Letters and Papers from Prison (Reader’s Edition)
Digital Logos Edition
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Overview
Despite Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s earlier theological achievements and writings, it was his correspondence and notes from prison that electrified the postwar world six years after his death in 1945. The materials gathered and selected by his friend Eberhard Bethge in Letters and Papers from Prison not only brought Bonhoeffer to a wide and appreciative readership, especially in North America, they also introduced to a broad readership his novel and exciting ideas of religionless Christianity, his open and honest theological appraisal of Christian doctrines, and his sturdy, if sorely tried, faith in face of uncertainty and doubt. This splendid volume, in some ways the capstone of the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works series, presents the full array of Bonhoeffer’s 1943–1945 prison letters and theological writings. Using the acclaimed English translation and adapted to a more accessible format, this new edition features supplemental material from Victoria J. Barnett and an insightful introduction by John W. de Gruchy to clarify the theological meaning and social importance of Bonhoeffer’s prison writings.
Top Highlights
“Who stands firm? Only the one whose ultimate standard is not his reason, his principles, conscience, freedom, or virtue; only the one who is prepared to sacrifice all of these when, in faith and in relationship to God alone, he is called to obedient and responsible action. Such a person is the responsible one, whose life is to be nothing but a response to God’s question and call. Where are these responsible ones?” (Page 6)
“I believe that God can and will let good come out of everything, even the greatest evil. For that to happen, God needs human beings who let everything work out for the best. I believe that in every moment of distress God will give us as much strength to resist as we need. But it is not given to us in advance, lest we rely on ourselves and not on God alone. In such faith all fear of the future should be overcome. I believe that even our mistakes and shortcomings are not in vain and that it is no more difficult for God to deal with them than with our supposedly good deeds. I believe that God is no timeless fate but waits for and responds to sincere prayer and responsible actions.” (Page 13)
“It remains an experience of incomparable value that we have for once learned to see the great events of world history from below, from the perspective of the outcasts, the suspects, the maltreated, the powerless, the oppressed and reviled, in short from the perspective of the suffering.” (Page 20)
“The God of the Bible is not the god of ‘religion,’ but the ‘suffering God,’ and this was the starting point for Bonhoeffer’s ‘worldly interpretation.’” (Page xv)
- Title: Letters and Papers from Prison (Reader’s Edition)
- Author: Dietrich Bonhoeffer
- Edition: Reader’s Edition
- Series: Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works
- Publisher: Fortress Press
- Print Publication Date: 2015
- Logos Release Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Bonhoeffer, Dietrich, 1906-1945 › Correspondence; Bonhoeffer, Dietrich, 1906-1945
- ISBNs: 9781506402741, 9781506402758, 9781451650532, 1506402747, 1506402755, 1451650531
- Resource ID: LLS:LTTRSPPRSPRSN
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T01:23:44Z
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945), a German theologian, pastor, and ecumenist, was a professor in Berlin, an uncompromising teacher in the Confessing Church, and a consistent opponent of National Socialism. Executed by Hitler at the end of World War II, his influence continues today as one of the most important theologians of the twentieth century. Bonhoeffer penned countless letters, portions of fiction, and several works on theology and ethics that have shaped modern religious thought. Life Together and The Cost of Discipleship are two examples of this modern martyr’s enduring legacy.