Here's that book review that I promised several months ago...
In his recent book “Bonhoeffer: Paster, Prophet, Martyr, Spy”, Eric Metaxas gives us a detailed, personal and deeply impacting picture of a man living as he felt that God would have him live in the midst of tremendous political and personal turmoil.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born into a close-knit family in Germany in 1906, the sixth of eight children. He decided at a young age to become a theologian and went on to pastor multiple congregations and to teach university classes in Germany. Deeply troubled by the Nazi takeover in 1933 and the ensuing restrictions upon and compromises within the church, he became a leading figure in the Confessing Church (the movement to break away from the Nazified “German Christians”) and eventually joined the conspiracy to overthrow Hitler.
In conjunction with Bonhoeffer’s story, Metaxas introduces us to the world of the Wiemar Republic and Nazi Germany; major events, primary players, and the response of the German people are well-researched and portrayed, giving us a clear (and chilling) picture of the times and what Bonhoeffer was actually dealing with. It’s well-researched and clearly explained; I got a much better idea of the political and theological situation from this book than I have from other Bonhoeffer biographies I’ve read.
You may not agree with every decision that Bonhoeffer made. But one has to respect his passion for the uncompromised Church of Christ and his determination to do what he thought right, though the cost was extremely high.
One of the best biographies I have ever read. Don’t let the length of the book put you off; it’s so well written and the story is so compelling that I didn’t want it to end, even after 500-some pages. If I had a “book of the year”, this would be it.
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
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1 comment:
Thanks for the review, Rachel. I've been wanting to read this book. It will go on my list for 2011 for sure!
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