The Bonhoeffer Phenomenon: Portraits of a Protestant Saint

by Stephen R. Haynes

Overview

Stephen Haynes's provocative study articulates the many motives and agendas that readers and scholars have brought to their study of Bonhoeffer, making it difficult to assess objectively the relationship of his political and religious commitments, the real meaning of his theology, and his words and actions on behalf of Jews. Reading Haynes's book helps us learn not only what Bonhoeffer has to teach us but also what it is we most desire to learn.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780800636524
Publisher:	1517 Media
Publication date:	05/25/2004
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Stephen R. Haynes is Associate Professor of Religion at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. His many works include Reluctant Witnesses: Jews and the Christian Imagination (1995) and Noah's Curse: The Biblical Justification for Slavery in America (2002).

Editorial Reviews

In the last 20 years, various groups have petitioned Yad Vashem, the Holocaust remembrance authority in Jerusalem, to award Dietrich Bonhoeffer the designation of "Righteous Gentile," but so far all such requests have been denied. Many of these petitioners view Bonhoeffer as a model of the Christian church's resistance to the Nazi effort to rid Europe of Jewish people, and as a theologian for a post-Holocaust era. But Haynes, associate professor of religion at Rhodes College, argues effectively that the truth is more complicated than the simple and appealing image that scholars and the media have presented. Despite Bonhoeffer's deeds, which Haynes finds exemplary, his theology, when read as a whole, is troubling. At best, Haynes claims, it reveals a deep ambivalence about Jews, and at worst, the traditional Christian belief that the Jews, as "killers" of God, must suffer for that deed until they are, en masse, converted. Haynes concludes that a careful analysis of Bonhoeffer's praxis and theology does have significance for post-Holocaust Christians, but too many contemporary portraits of him are the result of "superficial reading, hopeful interpretation, and overactive speculation." Haynes's book, largely a review of Bonhoeffer scholarship, will find an audience primarily among academics and clergy. (Apr.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Although he died at the hands of the Nazis, Dietrich Bonhoeffer has remained a significant figure both in popular and in scholarly circles to the present time. These two excellent books by Haynes (religion, Rhodes Coll.; Noah's Curse: The Biblical Justification for Slavery in America) and Slane (theology, Simpson Coll., Redding, CA) attest to this remarkable fact in different ways. Haynes examines the various ways in which Bonhoeffer has been interpreted. Instead of attempting to discover the true, "historical" Bonhoeffer, Haynes believes significant insight can be found through a consideration of the various portraits or perspectives concerning him. In separate chapters, he discusses the radical Bonhoeffer (seer), the liberal Bonhoeffer (prophet), the conservative Bonhoeffer (apostle), and the universal Bonhoeffer (bridge). Slane, on the other hand, makes an effective case for Bonhoeffer being considered a martyr, discussing the concept of the martyr as it relates to social responsibility. He views the theologian's life as pointing toward his impending death and interprets the works of Bonhoeffer through this martyrological perspective, finding fresh insights. Both books are recommended for scholarly religion and ethics collections.-John Jaeger, Dallas Baptist Univ. Lib., TX Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

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