Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, vol. 13: London: 1933–1935
Overview
Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s pastoral sojourn in England from October 1933 to April of 1935, which he initially viewed as a withdrawal from the church clashes in Germany, marked instead a new phase in his intensive participation in that struggle. This enlightening volume provides an almost daily documentation of his deepening engagement against the placid backdrop of his two London pastorates.
Detailing Bonhoeffer’s extensive contacts with German expatriates, ecumenical partners and allies, and friends and family, London: 1933–1935 impressively records both Bonhoeffer’s involvement in the rapidly developing clash with the deutsche Christen and the means by which he pursued it.
The bulk of the material consists of his wide correspondence but also includes records and minutes of his congregational meetings, excerpts from the diaries of Bonhoeffer’s friend and London colleague Julius Rieger, reports from international conferences from 1934, and more than 20 sermons he preached to his London congregations. The wealth of this material, says editor Keith Clements, allows us to experience a dramatic slice of this history and see the many and complex facets of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s personality.
In the Logos edition, this valuable volume is enhanced by amazing functionality. Scripture citations link directly to English translations, and important terms link to dictionaries, encyclopedias, and a wealth of other resources in your digital library. Perform powerful searches to find exactly what you’re looking for. Take the discussion with you using tablet and mobile apps. With Logos Bible Software, the most efficient and comprehensive research tools are in one place, so you get the most out of your study.
Key Features
- Highlights the historical period that influenced the writings of this counter-cultural author
- Provides readers an opportunity to step into, and experience, a dramatic slice of history as it was lived day by day
- Contains sermons, letters, reports, lectures, documents, and meditations
Praise for the Print Edition
Bonhoeffer’s 18 months in London coincided with the most crucial period of the German church struggle. With a number of historical documents published here for the first time, this volume gives us a rare glimpse of his pivotal role from abroad and the early reactions to National Socialism in Great Britain. Beautifully translated, the letters and sermons give us new insights into Bonhoeffer himself.
—Victoria J. Barnett, director, church relations, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Taking its place in what has become a definitive series, this splendid new volume captures Dietrich Bonhoeffer busily at work in a lively new landscape. More than this, it yields a vivid glimpse of that bustling, wider realm of opinion, friendship, and endeavor which the crisis of National Socialism provoked beyond the borders of Germany itself. It is surely indispensable.
—Andrew Chandler, director, George Bell Institute, the University of Chichester
Bonhoeffer’s sojourn in London during 1933–1935 was as critical for his own formation as it was for his contribution to the German church struggle. Volume 13 demonstrates why this was so by providing us with as complete a record as possible of his London correspondence, sermons, talks, and reports. This is an enormously rich resource for anyone interested in Bonhoeffer’s life as thought during that earthshaking period in European history.
—John W. de Gruchy, Robert Selby Taylor Professor of Christian Studies, University of Cape Town, South Africa
Product Details
- Title: Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, vol. 13: London: 1933–1935
- Author: Dietrich Bonhoeffer
- Translator: Isabel Best
- Publisher: Augsburg Fortress
- Publication Date: 2007
- Pages: 550
About Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945) a German theologian, pastor, and ecumenist, was a professor in Berlin, an uncompromising teacher in the Confessing Church, and a consistent opponent of National Socialism. Executed by Hitler at the end of World War II, his influence continues today as one of the most important theologians of the twentieth century.
Top Highlights
“I no longer believe in the university; in fact I never really have believed in it—to your chagrin! The next generation of pastors, these days, ought to be trained entirely in church-monastic schools, where the pure doctrine, the Sermon on the Mount, and worship are taken seriously—which for all three of these things is simply not the case at the university and under the present circumstances is impossible.” (Page 217)
“They have been taken away from us—they are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them.” (Page 332)
“Where have our dead gone? Where shall we be after our own death?” (Page 331)
“It is hard to think like this, and it is even harder to believe—as we must believe—that it is this attitude alone which can overcome the world, that only through repentance can the world be renewed. So isn’t it fruitless to think this way? Does it make anything better? Yes, it does; it makes everything better. How so? Because through our repentance, God’s grace can find its way back to us; because in our repentance no human being can be in the right, but rather God alone is right in all God’s ways, whether in making us know fear or in showing us mercy.” (Page 370)
“There, where our understanding is outraged, where our nature rebels, where our piety anxiously keeps its distance—that is exactly where God loves to be. There, though it confounds the understanding of sensible people, though it irritates our nature and our piety, God wills to be, and none of us can forbid it.” (Page 343)
- Title: London: 1933–1935
- Author: Dietrich Bonhoeffer
- Series: Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works
- Volume: 13
- Publisher: Fortress Press
- Print Publication Date: 2007
- Logos Release Date: 2012
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Bonhoeffer, Dietrich, 1906-1945 › Correspondence; Theologians › Germany--Correspondence; Theology; Lutheran Church › Sermons; Sermons, German › Translations into English; Germany › Church history--1933-1945--Sources
- ISBNs: 9780800683139, 0800683137
- Resource ID: LLS:DBW13
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-29T23:12:45Z
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945), a German theologian, pastor, and ecumenist, was a professor in Berlin, an uncompromising teacher in the Confessing Church, and a consistent opponent of National Socialism. Executed by Hitler at the end of World War II, his influence continues today as one of the most important theologians of the twentieth century. Bonhoeffer penned countless letters, portions of fiction, and several works on theology and ethics that have shaped modern religious thought. Life Together and The Cost of Discipleship are two examples of this modern martyr’s enduring legacy.
