Bonhoeffer; personal identity and spiritual intensity

What I like about Sabine Dramm’s book on Bonhoeffer

1. It is written by one who is familiar with both the theological amd philosophical subtleties, and the social and political commitments, that give Bonhoeffer’s theology and ethics their radical edge and uncomfortable diagnostic accuracy
2. It is neither hagiography nor deconstruction, but a genuine engagement with the complexity of the man, the fragmentary nature of his writing, the large corpus of occasional and personal material, the air of menace and ominous probability that fell over Europe – and out of this nexus of varied perspectives she allows Bonhoeffer to emerge as a theologian who resists domestication
3. The writing itself is theologically sharp and unafraid of necessary critical comment, at times Dramm is lyrical in exposition of Bonhoeffer’s key themes yet as translator rather than apologist for his ideas
4. The book is structured in a way that covers biography, context, theological emphases, major written corpus, political and theological ethics in the context of his life, issues of continuing significance for the Church. But these are not sections of the book so much as threads woevn in and out of an overall pattern that is allowed to emerge from these given materials
5. The book is rich in quotation from Bonhoeffer, but as aids to exposition rather than examples of cherry-picking enthusiasm, which explains the unusually high incidence of quotations not previously anthologised or decontextualised in the service of those who want Bonhoeffer to say certain things!
6. Obvious affection for Bonhoeffer is all but absent, and instead an informed respect for the life of mind and conscience that shaped Bonhoeffer’s spirituality and impelled his sense of responsible freedom out into the world of politics and social consequence – obedience to Christ and live with the consequences is a breathtaking theological ethic, and it is used to explain the complicated sanctity of this least other-worldly of disciples.

These are some of the things that make this book, for me at least, a clearer window into the radical, risk-taking consequences of one man’s commitment, in a dangerous world, to Jesus Christ as the centre and goal of all things.

A couple of later posts will interact with one or two of what I consider the most interesting chapters in an overall valuable book.