Customer Reviews

Meditations on the Cross

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This book is has selection of texts from Dietrich Bonhoeffers sermons, lectures, books and his letters from prison. Some of the texts are short (only few lines) while others are up to 13 pages long. But here you find theology of the cross, and that in a very broad sense. Here's a short text from this book from page 49: "Jesus is not a human being but the human being. Whatever happens to him also happens to human beings as such; it happens to everyone; and thus also to us. The name Jesus embraces all of humanity and all of God." What happened on the cross happens to humanity, human beings as such, that means all of us! The cross, resurrection and overcoming death was central in Dietrich Bonhoeffers theological work so here's just a glimpse of what one of the greatest theologian in the 20th century said and wrote but highly enjoyable. I only wonder if it wasn't possible to have this book a bit longer? It is 94 pages long and it does not take a long time to read it. But it's a good book.

Each small chapter starts with a Bible paragraph and subsequent remarks by Bonhoeffer that can spruce up any bible study as well as be used on its own by a study group.

If you like your soul food meaty, filling and full of vegetables, then you'll like Meditations on the Cross. This is a challenging book to read in that it is deep writing. Bonhoeffer, who was hung by the Nazis in April of 1945, was truly an exceptional Protestant theologian and an exceptional man who tried to live out his faith in truth and honest. In this book, you will find short readings that offer compelling insights into the the sacrifice and resurrection of Christ. My only criticism is that I wish Manfred Weber, the editor, put the dates of each piece at the beginning not the end. I keep flipping to the end of the reading to see if Bonhoeffer wrote the piece before or during his prison time. Even though this book is challenging but very rewarding.

I found this to be - less than I had hoped for; the essays are good - but not what I had hoped for - inspiration wise. The book is a set of brief, frequently less than a page, essays on various topics of Christian life. If you are a die-hard Bonhoeffer lover you will no doubt love it. Personally I can take or leave Bonhoeffer, and found the "Letters and Papers from Prison" much more useful - to be fair of course "letters and papers" is about 5 times the size of this text.