Abstract
Letters to London: Bonhoeffer's Previously Unpublished Correspondence with Ernst Cromwell, 1935–6
Stephen J. Plant and Toni Burrowes-Cromwell, eds.
London: SPCK, 2013. 108 + xv pp. $9.66
This volume presents twelve previously unknown personal letters sent by Dietrich Bonhoeffer to one of his confirmands in 1935/36. German émigrés to London, the Cromwell family were associated with the congregations Bonhoeffer pastored there between 1933 and 1935. Bonhoeffer prepared their son Ernst for confirmation during the Christmas vacation of 1934/35. Following the confirmation in February, pastor and student traveled north for a short walking holiday in the Scottish Highlands. The letters begin with preparations for this trip and conclude in March 1936 after Bonhoeffer had returned to Germany to lead the Confessing Church seminary at Finkenwalde. Their content adds further personal texture to our understanding of Bonhoeffer's experiences and thinking during these pivotal years. The immediate future weighs heavy: Bonhoeffer observes that during the difficult times ahead the most important thing will be “to have people in your life with whom you know that you share convictions” (74) and ventures that in the coming struggle to preserve church and civilization, “everything will depend” on forming resilient groups of people “led by this Spirit” (58). Several photographs augment the letters including a striking image of Bonhoeffer standing on the snowy slopes of Ben Nevis (22). The biographical introduction, theological afterword, and transcripted interview with Ernest Cromwell that fill out the volume helpfully illumine the circumstances, nature, and significance of this brief but instructive correspondence.
Theological Education at Finkenwalde: 1935–1937 DBWE, Vol. 14
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2013. 1230 pp. $75.00
In November 1935, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote to students who had participated in the first session of the preachers' seminary at Finkenwalde: “the summer of 1935 was, I believe, the most fulfilling period in my entire life thus far both professionally and personally” (1). With this quotation, H. Gaylon Barker begins the editor's introduction to the 14th volume of DBWE. As Barker explains, the documents in this book provide insight into the communal life at Finkenwalde, the historical context of the Church Struggle, and the theological foundations of Bonhoeffer's two most popular books: Discipleship (DBWE 4) and Life Together (DBWE 5).
Like other volumes of DBWE that provide documents related to Bonhoeffer's life and work, this volume is divided into three sections: Part I contains letters and documents related to the formation of the preachers' seminary, to the founding of the House of Brethren within the seminary, the Chamby Conference, and Bonhoeffer's work on Discipleship. Part II, the largest section of the book, contains lectures and essays, organized around the same subheadings as Part I. Finally, Part III provides sermons and Bible studies, including the sermon Bonhoeffer preached at the funeral of his grandmother, Julie Bonhoeffer, in 1936.
Prior to the Church Struggle, Bonhoeffer, like many theological students, thought that preachers' seminaries were a waste of time and tried to find a way to avoid attending one. But during the church crisis, Eberhard Bethge says the establishment of the five preachers' seminaries by the Confessing Church was nothing short of miraculous. They were, he says, “remarkable power centers of theology” (Eberhard Bethge, Dietrich Bonhoeffer: A Biography, rev. edn [Fortress Press], 420). Readers interested in Bonhoeffer's work as it developed at the intersection of the academy, Christian community and practices, and the Church Struggle will welcome this newly translated volume of DBWE.
The Bonhoeffer Reader
Clifford J. Green and Michael P. De Jonge, eds.
Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2013. 832 pp. $39.00
Professors who offer courses on Dietrich Bonhoeffer's work have to make difficult decisions regarding what to include in a syllabus. This collection of essays and excerpts from books will potentially allow professors to include a greater range of Bonhoeffer's work. Organized chronologically, the collection is divided into seven categories: (1) student writings: Berlin, Barcelona, New York; (2) university lectures; (3) ecumenical and pastoral writings; (4) theology and the Third Reich; (5) Christian life and community; (6) Christian ethics and public life; and (7) theology from prison: worldly, religionless Christianity. The seven sections are preceded by a brief preface and followed by a bibliography of books on “the German Church Struggle and resistance,” as well as a bibliography of works cited.
Intended for the general reader or beginning student, the book “collects in one place a significant and representative range of Bonhoeffer's theological writings” (ix). Strategically published after the completion of the 16-volume English translation series of Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, this book can be used as a companion piece to DBWE, especially since the footnotes direct the reader to the various writings in that series. Each individual piece includes a brief introduction by the editors, situating the writings in their biographical and historical context. The selections were made to represent a chronological range of Bonhoeffer's theological writings, hence avoiding any particular slant offered by various interpretations of Bonhoeffer. This volume will be a welcome book for professors, students, and anyone interested in acquiring an overview of Bonhoeffer's theological writings.