German History, Christian Biography, Religious Biography, History of Christianity

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy

Name: Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy
Author: Eric Metaxas
ISBN: 9781595552464

by Eric Metaxas

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Overview

Winner of the 2011 Christian Book of the Year and 2011 Christian Book Award for Nonfiction

From the New York Times bestselling author of Amazing Grace, a groundbreaking biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, one of the greatest heroes of the twentieth century, the man who stood up to Hitler.

A definitive, deeply moving narrative, Bonhoeffer is a story of moral courage in the face of the monstrous evil that was Nazism.

After discovering the fire of true faith in a Harlem church, Bonhoeffer returned to Germany and became one of the first to speak out against Hitler. As a double-agent, he joined the plot to assassinate the Fuhrer, and was hanged in Flossenberg concentration camp at age 39. Since his death, Bonhoeffer has grown to be one of the most fascinating, complex figures of the 20th century.

Bonhoeffer presents a profoundly orthodox Christian theologian whose faith led him to boldly confront the greatest evil of the 20th century, and uncovers never-before-revealed facts, including the story of his passionate romance.

Synopsis

WHO BETTER TO FACE THE GREATEST EVIL OF THE 20TH CENTURY THAN A HUMBLE MAN OF FAITH?

As Adolf Hitler and the Nazis seduced a nation, bullied a continent, and attempted to exterminate the Jews of Europe, a small number of dissidents and saboteurs worked to dismantle the Third Reich from the inside. One of these was Dietrich Bonhoeffer--a pastor and author. In this New York Times best-selling biography, Eric Metaxas takes both strands of Bonhoeffer's life--the theologian and the spy--and draws them together to tell a searing story of incredible moral courage in the face of monstrous evil. Metaxas presents the fullest accounting of Bonhoeffer's heart-wrenching decision to leave the safe haven of America to return to Hitler's Germany, and sheds new light on Bonhoeffer's involvement in the famous Valkyrie plot and in "Operation 7," the effort to smuggle Jews into neutral Switzerland. In a deeply moving narrative, Metaxas uses previously unavailable documents'including personal letters, detailed journal entries, and firsthand personal accounts'to reveal dimensions of Bonhoeffer's life and theology never before seen.

"Bonhoeffer is the story of a life framed by a passion for truth and a commitment to justice on behalf of those who face implacable evil. Includes Readers' Guide "[A] beautifully constructed biography."

--Alan Wolfe, The New Republic

"Metaxas tells Bonhoeffer's story with passion and theological sophistication. . . ."

--Wall Street Journal

"[A] weighty, riveting analysis of the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. . . ."

--Publishers Weekly

"Metaxas presents Bonhoeffer as a clear-headed, deeply convicted Christian who submitted to no one and nothing except God and his Word."

--Christianity Today

"Metaxas has written a book that adds a new dimension to World War II, a new understanding of how evil can seize the soul of a nation and a man of faith can confront it. . . ."

--Thomas Fleming, author, The New Dealers' War

"Metaxas has created a biography of uncommon power--intelligent, moving, well researched,vividly written, and rich in implication for our own lives. Or to put it another way: Buy this book. Read it. Then buy another copy and give it to a person you love. It's that good."

--Archbishop Charles Chaput, First Things

"A definitive Bonhoeffer biography for the 21st century."

--Kirkus Reviews

2011 ECPA Book of the Year 2011 Canterbury Medal by the Becket Fund recognizing courage in the defense of religious liberty 2011 Christopher Award winner highlighting the power of faith, courage, and action

"A definitive Bonhoeffer biography for the 21st century."

-Kirkus Reviews

About the Author, Eric Metaxas

Eric Metaxas is the author of New York Times#1 bestseller Bonhoeffer. He is currently the voice of BreakPoint, heard across 1,400
radio outlets by an audience of 8 million. He currently lives in New York with his wife and daughter.

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly

In this weighty, riveting analysis of the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Metaxas (Amazing Grace) offers a comprehensive review of one of history's darkest eras, along with a fascinating exploration of the familial, cultural and religious influences that formed one of the world's greatest contemporary theologians. A passionate narrative voice combines with meticulous research to unpack the confluence of circumstances and personalities that led Germany from the defeat of WWI to the atrocities of WWII. Abundant source documentation (sermons, letters, journal entries, lectures, the Barman Declaration) brings to life the personalities and experiences that shaped Bonhoeffer: his highly intellectual, musical family; theologically liberal professors, pastoral colleagues and students; his extensive study, work, and travel abroad. Tracing Bonhoeffer's developing call to be a Jeremiah-like prophet in his own time and a growing understanding that the church was called "to speak for those who could not speak," Metaxas details Bonhoeffer's role in religious resistance to Nazism, and provides a compelling account of the faith journey that eventually involved the Lutheran pastor in unsuccessful attempts to assassinate Hitler. Insightful and illuminating, this tome makes a powerful contribution to biography, history and theology.
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Library Journal

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–45) is high on any list of Protestant saints: a gifted pastor-theologian, he resisted Hitler's Nazification of the German Church, worked tirelessly to organize the dissenting Confessing Church, and was ultimately hanged following his involvement in a failed plot on Hitler's life. Despite these credentials, fundamentalists have traditionally warned students of the dangers of Bonhoeffer's liberalism. Metaxas (Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign To End Slavery) offers a moving, comprehensive, and engaging biography of the martyr's life, sensitively playing up those aspects of Bonhoeffer that will evoke evangelical sympathies, while dismissing radical theology's appropriation of Bonhoeffer as unjustified. Metaxas tells a compelling story, but his portrayal of theological issues is weak and slips into caricature. Nonetheless, his book will communicate with its intended evangelical audience. VERDICT Recommended, but readers seeking more nuanced scholarship may prefer Ferdinand Schlingensiepen's Dietrich Bonhoeffer 1906–1945: Martyr, Thinker, Man of Resistance, due out in June. Those interested in Bonhoeffer's theology (especially his ethics) should turn to Larry Rasmussen's Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Reality and Resistance.—Steve Young, McHenry Cty. Coll., Crystal Lake, IL

Kirkus Reviews

A welcome new biography of one of the 20th century's leading lights. Metaxas (Everything You Always Wanted to Know About God: The Jesus Edition, 2010, etc.) magnificently captures the life of theologian and anti-Nazi activist Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), who "thought it the plain duty of the Christian-and the privilege and honor-to suffer with those who suffered." In the finest treatment of the man since Eberhard Bethge's Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Man of Vision, Man of Courage (1970), Metaxas presents a complete, accessible picture of this important figure, whose story is inspiring, instructive and international in scope. Coming of age in Germany at the close of World War I, the precocious Bonhoeffer quickly became a rising star on the international theological scene. In the 1930s he became a leader of the Confessing Church movement, which stood against Hitler, and helped organize its underground seminary. He also joined the Abwehr, the German intelligence agency in which foment against Hitler was most active. Bonhoeffer took part in the conspiracy to kill Hitler, which caused his imprisonment and eventual hanging, just weeks before the end of the war. Throughout this period he also wrote some of the greatest works of practical theology to come out of the first half of the 20th century. Metaxas rightly focuses on his subject's life, not his theology, though readers will learn plenty about his theology as well. The author makes liberal use of primary sources, which bring Bonhoeffer and other characters to vivid life. For the most part, Metaxas allows this epic story to play itself out, unhindered by commentary; where he does add his own voice, the conclusions are sage. A definitive Bonhoeffer biography for the 21st century.