Why we need more Bonhoeffer
Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas
Every Christian needs to read a biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer sooner or later. Even better, a couple of them. Pastors no less need to interact with his example and his ideas because he has become one of the most celebrated Christian leaders of the twentieth century, with his image engraved above the door of Westminster Abbey and in the stonework surrounding the altar of St John’s Cathedral in New York City. A recent documentary, available on DVD and produced by Martin Doblmeier, is a remarkable compilation of scenes from the Third Reich, interviews with friends and family surviving until recently, and a reconstruction of the events of Bonhoeffer’s dramatic life. Eric Metaxas’s biography of Bonhoeffer, published in 2010, is the latest English book to trace his story and summarise his ideas. It has been received with great fanfare, perhaps not least because it contains an introduction by Tim Keller, and reached #23 on the New York Times Bestseller list. It sounds like I am not the only person to be intrigued by Bonhoeffer’s life and untimely death.
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