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Letters and Papers from Prison | 
 enlarge | Author: Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Publisher: SCM Press
Category: Book
New (10) Used (2) from $15.04
Rating:  18 reviews
Sales Rank: 1117619
Format: Abridged
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 176
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5 x 0.6
ISBN: 0334028361
Dewey Decimal Number: 230
EAN: 9780334028369
ASIN: 0334028361
Publication Date: June 2001
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Amazon.com Review
Letters and Papers from Prison is a collection of notes and correspondence covering the period from Dietrich Bonhoeffer's arrest in 1943 to his execution by the Gestapo in 1945. The book is probably most famous, and most important, for its idea of "religionless Christianity"--an idea Bonhoeffer did not live long enough fully to develop, but whose timeliness only increases as the lines between secular and ecclesial life blur. Bonhoeffer's first mention of "religionless Christianity" came in a letter in 1944: What is bothering me incessantly is the question what Christianity really is, or indeed who Christ really is, for us today. The time when people could be told everything by means of words, whether theological or pious, is over, and so is the time of inwardness and conscience--and that means the time of religion in general. We are moving towards a completely religionless time; people as they are now simply cannot be religious any more. Even those who honestly describe themselves as "religious" do not in the least act up to it, and so they presumably mean something quite different by "religious." The pleasures of Letters and Papers from Prison, however are not all so profound. Occasionally, Bonhoeffer's letters burst into song--sometimes with actual musical notations, other times with unforgettable phrases. Looking forward to seeing his best friend, Bonhoeffer writes, "To meet again is a God." --Michael Joseph Gross
Product Description
One of the great classics of prison literature, Letters and Papers from Prison effectively serves as the last will and testament of the Lutheran theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, executed by the Nazis after incarceration in Tegel Prison. Acute and subtle, warm and perceptive, yet also profoundly moving, the documents collectively tell a very human story of loss, of courage, and of hope. Now reissued with a new Preface, by one of his leading interpreters. Bonhoeffer's story seems as vitally relevant, as politically prophetic, and as theologically significant, as it did yesterday.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 13 more reviews...
 Inspiring November 19, 2008
At times hard to read, this book gives some insight into the man Bonhoeffer. His relationship with God, and the sheer intelligence of the man are most impressive. This book is somewhat discontigous and incongruent due to the nature of the source material, but the essence of faith shines through. Along with the direct works from Bonhoeffers hand, this is an excellent book, with lessons that still apply for people of faith, not just Christians, but all faiths.
"I Am Yours". November 13, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
help but feel a sense of impotent rage as this man chosen for martyrdom writes thinly disguised pleas to his 18 year old fiancee, begging for news of her every smile and the minutae of her daily life.
Despite the excruciating loneliness and suffering, Bonhoeffer manages to reach the conclusion of this theology both literally and figuratively. He is desperate to communicate the hope of Christ to a nation mired in worst evil imaginable and also to the entire world. In July of 1944 he elucidates on the meaning of his poem, "Christians and Unbelievers", which is really unremarkable except for the ideas expressed in it.
"The Christian must plunge himself into the life of a godless world, without attempting to gloss over its ungodliness with a veneer of
religion or trying to transfigure it. He must live a 'worldly' life and so participate in the suffering of God. He may live a worldly life
as one emancipated from all false religions and obligations. To be a Christian does not mean to be religious in a particular way, to
cultivate some particular form of asceticism (as a sinner, a penitent or a saint), but to be a man. It is not some religious act which
makes a Christian what he is, but participation in the suffering of God in the life of the world."
The slow recognition that the world (and even in the absence of Hitler one might say that this state of affairs has grown worse) was so devoid of any sense of the divine and therefore any sense of real commitment that most cohesive sense of community among believers had been chopped up into a million insincere rituals and cheery platitudes. Therefore, the task of the true Christian is to hold his/her own in a world without recognition of God's presence and to do His will anyway.
And this is precisely what Bonhoeffer did unto death. Before he was hung he thanked all of his guards and a soldier who witnessed the event later said that he had "never seen a man go so calmly and submissively to his death." He had thrown himself entirely on the mercy of God when He must have seemed entirely absent. His last poem is manifesto of uncompromising faith. An example of the triumph of the human spirit over ultimate evil.
