Reluctant Revolutionary

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a uniquely reluctant and distinctly German Lutheran revolutionary. In this volume, the author, an Anglican priest and historian, argues that Bonhoeffer s powerful critique of Germany s moral derailment needs to be understood as the expression of a devout Lutheran Protestant. Bonhoeffer gradually recognized the ways in which the intellectual and religious traditions of his own class - the Bildungsburgertum - were enabling Nazi evil. In response, he offered a religiously inspired call to political opposition and Christian witness which cost him his life. The author investigates Bonhoeffer s stance in terms of his confrontation with the legacy of Hegelianism and Neo-Rankeanism, and by highlighting Bonhoeffer s intellectual and spiritual journey, shows how his endeavor to politicially reeducate the German people must be examined in theological terms.