Bonhoeffer demythologized

Dietrich Bonhoeffer has become
an almost mythical being, whose legacy everyone seems intent on claiming. From death-of-God
theologians to evangelicals to radical antiabortionists, partisans of all
stripes have remade Bonhoeffer in their own image.

His life story and theology,
however, are more complex than each of these efforts, taken separately, would
suggest. The papers and letters that emerged from his time in prison indicate
that at the time of his death he had entered into one of the most theologically
creative and provocative stages of any theologian in history. The musings of
this period have proven fruitful for several generations of theological work.

Bonhoeffer's story has been told
most fully by his friend and student, Eberhard Bethge, but Ferdinand
Schlingensiepen, who is a theologian, a founder of the International Bonhoeffer
Society and was a close friend of Bethge, has provided a new and definitive
biography that is full, fair, respectful and theologically sophisticated.
Schlingensiepen tells Bonhoeffer's story without claiming Bonhoeffer for a
particular contemporary ideological party or movement. He shows Bonhoeffer's
life in all of its complexity and makes good use of Bonhoeffer's collected
works.