BONHOEFFER, Dietrich
- Era: 1906 - 1942
- Location: Germany
- Categories: RELIGION, POLITICS
German Lutheran theologian, pastor and political activist, executed in last weeks of World War 2 for his part in a plot to kill Hitler. Bonhoeffer’s theological writings were especially concerned with developing a distinctive account of the nature of humanity as both special and fallen and of human community at its best. He was active in the ecumenical movement with close contacts in the UK and USA. Given the opportunity to relocate to the US, he chose to remain in Germany and to work ‘underground’ against the Nazi state. His Ethics, which include a discussion of what it means to tell the truth, along with his Letters and Papers from Prison which include the phrase ‘religionless Christianity’, are influential in the exploration of what it might mean to be Christian in a world which has maturity without formal dependence on institutional religion. Another phrase ‘ man for others’ is his summative title for Jesus; it also sums his version of proper Christian life-style.
Life
An account of Bonhoeffer's life, work and significance
Illustrated biography of Bonhoeffer
BBC Radio programme' In Our Time'; about Bonhoeffer
Writings
Video