Introducing: Summer Reading with Bonhoeffer

Summer is fast approaching! For some of us, the arrival of summer means a little bit of downtime, spaces for rest and replenishment, and opportunities for enrichment. The Dietrich Bonhoeffer Institute wants to help you take advantage of these longer summer hours with our “Summer Reading with Bonhoeffer” series! 

While our namesake, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, doesn’t offer much in terms of “light reading,” with the exception of his attempt at fiction (not his strongest suit), we’ve landed on a few shorter titles worthy of beach, poolside, picnic, and or hammock reading. Every month this summer, we’ll be following up with some brief thoughts and reflections on this summer’s book suggestions.

First Up: June – Who Is Christ for Us?

Earlier titled as Christ the Center, Who is Christ for Us? is a smaller, abridged version of the original verbatim lecture notes transcribed by several of Bonhoeffer’s students and reconstructed by various editors and translators. The Fortress Press Facets edition includes opening essays by Renate Wind and Craig Nessan which give life and context to what can otherwise seem to be dense theological material.

For a deeper dive into Bonhoeffer’s inspiring Christology, try the 1966 unabridged edition in Harper’s Ministers Paperback Series (out of print but widely available through used book dealers). You can also plunge into the heavily annotated version in Volume 12 of the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, Berlin: 1932-1933 (Fortress Press).

Looking Forward

July – Spiritual Care

August – Collected Sermons 1 & 2 

BONUS READING: Fiction from Tegel Prison: Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, Volume 7