Dietrich Bonhoeffer legacy

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Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"Bonhoeffer is, without doubt, the man I admire most in the history of the twentieth century." Kevin Rudd "Faith in Politics" (2006)

Headed toward a brilliant career as a theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a young German Lutheran pastor, became instead a modern martyr for his opposition to Nazism and his involvement in a plot to assassinate Hitler. He excelled in his theological studies and had earned a doctorate by the age of twenty-four. He served as a pastor in Berlin, and in 1931 became a lecturer in the theological faculty. He was in London for a while pastoring two German congregations, and returned in 1935 to head an illegal seminary for training pastors for the Confessing Church that opposed Hitler. During the war Bohhoeffer was a key leader in the Confessing Church, and spoke out bravely against the anti-semitic policies of the regime. He was imprisoned in April 1943 for conspiracy and hanged two years later, just before the end of the war.                                                                                                Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Bonhoeffer's most widely ready book, The Cost of Discipleship,                 1906 - 1945
begins with these words: 'Cheap grace is the mortal enemy of our
church. Our struggle today is for costly grace.' His writings were and are a clarion call to church of what it means to follow Christ in the modern world, where faith is tested on every side and even government can become criminal and godless.

"Who am I?"-- A poem from prison

The ALC Library has a wide range of resources covering his life and works. To complement his complete works (in both German and English), the library also has DVD’s such as “Bonhoeffer, agent of grace” and “Hanged on a twisted cross” or for some extra reading, try Stephen Plant’s biography simply titled “Bonhoeffer” or "Bonhoeffer as martyr" by Craig J. Slane. Browse the online catalogue for the whole spectrum of material.

Updated: 7/12/2006 [1.00]

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