Emerging Scholars Blog

InterVarsity's Emerging Scholars Network

Eberhard Bethge

Who Am I? Bonhoeffer as a Historical Mentor in Prayer: Part 4

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945): German pastor/theologian who wrestled with Nazi-rule and founded the Confessing Church. Photo taken in 1939. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Germany license. Attribution: Bundesarchiv, Bild 146-1987-074-16 / CC-BY-SA.

Preface

Click here for Who Am I? Dietrich Bonhoeffer as a Historical Mentor in Prayer: Part 1, here for Part II (focused upon Bonhoeffer’s historical context), and here for Part III (focused on Bonhoeffer’s theological reflection). As you consider Praying the Psalms as part of a rule of life, reflect upon

  • what it means that Jesus the Christ is the Lord of your head, heart, and hands in all aspects of life (including vocation).
  • how often and how thoroughly do you pray through the Psalms individually and/or in your Christian tradition?
  • how have you found Bonhoeffer’s “theology is interwoven with the course of his life” (Bethge 1997, viii)? How do his actions in Nazi resistance agree/disagree with his way of life, walk with God? In the end, do you find Bonhoeffer a historical mentor in prayer or not?

Who Am I? – Praying the Psalms as part of a rule of life

Bonhoeffer developed a rule of life[1], informed by “pre-Reformation Christian thought, liturgy, and liturgical renewal, and some features of Catholic philosophy” (Marty, 156), which sustained him even in the darkest hours. In his opening lecture at Finkenwalde Seminary, Bonhoeffer offered a “new monasticism”: [Read more…] about Who Am I? Bonhoeffer as a Historical Mentor in Prayer: Part 4

Who Am I? Bonhoeffer as a Historical Mentor in Prayer: Part 3

Bonhoeffer, Christ and Culture. Edited by Keith L. Johnson and Timothy T. Larsen. InterVarsity Press, 2013.

Preface

Click here for Who Am I? Dietrich Bonhoeffer as a Historical Mentor in Prayer: Part 1 and here for Part 2 (focused upon Bonhoeffer’s historical context). As you consider the relationship of Bonhoeffer’s theology to a life of prayer, I encourage you to reflect upon and discuss with others:

  • how prayer guides your daily life and those who lead your religious community/communities.
  • what it means that Jesus the Christ is the Lord of your head, heart, and hands in all aspects of life. Take particular note of Bonhoeffer’s understanding of suffering.
  • what informs your understanding of Bonhoeffer’s theology. Note: In the future I intend to explore the Barthian, Lutheran, early church, and other Christian influences on Bonhoeffer’s theology. Bonhoeffer, Christ and Culture (InterVarsity Press, 2013), inspired by the 2012 Wheaton Theology Conference, is on my desk as a possible lens to explore this topic. If Bonhoeffer’s theology and/or a desire to review Bonhoeffer, Christ and Culture is of interest to you, please contact me.

Who Am I? – A Glimpse of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Theological Reflection

In The theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1985), Ernst Feil provides a helpful starting place for wrestling with the complexity of summarizing Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s theological perspective.

The initial difficulty is that his work is so varied as far as the genre of texts is concerned. Next to his academic studies, Sanctorum Communio and Act and Being, there are the more spiritually oriented works, The Cost of Discipleship and Life Together; and there are, finally, the posthumously published fragments entitled Ethics and Letters and Papers From Prison. These books are augmented by a variety of texts: letters, addresses, catechetical studies, essays, memoranda, lectures, and, not least, the sermons to which Bonhoeffer devoted himself passionately. But all texts lead again and again to those last letters from prison which stimulated all the interest in Bonhoeffer and without which little notice would be paid today to the earlier writings. . . . [through his preaching we find] mystery is the root of everything comprehensible. The mystery which is close to us was also the original point of departure for Bonhoeffer’s theology (Feil, 3, 6).

To summarize Feil’s point and to elaborate further, Bonhoeffer’s varied and incomplete writing may leave one wondering where he goes with the mystery he searches to understand not only inside himself, but also in the church with God – the one who lives in mystery and eternity. For Bonhoeffer, Christology stands at the core (Marty, 49, 68) and brings together Act and Being (1931).  As noted earlier, the “personal liberation” in 1932 is vital to understanding his theology. Bonhoeffer writes in The Cost of Discipleship: [Read more…] about Who Am I? Bonhoeffer as a Historical Mentor in Prayer: Part 3

Who Am I? Bonhoeffer as a Historical Mentor in Prayer: Part 2

Preface

In the process of completing the  series, I was inspired to dig into material which I wrote on the prayer life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer for Theology and Practice of Prayer[footnote]SF/ST 777: Theology and Practice of Prayer. Laurie Mellinger, Ph.D. Evangelical Seminary. Summer 2012. Course Description: This course explores various aspects of the interplay between theology and prayer. What we believe about God determines how and why we pray; this has also been true for Christians throughout the history of the Church. We will examine both historical persons and methods of praying from a variety of Christian traditions, and discuss their potential for deepening our own relationships with God. This course provides the opportunity for students to study and experience a variety of Christian prayer forms, and to discern the theological foundations upon which they rest. We will take a historical approach, discussing prayer in the Scriptures and its application in the lives of persons of prayer throughout the Christian era. We will also consider the place and practice of prayer in the contemporary church, both for individuals and for corporate gatherings.[/footnote] Click here for Who Am I? Dietrich Bonhoeffer as a Historical Mentor in Prayer: Part 1. As you read Part 2, reflect upon how you respond to your

  • upbringing: familial — including expectations and educational/cultural power (or lack of it), cultural, educational, ethnic, religious, socio-economic . . .
  • your international/cross-cultural relationships
  • academic mentors and gatekeepers, particularly when one’s conscience is challenged.
  • community — how do you understand/define your closest/deepest community?
  • Lord (i.e., Jesus the Christ) with your head, heart, and hands in all aspects of life (including vocation).
  • “legacy” as you perceive it to be developing.

Who Am I? – A Glimpse of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Context

Karl Bonhoeffer (1868–1948), father of Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), was appointed Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology at University of Berlin, the most highly-regarded chair in Germany at the time. Source: Monatsschrift für Psychiatrie und Neurologie. Photographer: unknown. Taken before 1938. Public Domain. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bonhoeffer.JPG [Retrieved 11/2/2013. 3:50 pm].
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) was born into a “middle-class,” aristocratic Prussian family which moved to a Berlin suburb when his father Dr. Karl Bonhoeffer (1868-1948) was appointed Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology at University of Berlin, the most highly-regarded chair in Germany at the time. Karl and his wife Paula (1874-1951) valued education, the arts, the state, the church as an institution, the family, and the Protestant work ethic. The children’s early schooling began with Paula and was continued by governesses from the Herrnhut community. Paula’s mother was a German countess. Her father was a practical theology professor and a military chaplain, who briefly served Kaiser Wilhem II. She had a grandfather who had been a famous church historian at the University of Jena. [Read more…] about Who Am I? Bonhoeffer as a Historical Mentor in Prayer: Part 2