross-disciplinary researcher whose
psychologically acute, reader-friendly probings into the shadows of
Jane Austen's enigmatic life and writings have stimulated and
informed my own Austenian literary sleuthing for many years,
provides groundbreaking insights into Bonhoeffer's life and
theology."
--Arnie Perlstein, self-styled literary sleuth, author of
book-in-progress about the (related) "shadow stories" of
Shakespeare and Jane Austen
"Diane Reynolds' The Doubled Life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer
offers a new and important perspective on the life of the German
theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Her broadening of our understanding
of Bonhoeffer's immense contribution resonates with the changes in
attitude toward homosexuality we are witnessing in the world today.
Not only was Bonhoeffer a committed pacifist and protector of Jews
during the Holocaust, but as Reynolds aptly suggests, Bonhoeffer's
sexual orientation may have heightened his sensitivity to the
plight of the marginalized under the Nazi Regime. Readers have much
to gain from Reynolds' insights."
--Elaine Pigeon, author of Queer Impressions: Henry James's Art
of Fiction
"Bonhoeffer finally learned the best theology is a kind of
writing that spans systematics, confession, narrative and poetry.
The engaging biographical writing of Diane Reynolds presents a
neglected side of the Bonhoeffer story: the place of women and the
presence of sexuality in the Christian discipleship and political
resistance of this German saint. This book will be a required text
in my Bonhoeffer graduate seminar."
--Scott Holland, Slabaugh Professor of Theology & Culture,
Director of Peace Studies at Bethany Theological Seminary;
contributing editor for CrossCurrents
"In her new book about Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Diane Reynolds
illuminates, for Bonhoeffer neophytes (like myself) and acolytes
alike, the shadows obscuring an enigmatic, influential Christian
author, whose crucial female influences have heretofore been
overlooked. Diane, a cross-disciplinary researcher whose
psychologically acute, reader-friendly probings into the shadows of
Jane Austen's enigmatic life and writings have stimulated and
informed my own Austenian literary sleuthing for many years,
provides groundbreaking insights into Bonhoeffer's life and
theology."
--Arnie Perlstein, self-styled literary sleuth, author of
book-in-progress about the (related) "shadow stories" of
Shakespeare and Jane Austen
"Diane Reynolds' The Doubled Life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer
offers a new and important perspective on the life of the German
theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Her broadening of our understanding
of Bonhoeffer's immense contribution resonates with the changes in
attitude toward homosexuality we are witnessing in the world today.
Not only was Bonhoeffer a committed pacifist and protector of Jews
during the Holocaust, but as Reynolds aptly suggests, Bonhoeffer's
sexual orientation may have heightened his sensitivity to the
plight of the marginalized under the Nazi Regime. Readers have much
to gain from Reynolds' insights."
--Elaine Pigeon, author of Queer Impressions: Henry James's Art
of Fiction
Product Details
- Title : The Doubled Life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Women, Sexuality, and Nazi Germany
- Author: Reynolds, Diane
- Publisher: Cascade Books
- Publication Date: 2016
- ISBN: 9781498206570
Diane Reynolds is an award-winning journalist whose work has appeared in The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, and Publishers Weekly among other publications. She teaches literature and writing at the university level and also holds an MDiv from Earlham School of Religion.