Ethics (Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, Vol. 6) [Hardcover]

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Author), Clifford J. Green (Editor), Reinhard Krauss (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2005

The crown jewel of Bonhoeffer's body of work, Ethics is the culmination of his theological and personal odyssey. Based on careful reconstruction of the manuscripts, freshly and expertly translated and annotated, this new critical edition features an insightful Introduction by Clifford Green and an Afterword from the German edition's editors. Though caught up in the vortex of momentous forces in the Nazi period, Bonhoeffer systematically envisioned a radically Christocentric, incarnational ethic for a post-war world, purposefully recasting Christians' relation to history, politics, and public life. This edition allows scholars, theologians, ethicists, and serious Christians to appreciate the cogency and relevance of Bonhoeffer's vision.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 593 pages
• Publisher: Augsburg Fortress Publishers (January 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0800683064
• ISBN-13: 978-0800683061
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #683,944 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born in Breslau in 1906. The son of a famous German psychiatrist, he studied in Berlin and New York City. He left the safety of America to return to Germany and continue his public repudiation of the Naz*s, which led to his arrest in 1943. Linked to the group of conspirators whose attempted assassination of Hitlerr failed, he was hanged in April 1945.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, but a word of warning, March 23, 2010

By 

Robert Scott - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ethics (Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, Vol. 6) (Paperback)

I can attest that this is an excellent book, however the "Look Inside" view is NOT of 'Ethics'. The 'Look Inside' view is of Vol. 10.

If you want to see the basic content of 'Ethics' I suggest you look in the Touchstone edition of the book.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Complete Edition, January 9, 2007

By 

C. Thompson (IA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ethics (Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, Vol. 6) (Hardcover)

Ethics is a difficult work to encounter, largely because the work was unfinished when Bonhoeffer was arrested and imprisoned. Most versions of Ethics require an editor to arrange the manuscripts into a coherent whole - but this being the "Works" edition includes all of the information (including notes about context and translation from German) surrounding the writing of the Ethics manuscript.

This is the version to get if you want "completeness", in-depth discussion, or research purposes (the volume contains an exhaustive bibliography) but it might not be for the casual reader that wants an overview of Bonhoeffer's formulation of ethics. (Otherwise, you might not understand why you are reading a chapter titled "History and Good" twice!)

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Theology of Personal Responsibility, March 30, 2009

By 

dizzy dean (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ethics (Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, Vol. 6) (Paperback)

Bonhoeffer fleshes out the theology of what the responsible person is. He makes the argument that we cannot compartmentalize our faith and our lives in reality--something we all too readily do. He believes that we must not only live as good people individually (or, as he rephrases the issues, trying to do what God wants) but that we are social creatures and therefore must try to live within a good society that we help create. Interestingly, he ties this to the state. A breathtaking passage involves his invoking the void which threatens all of us (I take it to mean that he is referring not just to evil, but also to materialism/secularism) and that it is the state--flawed as it is--which acts as a "restrainer" on evil. This section alone is worth the price of the book.