Bonhoeffer exposites the Genesis account of creation with clarity and thoroughness. One thing is for sure: Bonhoeffer sticks to Scripture in structuring his theology of the creation and fall thereof. A fan of Bonhoeffer, I find the book wordy at times, but a must-read for any study of the Genesis creation account.

The fourth volume, "Discipleship" in the Bonhoeffer works series is an outstanding representation of not just Bonhoeffer the theologian, but Bonhoeffer the man as well. The fresh translation brings back to life the passion with which this man of God lived his life. Bonhoeffer viewed the church of his day as falling away from the teachings of Jesus, but within the pages of, "Discipleship", he writes of what is necessary of the Christian, in order that he or she may be true disciples of Christ.

This entirely new translation is a part of the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, the 17 volume critical English Edition being published by Fortress Press. It is based on the text of the German critical edition, the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Werke published by Guetersloher Verlagshaus. Each volume in this new English edition provides the best available English translation, correcting errors and omissions in previous versions. An extensive introduction to the text especially for the English-language reader provides the historical and theological context necessary to understand Bonhoeffer's written legacy. This new edition will become the standard edition of Bonhoeffer's writings for the nonspecialist and the scholar as well, superseding all previous translations.

I wanted to read something that portrayed a German who lived through World War II and took action against the evil of his time. This book does a good job of portraying the difficulties Hitler's German opponents faced. They couldn't get assistance from the British (and were actually disdained as traitors!) and found the early German military victories, one after another, made Hitler more and more popular and harder to dispose of. Bonhoeffer was a human saint, principled yet afraid. This book is a good introduction and made me want to learn more about Bonhoeffer. I am now reading his "Letters and Papers from Prison".

I bought this book because I had some knowledge of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and because I've read several Ballantine's Readers Circle novels and found them all to be interesting, challenging, and worth my time. Saints and Villains has made me think again about Jews and their place in European history. I have known of the Holocaust since I was a small child, but this novel made me think about day-to-day life as Hitler grew from being a fringe leader (like Pat Buchanan), frightening no one, to the leader of a warring empire, sometimes seeming unstoppable. It's hard to imagine a time in which Hitler seemed unstoppable, but I think we all must, if we can, in order to understand how fear made average people do uncommonly evil things--and, like Pastor Bonhoeffer, uncommonly good.

"Saints and Villians" is a beautifully written historical fiction set in Germany during the years immediately prior to and including the Nazi period. It is the story of Deitrich Bonhoeffer, a German theologian who was one of the few who spoke out against Hitler and the Nazis. The story was as exciting as any adventure novel. As the Nazis came to power, the author details the gradual loss of freedoms and increasing oppression of the Jews, immersing the reader in a story made that more devastating because it actually happened. Detrich is pictured as a very believable hero, with plenty of human weaknesses, having doubts and making mistakes along the way. In my opinion, that makes him even more admirable. A love story, plenty of bad guys, a few good guys struggling to prevail against unspeakable evil....all combines to make this novel into one of the best books I've read in a long time.

These are two of the most lucid and insightful commentaries I have ever read. Bonhoeffer moves beyond the usually mundane issues often dealt with when discussing the creation and fall. Instead, he places the focus on God and on how the creation and fall effect our lives as human beings.

Temptation is a poignant counterpoint to the story of the fall. It points the way through the darkness of our everyday lives and to the one who is the Way, the Truth and the Life...Jesus Christ.

If you are already familiar with Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the wonderfully perceptive German theologian who was killed in a Nazi concentration camp in 1945, then this book will serve to deepen your understanding of Bonhoeffer's theology. If this is your introduction to Bonhoeffer, then you are in for a delightful surprise. In his short, but dense, analysis of the Genesis story of humanity's creation and fall, Bonhoeffer asks the reader to view the familiar with new eyes - with our eyes fixed firmly on God, not on traditional readings of Genesis. Creation reveals much about God - our sovereign God of life, who worked and rested, and offered the same blessings of work and rest to us. Creation also reveals much about humanity, our desire to be God, and our guilt about disobeying God. In the course of his delightful book, Bonhoeffer wrestles with the fundamental issues of good and evil, of temptation, of the graceful limits imposed by God, and humanity's "freedom." If you, too, have ever wrestled with such questions, this book will guide you and challenge you in your thinking.

In his book (lecture), Christ the Center, the great German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer seeks to show a Christology that emphasizes a new angle from which to view Christ, while keeping Christ at the center of all consideration and study. For Bonhoeffer, the key to the new understanding of Christ is to change from asking "How" he is what he is to asking "Who" he is. The decisive question is always; Who is Christ? In Mark 8:29 Jesus asks this crucial question to his disciples. The asking the 'who' question rather than the 'how' moves Christ closer to the center. Bonhoeffer's theology radiates from Christ at the center. Christ can be found in the Word (logos), in the sacraments and members of the church, and is also the mediator of all earthly existence and history. Christ is always the center, and the only center. Bonhoeffer's style is very German. I found the book in places to be superfluously worded, a bit erudite, and dogmatic. I felt he used the "proof by repeated assertion" method to make his point. I agree with his suggestion to view Christ from different perspectives, breaking down the barriers that some views might impose. Still, I feel that when all "who" questions are asked, we still come around to needing to ask the "how" questions. It can not be avoided in a post-Enlightenment, scientific thinking world. I feel the need to ask 'how'" the "who" will answer all my question. Maybe it is just the semantics that confused me.

