Preface to Bonhoeffer: The Man and Two of his Shorter Writings (Bonhoeffer Secondary Studies)

This volume presents two of Bonhoeffer's writings that are vital to understanding his life and thought. The first, "Thy Kingdom Come," is a passionate lecture delivered in 1932 -- a year before he left Germany in protest of Nazism. "The First Table of the Ten Commandments," written twelve years later from a Nazi prison, is a mature and insightful study of the first three commandments. The book is also a compact and readable introduction to the life and writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. John Godsey's biographical sketch is particularly lucid in discussing Bonhoeffer's significance for our time. In Bonhoeffer, Godsey finds one who understood our world and discerned the universal meaning of Jesus Christ. He also sees one who recalled the church to discipleship while bearing witness to the Christ. This once out-of-print book will be of great interest to all Bonhoeffer students as well as those seeking to learn about his life and thought.

John Drew Godsey (1922-2010) was a renowned scholar of German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer. After earning his doctorate in theology from the University of Basel, Switzerland, where he studied under Karl Barth, Godsey enjoyed a rewarding teaching career at Drew University and Wesley Theological Seminary. He was a founding member of the International Bonhoeffer Society, served as president of the American Theological Society, and was active in the American Academy of Religion and the Karl Barth Society of North America.