The Oxford Handbook of Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Oxford Handbooks)

"This handbook provides a comprehensive resource for those wishing to understand the German theologian, pastor, and resistance conspirator Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) and his writings. It contains sections on Bonhoeffer's life and context, his contributions to all areas of systematic theology and ethics, constructive uses of Bonhoeffer for engaging contemporary issues, and resources for studying Bonhoeffer today. Contributors include leading Bonhoeffer scholars, historians, theologians, and ethicists"-- Provided by publisher Cover The Oxford Handbook of DIETRICH BONHOEFFER Copyright Table of Contents List of Abbreviations List of Contributors Introduction Bonhoeffer’s Life Bonhoeffer Scholarship Aims of the Handbook Overview of the Handbook Acknowledgements Works Cited Part I: LIFE AND CONTEXT Chapter 1: Bonhoeffer the Student The Self Turned In On Itself Berlin The Turn In Conversation With Karl Holl In Conversation With Karl Barth Suggested Reading Works Cited Chapter 2: Bonhoeffer in North America Liberal Theology in Germany Liberal Theology in America Bonhoeffer’s Assessment of Union Theological Seminary Friendships at Union and the Impact of Harlem Suggested Reading Works Cited Chapter 3: Bonhoeffer the Academic Theologian Introduction Context: the Transition from Student to University Teaching Winter Semester 1931/2: Systematic Theology and Philosophy Summer Semester 1932: Church and Ethics Winter Semester 1932/3: Anthropology and Creation Summer Semester 1933: Christology Bonhoeffer the Academic Theologian Conclusion Suggested Reading Works Cited Chapter 4: Bonhoeffer and the Church Struggle Introduction to the Church Struggle The Church and the Jewish Question Church and State Relations Continuing the Struggle from London The Finkenwalde Years Political Resistance in the Abwehr Suggested Reading Works Cited Chapter 5: Bonhoeffer and the Conspiracy Bonhoeffer’s Role in the German Resistance Circles Understanding Bonhoeffer’s Role in the Conspiracy Understanding Bonhoeffer the Theologian in This Context Conclusions Suggested Reading Works Cited Chapter 6: Bonhoeffer and Ecumenism An Ecumenical Formation: the Young Bonhoeffer In Ecumenical Service, 1931–3 Ecumenism and the Onset of the Church Struggle Ecumenical Friendship and Ecumenical Challenge Finkenwalde: the Confessing Church and the Ecumenical Movement Ecumenism in War and Resistance Suggested Reading Works Cited Chapter 7: Bonhoeffer and the Jews Introduction Context and Action Early Actions and Reactions to the ‘Aryan Paragraph’ (1933) Discussions in the Church about the ‘Aryan Paragraph’ Failed Reactions to the ‘Nuremberg Laws’ and New Perspectives on the Old Testament (1935) The Kristallnacht Pogrom, the Deportations of the Jews, and Ethics (1938–43) Theological Reflections on Jewish Suffering, 1943/4 Conclusion Suggested Reading Works Cited Chapter 8: Bonhoeffer the Preacher The Predigerseminar and the Nature of Biblical Preaching Preaching as Present-Tense Encounter Christianity after Religion and Worldly Preaching Suggested Reading Works Cited Part II: THEOLOGY AND DOCTRINE Chapter 9: Scripture Introduction The Bible in Bonhoeffer’s Life and Work The Bible as God’s Word in Human History and Language The Whole of the Bible The Bible in All Its Parts The Bible in Its Witness to the Cross Conclusion: Preaching and Pondering the Word of God Suggested Reading Works Cited Chapter 10: God Introduction Prometity and Alterity: the Christological Grammar of God’s Graciousness Act and Being (1929) ‘Concerning the Christian Idea of God’ and the Christology Lectures (1931–3) The Letters and Papers from Prison (1943/4) Conclusion Suggested Readings Works Cited Chapter 11: Christology Christ the Revelation of God The Nature of Christology Negative Christology Positive Christology Jesus Christ and the Church The Personhood of Jesus Christ in the Church Christ Existing as Church-Community Christ the Mediator Christ as Mediator of Creation and the Fallen World Christ as the Mediator of Myself Acknowledging Christ the Mediator in Discipleship Christ as Mediator of the Christian Community Christ as Mediator for Reading Scripture Christ as Mediator of All Reality Following Christ Christ for Us Today Suggested Reading Works Cited Chapter 12: The Holy Spirit Introduction The