4.0
Discipleship in a World Full of Nazis
ByPublisher Description
"Things do exist that are worth standing up for without compromise. To me it seems that peace and social justice are such things, as is Christ himself." These are words Dietrich Bonhoeffer spoke to his brother a few months before he began training future pastors in the ways of discipleship. For several years he had been speaking out against war. Near the beginning of the anti-Semitic Nazi regime, he called on his fellow Christians to speak out against a state that was engaging in oppressive measures, to respond to victims of oppression, and to be willing to suffer, as a church, if it was required to stop such oppression. His vision for training disciples was rooted in pure doctrine, serious worship, a new kind of monasticism, and the Sermon on the Mount. Bonhoeffer was convinced that through the living presence of Jesus and the explosive teachings of the Sermon on the Mount "lies the force that can blow all this hocus-pocus sky-high--like fireworks, leaving only a few burnt-out shells behind." This is the legacy of this extraordinary theologian that this book seeks to recover--exploring how this was lived out in a world full of Nazis.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesDiscipleship in a World Full of Nazis Reviews
4.0
“It’s been awhile since I read the precursor to this book, so it felt somewhat repetitive. But it was good to rehash. I recommend reading appendix 1 first because it helps you to understand the core debate between the two main camps with a defense of the authors hermeneutic.”
“The common assumption is that Dietrich Bonhoeffer participated in plots to assassinate Hitler. The story goes that Bonhoeffer pushed aside is pacifist leanings for a more realistic, Niebuhrian view in light of the Third Reich. The commonly told story is that it is Bonhoeffer's complicity in said assassination attempts led to his arrest, imprisonment, and ultimately is execution by hanging on April 9, 1945 at Flossenberg concentration camp.
Nation makes a convincing case against Bonhoeffer becoming a "realist" or ever participating in assassination attempts. Instead, Nation complexifies the story a bit using Bonhoeffer's own words and other historical letters. The result is a compelling case for Bonbhoeffer's Christocentric politics and commitment to what could be called pacifism.
I appreciate Nation's work here in clarifying these accounts and bravely contradicting the typical story. At the same time, Nation does not simply turn Bonhoeffer into a neo-Anabaptist or avoid facing Bonhoeffer's distain for turning ethics into abstract principles. Instead, Nation gives a well-documented and reasonable account of Bonhoeffer's influences and thinking, relying heavily on his own words.
Essays in the Appendices include contributions from Nation, Stanley Hauerwas, and Scot McKnight and all prove to be very helpful.
While I found the writing to become repetitive at times, I still think this book is excellent and needed. At a time when so many popular accounts of Bonhoeffer tend to speak for Bonhoeffer (through multiple voices), it is refreshing to see an account that seeks to put Bonhoeffer's words together in order for him to speak for himself.”
About Mark Thiessen Nation
Mark Thiessen Nation is Professor Emeritus of Theology, Eastern Mennonite Seminary, Harrisonburg, Virginia. His books include Bonhoeffer the Assassin? (2013).
Other books by Mark Thiessen Nation
Scot McKnight
Scot McKnight is the Julius R. Mantey Chair of New Testament at Northern Seminary. He is a recognized authority on the historical Jesus, early Christianity, and the New Testament. His blog, Jesus Creed, is a leading Christian blog.
Other books by Scot McKnight
Stanley Hauerwas
Stanley Hauerwas is professor emeritus of ethics at Duke University where he held the Gilbert T. Rowe chair for more than twenty years. Among his numerous publications are Sanctify Them in the Truth: Holiness Exemplified (1998) and Living Gently in a Violent World, with Jean Vanier (2008). His latest publication is Fully Alive: The Apocalyptic Humanism of Karl Barth (University of Virginia Press, 2023).
Other books by Stanley Hauerwas
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