After seminary taught me how to dissect the Bible and faith, this pre-WWII work by the disciple of "costly grace" helped me put it back together. It is thoroughly academic, and it is unswerving in its insistence that questions of Biblical criticism cannot be placed before and above the question of our relationship to Christ. When Christ is the center, the world looks different than we arrogantly thought it would when looking from the outside in.

This is an amazing book which will challenge the way you think about Christianity. Bonhoeffer brings up issues of grace, faith, and obiedence which will compel anyone to reflect on their faith in Jesus Christ. It is a wonderful and intellectual book for anyone who wants to know what REAL Christianity is.

Maria Weller, as I knew her in Boston in the early 1970's, was a marvellous person who worked with me at Honeywell Information Systems. My wife and I became good friends of Maria's and saw her frequently both before and during her illness. We knew her two sons and her daughter.

Ruth-Alice Von Bismark, Maria's sister, came to visit us after Maria's death to find our more about Maria's life in Boston and about her Boston friends.

I found the book fascinating, both for the letters and for Ruth-Alice historical notes that helped me to better understand Maria and Dietrich Bonhoffer.

I had a difficult time reading this book. It is quite time-consuming (because of it's unusual format) and emotionally difficult due to its content. However, I'm glad I've read this book. It gave me a wonderful insight into a couple's very devoted relationship even though they were separated very soon into their relationship. The way their story plays out is heart-wrenching and difficult to read. But because this was an actual relationship, it's very worth-while.

An excellent commentary on the times of the Confessing Church of early 20th century Germany. Huntemann's treatment of Bonhoeffer's theology in light of B. historical context is excellent. Huntemann's interpretation of B. theology is refreshing in view of the numerous current misinterpretations of B. This book allows a unique perspective on the man, B. as well as the theologian.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer: A Spoke In The Whell, is an excellent book and great biography. This book is a great gift if you want to introduce someone to this life of integrity. The book, translated into English from German, succesfully documents the important aspects of Bonhoeffer's short life: Early chilhood, theology studies, visitation of America, and return to Germany to resist Nazi rule. The book is an easy read and therefore, doesn't over burder the reader who may be introduced to this subject for the first time.

We discover the formatative development of the Confessing Church and the differences many of its members had on how to best oppose the Third Riech. We see Bonhoeffer as the voice of justice in this group as well as a voice of liberity throughout his life. I chose as my title "The Masquerade of Evil" from a chapter in the book because we also see how many citizens in German soceity fall to the evils of Nazism and support its cause. The reader is then moved to a sense of sadness, but vicarious courage, as we live the last years of Bonhoeffer's life in prison. Finally, we read about the death of Bonhoeffer and are moved that a life, so brave, ended so young.

This Book goes hand in hand with Bonhoeffer's Letters and Papers from Prison. It consists of a few acts of a play dealing with a young intellectual man, as well as some chapters from a novel dealing with a family on a retreat. We see Bonhoeffers focus on the power struggle in theology in the form of two boys striving for power in a schoolyard, as well as many different aspects of German Bourgiouse Culture in a very easy to understand manner. It is truly a shame that these fictional works could not be finished before Bonhoeffer's death. Throughout the book we can see Bonhoeffer's theology and autobiography play through in the characters, though at times it is near impossible to figure which character relates to the author himself. However, it prooves very fun, and opens up insight to understand Letters and Papers from Prison. It is clearly a must have for anyone who truly desires to capture Bonhoeffers mind. Displaying insight into Bonhoeffers family background, lifestyle, and watching thoughts of death break through in the brief parts of the play we are shown.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, hung by the Nazis for his principled resistance to perversion of Christian life, leads us through the themes and value of psalms. These song-prayers, brought forth from thousands of years of human longing for connection with God, are just as powerful in their meaning of human life, today. Use this tiny volume as a study guide to psalm themes for better prayer life.

This book, unfortunately out of print, is part of a multi-volume collection of Bonhoeffer's (B hereafter) writings. In addition to the late theolgians writings, it also contains quite of few letters to and from the bishop of Chichester and others dealing with Bonhoeffer's hopes for the role of the church in post-war Germany. Many of B's letters here are quite guarded, and some use code words as he knew during the war that he was under suspicion. Also useful are the biographical comments and timelines supplied by the editor.

Some of the material is of limited value to contemporary readers, such as B's attempts at fiction or his letters to family and friends which don't communicate much. But there is much wealth here also. B was asked to write a reply to an attack on the doctrine of infant baptism by someone named Hitzer, and it is one of the best treatments of the subject I've seen.

Overall the book is quite valuable for anyone who wishes to see a bit more deeply into the life and work of perhaps the most memorable theologians of the last century.