The reluctant revolutionary
Subtitle: Dietrich Bonhoeffer's collision with Prusso-German history
By: John A. Moses.
Publisher: Berghahn Books
Published: 2009
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 298
ISBN-13: 9781845455316
Subjects: Bonhoeffer, Dietrich, -- 1906-1945; Church and state -- Germany -- History -- 1933-1945
Description: "Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a uniquely reluctant and distinctly German Lutheran revolutionary, analyzed and critiqued his class - the Bildungsbürgertum - not as a secular liberal but as a devout Lutheran Protestant who recognized the moral derailment of his people. Bonhoeffer confronted his compatriots both religiously and politically, and his life and works should be examined in both of those contexts, the author, an Anglican priest and modern historian, argues. As such, this study evaluates the career of Bonhoeffer within the broader context of German history while referencing Bonhoeffer s complete works and many works by reputable theologians from around the world. Only against the background of the former Prussian-German absolutism and the intellectual-historical legacy of Hegelianism and Neo-Rankeanism, can Bonhoeffer s long-term endeavor to reeducate his people both theologically and politically be fully appreciated." -- Publisher's description.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: The "peculiarity" of German political culture; title: Bonhoeffer's formation; title: The problem of anti-semitism in Germany from Luther to Hitler; title: Bonhoeffer's opening to the west and the involvement in ecumenism; title: The church struggle to 1937; title: The ethics of conspiracy; title: Bonhoeffer and the Jewish question; title: Dietrich Bonhoeffer as critic of his class in retrospect; title: The post-war confrontation with the Nazi past.