This may surprise some of you, it even surprised me a little, but I have a new favorite theologian. Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
I’ve known about Bonhoeffer for a few years and I even saw a play about him and read a collection of some of his letters. I highly respected the man but didn’t know a whole lot about him, his life, and his theology beyond the basic details. However, I just finished reading a most wonderful book about Bonhoeffer: Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Prophet, Martyr, Spy by Eric Metaxas. And now I want to read everything ever written by or about Bonhoeffer and he’s my new favorite theologian.
This book is the perfect combination of biography, history, theology, spirituality, church drama, friendship, love story, and tragedy. The book is a whopping 542 pages long (not including the notes and index), but it was 542 pages of fascinating and compelling information. It’s not at all “dry” as many biographies can be. Eric Metaxas did a great job writing this book, but with a person as interesting, inspiring, and incredible as Bonhoeffer, I think it would have been difficult to write a bad book about Bonhoeffer.
You really should read this book or at least look at the Wikipedia page about Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
But here are some brief words about Bonhoeffer that I know won’t adequately describe the man and his life, but here it goes:
Born in 1906 in Germany, Bonhoeffer knew from a young age that he wanted to study theology. Bonhoeffer excelled in his studies and was a prolific writer throughout his life. He became a Lutheran pastor as soon as he was old enough to do so. He spent time in Spain and London as a pastor to German people living there. He studied for a year at Union Theological Seminary in New York. Spent time as a pastor in Germany, led and taught at a seminary that was illegal back in Germany, worked closely with ecumenical leaders from Europe and the US, worked as a spy, and became involved in a conspiracy to kill Adolf Hitler. Throughout the 1930s, Bonhoeffer actively spoke out against Hitler and the Third Reich. Furthermore, he encouraged the church to do the same and to stand up for those who did not have a voice under Hitler’s rule- the Jews, the sick, the disabled. Eventually the Gestapo arrested Bonhoeffer and he spent 18 months in a prison in Berlin and spent the final months of his life imprisoned at concentration camps before he was executed for his involvement with the plots to kill Hitler.
When things got bad in Germany in the 1930s Bonhoeffer was given the opportunity to live and work in the US where he would be safe, but he decided to return to Germany to be with his people, to work with others to end the atrocities led by Hitler, and to suffer the same fate of many of the Jews that he was trying to save.
Throughout his life, Bonhoeffer was fully in tune with God’s will. His own safety and well-being meant little to him. Bonhoeffer’s faith and devotion to God was incredibly strong (although, Bonhoeffer would probably have said that it was God’s devotion and love to him that made Bonhoeffer so strong). Even while in prison, Bonhoeffer continued his daily Bible reading, prayer, and hymn singing. He was always a source of comfort and strength for those around him.
I have been searching for a Lutheran leader/theologian to look up to- a Lutheran hero, and Bonhoeffer is definitely what I have been looking for. Most of the Christian leaders and theologians that I looked up to are Catholic, which certainly isn’t a bad thing, but it’s nice to have someone from my own religious tradition to look to for inspiration and an example of how to live out life as a Christian. It’s good to have this example of how one Lutheran lived his life and gave his life for community, peace, and justice.
I’m so excited to read more of Bonhoeffer’s writings. I think the thing that most impresses me about Bonhoeffer is that he loved the academic side of theology, but I doubt that he ever wrote or said anything about God, religion, or spirituality that he wasn’t fully prepared live out. For Bonhoeffer, theology and Christianity are things to be acted out not just talked about. We could really use more people like Bonhoeffer who are willing to be authentic Christians by taking a stand against injustice in the world. We can all learn so much from people like Bonhoeffer along with so many others who have and continue to stand up to say that justice must prevail.
