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Christ the Center (Harper's Ministers Paperback Library) | 
 enlarge | Author: Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Publisher: HarperOne
Category: Book
List Price: $13.95
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Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 92839
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 128
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.3 x 0.4
ISBN: 0060608110
Dewey Decimal Number: 232
EAN: 9780060608118
ASIN: 0060608110
Publication Date: October 25, 1978
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Product Description
Here is the key to thought of one of our time's central moral figures. It reveals Bonhoeffer's deep, firm roots in Christian doctrine, and it relates that doctrine to twentieth-century decisions every Christian must face. Essential for those interested in the developement of Bonhoeffer's thinking, Christ the Center is as well an important addition to Christological thought and a clear guides to how we are to believe and act in the uncertainty of the times. These lectures originally delivered at the University of Berlin (reconstructed by Eberhard Bethge from students' notes) have been completely retranslated by Edwin Robertson for this new edition.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
 The theme of Bonhoeffer's life September 2, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I had never heard of this book of Bonhoeffer's but saw the title and immediately decided to pick it up. I had previously read Cost of Discipleship and Ethics, which I greatly appreciated. From all the Bonhoeffer writings I have read one thing is very clear: Christ is indeed the center of his thought. Thus, to understand Bonhoeffer, one needs to understand his view of Christ.
As a conservative Christian, there were certain things that I do disagree with in Bonhoeffer, such as his acceptance of some historical critical ideas. Nonetheless, the good far outways the bad. In the first section of the book, Bonhoeffer contends that we must not ask the question "how?" when talking of Christ, but of "Who?" The question of how is not to be understood by us, however the question of who is answered when we understand that God was incarnate as man for us. We can only understand Him in so far as he reveals Himself to us and for us. Bonhoeffer contends that Christ is present in the church today through the preaching of the word and the sacraments. Christ is to be the center of all theology, but also of historiography and all other disciplines.
The second part of this book contains a very detailed discussion of Christological heresy. Bonhoeffer defends Chalcedonian Christology, arguing against monophysitism, docetism, nestorianism, arianism and ebionism. There is also a detailed discussion of Lutheran Christology and the communicatio idiomatum. Bonhoeffer defends against liberalism that Christ is indeed a real historical figure, but not only a historical figure. He is the ever present Godman.
 A difficult gem January 10, 2006
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Christ the Center is an incredible, somewhat flawed re-envisioning of Christology-in fact, of Christian theology as a whole. Bonhoeffer turns the usual exercise of Christology as an elaboration of the qualities of Jesus Christ and the relationship between elements of the alphabet soup of Nicea and Chalcedon on its head, declaring that these traditional declarations of the Church are useful in reigning in conceptions of Christ that inappropriately objectify God, but they do not constitute a positive contribution to our understanding of God.
The middle section steps back from this a bit and feels rather doctrinaire. If one does not subscribe to the formulae of the ecumenical councils Bonhoeffer talks about, it is hard to see why one should be convinced by his statements about the various heresies. However, he closes the second part (and thus the book-the third part is missing) with an exploration of Christ that is as shocking and radical as it is faithful to Scripture and the experience of the Church.
With all that, there is no doubt this book is very, very challenging. It reads fairly easily (with some clunkiness no doubt resulting from the translation), but its proposals are so revolutionary in many cases that it is hard to wrap one's head around them and really understand all their implications. Christ the Center is worth reading many, many times, but not just once.
The great German theologian puts first things first May 19, 2001
20 out of 23 found this review helpful
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.
Who? April 29, 2001
15 out of 21 found this review helpful
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.
Cost of Discipleship January 7, 2000
19 out of 25 found this review helpful
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.
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