[easyazon-image align=”left” asin=”0830827161″ locale=”us” height=”110″ src=”http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/519NlJ7ueeL._SL110_.jpg” width=”73″]Page 2: Bonhoeffer, Christ and Culture, K Johnson/T Larsen, Eds.
In the same way, Daniel Treier’s essay “Modernity’s Machine: Technology Coming of Age in Bonhoeffer’s Apocalyptic Proverbs,” sheds some light on another feature of Bonhoeffer’s thought that has not been extensively examined. Treier ponders what resources Bonhoeffer’s Christocentric reflections on anthropology provide for a thoroughly theological approach to modernity, and specifically the technologies associated with modernity. In a manner both similar to and dissimilar to the work of Jacques Ellul, Treier argues, Bonhoeffer’s analysis of power and freedom in light of the cross can help Christians navigate the always complicated and often confusing realities inherent in this brave new world in which they live.
Finally, an essay by Keith Johnson, “Bonhoeffer and the End of the Christian Academy” applies Bonhoeffer’s thought to the question of education, arguing that, even and especially within Bonhoeffer’s Christ-centered view of reality, the church and academy have to be engaged with one another at a deeper level than is often the case. As Johnson writes, “The academy’s goal cannot be merely to offer a Christian perspective or worldview on higher education; rather, the goal has to be to form disciples who think and live faithfully in the church for the sake of the world.”
In addition to these somewhat novel explorations of Bonhoeffer’s work, this collection also has much to offer that will be more familiar to those who have engaged primarily with Bonhoeffer’s more popular works and with the more well-known features of his biography. “The Evangelization of Rulers,” by Stephen J. Plant, examines Bonhoeffer’s political theology as it related to the Germany of his day, arguing that Bonhoeffer’s view of “ultimate and penultimate things,” informed as it was by an incarnational theology, held that political authorities were always accountable to God, a belief that informed his response to the rise of the Nazis. An essay by Charles Marsh explores Bonhoeffer’s theological formation; one by Lori Brandt Hale looks at his take on vocation; and two essays (“Death Together” by Joel Lawrence and “The Secret of Finkenwalde: Liturgical Treason” by Jim Belcher) examine the communal and liturgical life at Finkenwalde, the seaside seminary where Bonhoeffer and a small group of students embarked upon a simple yet subversive experiment in Christian community that—through Bonhoeffer’s work Life Together—continues to inspire Christians decades later.
The life and legacy of Dietrich Bonhoeffer will undoubtedly continue to fascinate Christians of all stripes and provide fodder for countless arguments about whose “side” this influential thinker would be on were he alive today. This book does not solve these dilemmas, nor does it attempt to. What the authors represented in Bonhoeffer, Christ and Culture do is to present a picture of a real man who was deeply engaged with and even somewhat tormented by the problems of his age, and who saw the person of Christ and the message of the cross as the reality through which all other realities could be understood. Thus, the Bonhoeffer that one encounters in this book, as complex a figure as he might be, is also an important conversation partner for anyone wrestling with the place of the church in the world.
C. Christopher Smith is the founding editor of The Englewood Review of Books. He is also author of a number of books, including most recently How the Body of Christ Talks: Recovering the Practice of Conversation in the Church (Brazos Press, 2019). Connect with him online at: C-Christopher-Smith.com
 Reading for the Common Good From ERB Editor Christopher Smith "This book will inspire, motivate and challenge anyone who cares a whit about the written word, the world of ideas, the shape of our communities and the life of the church." -Karen Swallow Prior Enter your email below to sign up for our weekly newsletter & download your FREE copy of this ebook! |
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