Bonhoeffer, Christ and Culture

de Keith L. Johnson, Timothy Larsen

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) was one of the most compelling theologians of the twentieth century. A complex mix of scholarship and passion, his life and writings continue to fascinate and challenge Christians worldwide. Bonhoeffer was a pastor, teacher and writer on Christian theology and ethics. He graduated from the University of Berlin and earned his doctorate in theology at the age of twenty-one. While pursuing postgraduate work at New York's Union Theological Seminary, he was profoundly influenced by his unanticipated involvement with the African-American Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem. He was active in the struggle against the German Christian movement in the 1930s and was later involved in the resistance against Hitler that plotted his assassination. In protest against the Nazi regime's interference with the work of the church, Bonhoeffer became head of an underground seminary for the resisting Confessing Church in Germany. At the 2012 Wheaton Theology Conference, Bonhoeffer's thought and ministry were explored in stimulating presentations. Bonhoeffer's views of Jesus Christ, the Christian community and the church's engagement with culture enjoyed special focus. Throughout it is clear that in the twenty-first century, Bonhoeffer's legacy is as provocative and powerful as ever. - Back cover.