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Product: Book
ISBN-10: 0-684-81501-X
ISBN-13: 9780684815015
Publisher: Touchstone
Country:
Year: September 1, 1995
Edition: 1st Touchstone Edition
Size: 13.97 x 21.34 x 2.29cm
Number of pages: 384
Weight: 340gr
Binding: Paperback
ISBN-10: 0-684-81501-X
ISBN-13: 9780684815015
Publisher: Touchstone
Country:
Year: September 1, 1995
Edition: 1st Touchstone Edition
Size: 13.97 x 21.34 x 2.29cm
Number of pages: 384
Weight: 340gr
Binding: Paperback
editions
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Clifford J. Green, Reinhard Krauss, Douglas W. Stott, Charles C. West
Augsburg Fortress Publishers; 2004
Hardcover
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Product Description
The Christian does not live in a vacuum, says the author, but in a world of government, politics, labor, and marriage. Hence, Christian ethics cannot exist in a vacuum; what the Christian needs, claims Dietrich Bonhoeffer, is concrete instruction in a concrete situation. Although the author died before completing his work, this book is recognized as a major contribution to Christian ethics.
The Christian does not live in a vacuum, says the author, but in a world of government, politics, labor, and marriage. Hence, Christian ethics cannot exist in a vacuum; what the Christian needs, claims Dietrich Bonhoeffer, is concrete instruction in a concrete situation. Although the author died before completing his work, this book is recognized as a major contribution to Christian ethics.
The root and ground of Christian ethics, the author says, is the reality of God as revealed in Jesus Christ. This reality is not manifest in the Church as distinct from the secular world; such a juxtaposition of two separate spheres, Bonhoeffer insists, is a denial of God's having reconciled the whole world to himself in Christ. On the contrary, God's commandment is to be found and known in the Church, the family, labor, and government. His commandment permits man to live as man before God, in a world God made, with responsibility for the institutions of that world.
reviews
Work in progress 
In the fist chapter Bonhoeffer argues against the notion that what is spiritual is good and what is physical is evil. In the second he turns our focus from asking what is good to asking what is the form of Christ in the church today. He than gives a short history how the West has become godless
In the fist chapter Bonhoeffer argues against the notion that what is spiritual is good and what is physical is evil. In the second he turns our focus from asking what is good to asking what is the form of Christ in the church today. He than gives a short history how the West has become godless
A voice that deserves to be heard
You can't speed read Bonhoeffer; as a German he was used to a high degree of order and formality in his life and this is reflected in his writing style. But his is a voice that deserves to be heard, because he was so acutely aware of the horror of the Nazi rule in his native land and his treatise on ethics was written in this environment. Throughout its writing, Bonhoeffer knew that at any time he might be executed by the Nazis, which is what finally happened just days before the war's end. As when reading The Cost of Discipleship, I found myself understanding and agreeing with Bonhoeffer most of the time, but at times I couldn't quite connect – perhaps because I haven't reached the depth of his faith or his sensitivity to the issues on which he wrote.
You can't speed read Bonhoeffer; as a German he was used to a high degree of order and formality in his life and this is reflected in his writing style. But his is a voice that deserves to be heard, because he was so acutely aware of the horror of the Nazi rule in his native land and his treatise on ethics was written in this environment. Throughout its writing, Bonhoeffer knew that at any time he might be executed by the Nazis, which is what finally happened just days before the war's end. As when reading The Cost of Discipleship, I found myself understanding and agreeing with Bonhoeffer most of the time, but at times I couldn't quite connect – perhaps because I haven't reached the depth of his faith or his sensitivity to the issues on which he wrote.
The Theology of Personal Responsibility
Bonhoeffer fleshes out the theology of what the responsible person is. He makes the argument that we cannot compartmentalize our faith and our lives in reality--something we all too readily do. He believes that we must not only live as good people individually (or, as he rephrases the issues, trying to do what God wants) but that we are social creatures and therefore must try to live within a good society that we help create. Interestingly, he ties this to the state. A breathtaking passage involves his invoking the void which threatens all of us (I take it to mean that he is referring not just to evil, but also to materialism/secularism) and that it is the state--flawed as it is--which acts as a »restrainer« on evil. This section alone is worth the price of the book.