Unity of Word and Spirit The Work of the Spirit in the Church The Work of the Spirit in the World The Transcendence of the Spirit Conclusion Works Cited Chapter 13: Creation Christ, the Mediator of Creation Early Writings On World and Creation Being in Adam, New Creation in Christ The God of the Cosmologists and the Creator Not Orders of Creation but Orders of Preservation Creation and Fall Both creatio ex nihilo and conservatio continua Myth, Science, and Scripture The Freedom of the Creator and the analogia relationis Towards a Confessional Doctrine of Creation New Creation: The Body of Christ for this World Christ the Mediator Divine Mandates Final Reflections Suggested Reading Works Cited Chapter 14: Anthropology Opening Questions Personhood, Sociality, and Responsibility Freedom, Dependence, and Suffering Body and Spirit—the Human Animal Power, Gender and Perspective: Theological Anthropology Beyond Bonhoeffer Suggested Reading Works Cited Chapter 15: Sin and Salvation Introduction The Person of Christ Early Works Subsequent Developments Last Works Conclusion Suggested Reading Works Cited Chapter 16: Ecclesiology Sanctorum Communio Vicarious Representative Action The Primary Visibility of the Church As the Body of Christ The Church As the Work of the Holy Spirit Sacraments, Preaching, and Offices Conclusion: The Church in a World Come of Age Suggested Reading Works Cited Chapter 17: The Christian Life Witnessing to the Word: the Grammar of Bonhoeffer’s Life Two Paradigms of Christian Life The Christian Life as Life ‘in Christ’ The Mandates as the Public Forms of Christian Life Suggested Readings Works Cited Chapter 18: Eschatology Introduction Eschatology as Hermeneutics Bonhoeffer’s Early Eschatology Ethics and Eschatology Eschatology, Ethics, and Prison Conclusion Suggested reading Works Cited Part III: ETHICS ANDPUBLIC LIFE Chapter 19: The Reality of Christian Ethics The Reality of the Times Concrete Reality and Abstraction The Reality of God in Jesus Christ Responsible Action The Concrete Commandment Suggested Reading Works Cited Chapter 20: The Form of Ethical Life The Subject Matter of Christian Ethics Formed by God and Conformed to Christ Christ Taking Form in the Politics of the Church Christ Taking Form in Ethical Qualities and Practices Christ Taking Form in Responsible Action Christ Taking Form in the Mandates and Natural Life Conclusion Suggested Reading Works Cited Chapter 21: Freedom, Responsibility, and Moral Agency Introduction Freedom and Moral Agency Responsibility for the Other Vicarious Representative Action Accordance with Reality Taking On Guilt Freedom For God and the Other The Christological Ground of Responsibility Conclusion Suggested Reading Works Cited Chapter 22: Religion and Secularity Clarifying Bonhoeffer’s Conception of Religionless Christianity Charles Taylor’s Analysis of the Secular Age Two Features of Secularity: Individualism and Modern Science Suggested Readings Works Cited Chapter 23: Bonhoeffer and Political Life When is Life Political? Bonhoeffer’s Political Formation Bonhoeffer’s Theological Formation Crisis and Response Orders, Offices, Tasks, and Mandates Two Kingdoms? One Reality ‘On the Possibility of the Church’s Message to the World’ On Taking Another’s Place Conclusion Suggested Reading Works Cited Chapter 24: Bonhoeffer’s Christian Peace Ethic, Conditional Pacifism, and Resistance The Emergence of Bonhoeffer’s Peace Ethic Toward Christocentric Concentration and Concrete Discipleship ‘Christ and Peace’ and Fanø Discipleship Peace Ethic, Force, Violence, and War Bonhoeffer’s Practice of His Peace Ethic Theology and Political Resistance: Coup d’État and Tyrannicide Conclusion: Bonhoeffer’s ‘Pacifism’ and Resistance Suggested Reading Works Cited Part IV: THINKING AFTER BONHOEFFER Chapter 25: Bonhoeffer and Feminist Theologies Bonhoeffer’s Stated Views on Patriarchy and Women Methods for Sustained Engagement Christology: an Opportunity for Mutual Correction Conclusion Suggested Readings Works Cited Chapter 26: Bonhoeffer and Race Bonhoeffer’s Formation in Post-Colonial Germany Bonhoeffer’s Völkisch Dissonance Christ Existing as Church-Community: the Social Principle of the Church Bonhoeffer’s Move from the Abstract to the Concrete No Difference in the Fare Suggested Reading Works Cited Chapter 27: Bonhoeffer, Community, and Witness Thinking after Bonhoeffer Communal Disintegration and