A book of hope May 13, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Reading his words, we are saddened in knowing he is soon to die a martyr at the young age of 39 by the Nazis. Bonhoeffer fought for biblical truth, and against appeasement. He writes his thoughts (at times very deep and philosophical) from prison, when he entered in 1943 until extradition to another prison over two years later, just before the Allies' liberation in 1945. In his letters to his parents amazingly he is not bitter, but thankful and in good spirits. He was always hopeful. He finds joy in even the smallest of things. Some of the letters we will discover are slightly coded to get through the "checkers". The preface sums it up better than I can: "page by page, these letters show us a picture of life in a prison cell, as it was experienced in all its aspects, with the intimate details of an individual life fused into a striking unity with the disastrous events that were going on in the world outside, a unity produced by an outstanding mind and a sensitive heart."
Much of Bonhoefffer's letters were written to his dear friend Eberhard Bethge. Bonhoeffer expounded with difficult theological questions for Bethge........I would like to hear his answers. Bethge as editor writes the foreword and preface, along with what Bonhoeffer experienced during his final days. The preface is a short biography and explains how the papers came to be.
The two years Bonhoeffer spent in his dreary jail cell he consumed an immense amount of literature; he discusses his favorites. He also gives us a hint of what jail life was like: the solitude, the allied bombings (air-raids), the cell attendants, and his fellow prisoners, whom he does not justify their pathetic cowardly actions; he believed prison was no excuse for poor behavior. Other subjects he touches on is liberalism within the church, and a world that is increasingly existing without God. He believed his thoughts were somewhat odd and his poems needed work, but they were far from it.
This is a book of hope for all who will believe. If Christ is a lie, think of the millions who then threw their lives away in martyr for Him.
Wish you well
Scott
Insightful and moving letters that transcend human created myth. May 10, 2007
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Letters & Papers from Prison was a most edifying read, primarily because it stripped away the mystery and mythical aura that surrounded him, before and after his murder by the Nazis in 1945. The fact that his reputation is so universally well known is greatly due in part to his brother-in-law, the late Eberhard Bethge.
Having been raised in a very German household myself, I would hear occasional stories from my own father, who grew up in Germany at that time, about the German pastor who was a part of the plot to kill Hitler, the one who was the moral conscience who aided the conspirators while they tried to rid Germany of the diabolical dictator and his vile atrocities that were sweeping throughout the land, for nothing was sacrosanct.
Bonhoeffer, known throughout the Christian world for his books, The Cost of Discipleship and Ethics, among other treaties, pamphlets and sermons, was a great example in respects to how a man or woman can truly live an independent Christian life while working in the world and that heroism does not necessarily come from preaching the Gospel, but rather, living it or trying to. It also comes from incorporating nuances of those truths, big or small, into the daily activities of ones life and sharing that Christian goodness (in a healthy and practical manner) with people from all walks of life, irrelevant of class structure, education, ethnic background, et cetera.
In this book, Bonhoeffer's theological musings move from the act of suffering to the meaning of love, whether human, religious or even material, and the insights that he shares with some of his correspondents, especially Eberhard Bethge, is sometimes profoundly compelling, and one can endlessly cite the abundant source material to back that up. But while he was accepting his cross of suffering, knowing in a way that it was a gift, he had an agony for those whom he was separated from, specificially his fiance, Maria von Wedemeyer-Weller.
The overall profile of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, as presented in this work, showcases an all too human man, sometimes short-tempered and impatient yet very religious, contemplative, moral, ethical and surprisingly creative. For an example of that, read his short fiction piece entitled: "Lance-Corporal Berg: A narrative" which is almost similarly reminiscent, style-wise, to that of the writer and author Erich Maria Remarque. His poems, however, were not that great, but it made him only more real.
Though I am Catholic and my interpretation of Scripture is slightly different, much of what Bonhoeffer wrote spoke volumes to me, especially in tackling the day-to-day challenges and experiences that life has to offer. I think he speaks to many people, and that is good, for what he has to say, by his life, writings, choices, down to his martyrdom can cross all ecumenical boundaries. And that is indeed a remarkable witness.
An Example of Faith February 6, 2007
Dietrich Bonhoeffer's "Letters and Papers from Prison" is the account of an extremely intelligent German theologian and pastor who was thrown into prison during WWII. The correspondence Bonhoeffer shared with his family members during the time he spent in prision (over a year and a half)reveals his character in a remarkably honest way. The love and concern he has for his family and his selflessness, even while sitting in prison, are a great testament to the Christian faith regardless of your theological position.
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