Bonhoeffer fleshes out the theology of what the responsible person is. He makes the argument that we cannot compartmentalize our faith and our lives in reality--something we all too readily do. He believes that we must not only live as good people individually (or, as he rephrases the issues, trying to do what God wants) but that we are social creatures and therefore must try to live within a good society that we help create. Interestingly, he ties this to the state. A breathtaking passage involves his invoking the void which threatens all of us (I take it to mean that he is referring not just to evil, but also to materialism/secularism) and that it is the state--flawed as it is--which acts as a »restrainer« on evil. This section alone is worth the price of the book.
A House Built on a Solid Foundation 
Dietrich has left the church a stunning book that came out of one of the darkest periods in the history of mankind. Ethics offers every reader many challenges and dares them to confront the reality of Christian thought and the assumptions which drive the church. No where else outside of Scripture have I seen or heard the challenge of Jesus expressed so clearly as I have in Ethics. If you let it this book will challenge you to radical change in the name of God and it will help you begin to understand who you are in Him. This is not a substitution for Scripture but rather it is a clear expression of the conviction that Scripture placed in Dietrich Bonhoeffer's life. This book is highly intellectual and will require a good deal of effort and meditation to work through. It is a work that will truly be »over the heads« of most readers but we must endeavor to read and explore it anyway as few over the last century have so clearly glimpsed into the mind of God through the writings of Scripture.
Dietrich has left the church a stunning book that came out of one of the darkest periods in the history of mankind. Ethics offers every reader many challenges and dares them to confront the reality of Christian thought and the assumptions which drive the church. No where else outside of Scripture have I seen or heard the challenge of Jesus expressed so clearly as I have in Ethics. If you let it this book will challenge you to radical change in the name of God and it will help you begin to understand who you are in Him. This is not a substitution for Scripture but rather it is a clear expression of the conviction that Scripture placed in Dietrich Bonhoeffer's life. This book is highly intellectual and will require a good deal of effort and meditation to work through. It is a work that will truly be »over the heads« of most readers but we must endeavor to read and explore it anyway as few over the last century have so clearly glimpsed into the mind of God through the writings of Scripture.
An Unfinished Theological Masterpiece
Bonhoeffer offers penetrating theological, ethical, and spirtual insight in this unfinished, posthumously published book. I feel that this work has more to offer than the Cost of Discipleship and more to offer academically (perhaps not spiritually) than Letters and Papers From Prison. It has a more mature feel than The Cost of Discipleship (rightly so, given it was written after). Bonhoeffer's writing style is incredibly clear and straigthforward. In an almost Nietzschean fashion, Bonhoeffer gets right to the point and does not weigh the reader down with non-essentials. It's two greatest weaknesses are that it is unfinished and the chapters were ordered by Bonhoeffer's friend, leaving one wondering how Bonhoeffer would have desired its organization. Its greatest strength is that it offers a theology that is academically rigorous AND deeply practical. In this »postmodern« age such theology is valueable. This work has significantly influenced my theological thinking. Perhaps not recommended for the theological novice, but highly reccommended for anyone with a little background in theology and/or Bonhoeffer.
Bonhoeffer offers penetrating theological, ethical, and spirtual insight in this unfinished, posthumously published book. I feel that this work has more to offer than the Cost of Discipleship and more to offer academically (perhaps not spiritually) than Letters and Papers From Prison. It has a more mature feel than The Cost of Discipleship (rightly so, given it was written after). Bonhoeffer's writing style is incredibly clear and straigthforward. In an almost Nietzschean fashion, Bonhoeffer gets right to the point and does not weigh the reader down with non-essentials. It's two greatest weaknesses are that it is unfinished and the chapters were ordered by Bonhoeffer's friend, leaving one wondering how Bonhoeffer would have desired its organization. Its greatest strength is that it offers a theology that is academically rigorous AND deeply practical. In this »postmodern« age such theology is valueable. This work has significantly influenced my theological thinking. Perhaps not recommended for the theological novice, but highly reccommended for anyone with a little background in theology and/or Bonhoeffer.
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