the Dissolution of Witness Communal and Personal Formation and the Arcane Discipline The Communal and Personal Space of Freedom The Ecclesial Polyphony of Life Suggested Reading Works Cited Chapter 28: Bonhoeffer, South Africa, and Global Contexts Introduction Public Theology and the Concept of Ubuntu Bonhoeffer’s Theological Anthropology A Public Theology of Human Dignity and Rights Bonhoeffer and a Public Theology of Responsibility Conclusion Suggested Reading Works Cited Chapter 29: Bonhoeffer and Contemporary Philosophy Introduction Bonhoeffer’s Phenomenology of Personhood Bonhoeffer’s Personalism and Levinas’s Ethical Philosophy Bonhoeffer’s Hermeneutic Theology Bonhoeffer and Contemporary Philosophy Suggested Reading Works Cited Part V: STUDYING BONHOEFFER Chapter 30: Sources and Texts Bonhoeffer’s Legacy and Early Editions Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works Editions Other Primary Sources Archives Secondary Sources Other Resources Suggested Reading Worked Cited Chapter 31: Biographies and Portraits Mary Bosanquet, The Life and Death of Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1968) Eberhard Bethge, Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Theologian, Christian, Contemporary (1970) Edwin Robertson, The Shame and the Sacrifice: the Life and Preaching of Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1987) Eric Metaxas, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy (2010); and Charles Marsh, Strange Glory: A Life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer (2014) Ferdinand Schlingensiepen, Dietrich Bonhoeffer 1906–1945: Martyr, Thinker, Man of Resistance (2010) Works Cited Other Biographical Material Chapter 32: Readings and Receptions Introduction The Radical Bonhoeffer The Post-Holocaust Bonhoeffer The Populist Bonhoeffer Conclusion Suggested Reading Works Cited Index This volume provides a comprehensive resource for those wishing to understand the German theologian, pastor, and resistance conspirator Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) and his writings. During his lifetime he made important contributions to many of the major areas of theology: ecclesiology, creation, Christology, discipleship, and ethics. The Oxford Handbook of Dietrich Bonhoeffer surveys, assesses, and presents the field of research and debates of Bonhoeffer and his legacy, as well as of previous Bonhoeffer scholarship. Featuring contributions from leading Bonhoeffer scholars, historians, theologians, and ethicists, many essays draw attention to Bonhoeffer's positive contributions, while several essays also identify limits and problems with his thinking as it stands. Divided into five parts, the first section provides a detailed outline of Bonhoeffer's biography and the contexts that gave rise to his theology. The contributors explore the dynamic relationship between Bonhoeffer's life and theology. Section two provides rigorous engagements with and assessments of Bonhoeffer's theology on its own terms. Part three demonstrates how Bonhoeffer's ethical claims and engagements are deeply integrated with theological commitments. The fourth section showcases some of the best work drawing upon Bonhoeffer for engaging contemporary challenges, including feminism, race, public theology in South Africa, and contemporary philosophy. In recent decades, Bonhoeffer's theology has provoked significant critical reflection on social and cultural issues. The essays in this section exemplify how his writings can continue to contribute to such reflection today. The fifth and final section consists of essays on resources for the contemporary study of Bonhoeffer and his theology, including sources and texts, biographies and portraits, and readings and receptions. These essays also address pressing historiographical issues and problems surrounding writing about Bonhoeffer's life and theology. This authoritative collection draws together and assesses the very best of existing research on Bonhoeffer and promotes new avenues for research on Bonhoeffer. This Handbook offers an overview of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's (1906-1945) biography and intellectual context; his contributions to all areas of doctrinal theology, ethics and public life; the significance of his thought for some contemporary issues and debates; and an evaluation of some existing resources for studying Bonhoeffer.