Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Christian Humanism

Description

Jens Zimmermann locates Bonhoeffer within the Christian humanist tradition extending back to patristic theology. He begins by explaining Bonhoeffer's own use of the term humanism (and Christian humanism), and considering how his criticism of liberal Protestant theology prevents him from articulating his own theology rhetorically as a Christian humanism. He then provides an in-depth portrayal of Bonhoeffer's theological anthropology and establishes that Bonhoeffer's Christology and attendant anthropology closely resemble patristic teaching. The volume also considers Bonhoeffer's mature anthropology, focusing in particular on the Christian self. It introduces the hermeneutic quality of Bonhoeffer's theology as a further important feature of his Christian humanism. In contrast to secular and religious fundamentalisms, Bonhoeffer offers a hermeneutic understanding of truth as participation in the Christ event that makes interpretation central to human knowing. Having established the hermeneutical structure of his theology, and his personalist configuration of reality, Zimmermann outlines Bonhoeffer's ethics as 'Christformation'. Building on the hermeneutic theology and participatory ethics of the previous chapters, he then shows how a major part of Bonhoeffer's life and theology, namely his dedication to the Bible as God's word, is also consistent with his Christian humanism. Cover Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Christian Humanism Copyright Dedication Foreword Preface Chapter Outline Acknowledgments Contents 1: Bonhoeffer and the Idea of Christian Humanism INTRODUCTION BONHOEFFER AGAINST HUMANISM: BARCELONA AND BERLIN 1928–31 AFTER BARCELONA: AMERICAN CHRISTIAN HUMANISM AT UNION SEMINARY CHRISTIAN HUMANISM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF BERLIN REVERSING COURSE: BONHOEFFER A CHRISTIAN HUMANIST? BONHOEFFER’S CHRISTIAN HUMANISM IN CULTURAL CONTEXT BONHOEFFER IN RELATION TO OTHER CHRISTIAN HUMANISMS CONCLUSION 2: Bonhoeffer’s Theological Anthropology and the Greater Tradition, Part I: Christology and Recapitulation INTRODUCTION: BONHOEFFER’S ANTHROPOLOGY—A REVERSAL OF PATRISTIC THOUGHT? PATRISTIC IMAGO DEI CHRISTOLOGY: THEOLOGY AS ANTHROPOLOGY BONHOEFFER, THEOLOGIAN OF THE INCARNATION BONHOEFFER AND PATRISTIC LOGOS CHRISTOLOGY RECAPITULATION AND NEW HUMANITY IN IRENAEUS AND THE FATHERS THE BODY OF CHRIST OR EUCHARISTIC HUMANISM STELLVERTRETUNG: RECAPITULATION IN BONHOEFFER’S THEOLOGY CONCLUSION 3: Bonhoeffer’s Theological Anthropology and the Greater Tradition, Part II: Christ’s Body, Eucharistic Humanism, and Deification CHRIST’S BODY: THE CHURCH AS THE NEW HUMANITY BONHOEFFER’S EUCHARISTIC HUMANISM: “CHRIST EXISTING AS COMMUNITY” THE BIBLICAL ROOTS OF BONHOEFFER’S PARTICIPATORY ONTOLOGY CHRISTIAN HUMANISM FOR THE SAKE OF THE WORLD DEIFICATION AS CHRISTFORMATION: REVERSAL OR CONGRUENCE? DEIFICATION OF THE HUMAN BODY IN CHRIST DEIFICATION AS ETHICAL FORMATION CONCLUSION 4: In God’s Image: From Sicut Deus to Imago Dei INTRODUCTION THEOLOGICAL ROOTS OF BONHOEFFER’S IMAGO DEI FREEDOM AS RELATION THE OTHER AS LIMIT “SUBDUING THE EARTH”: DOMINION AS RESPONSIBILITY DOMINION GONE WRONG: THE IMAGO DEI AND DISORDERED DESIRE THE TRULY HUMAN SELF: FROM THE DIVIDED SICUT DEUS TO UNIFIED IMAGO DEI SICUT DEUS: THE DIVIDED SELF AND THE RISE OF CONSCIENCE THE IMAGE RESTORED: THE UNIFIED SELF OR “BEING-IN-CHRIST” THE CHRISTOLOGICAL STRUCTURE OF THE SELF: INCARNATION, CROSS, AND RESURRECTION THE RELEVANCE OF BONHOEFFER’S UNIFIED SELF FOR OTHER HUMANISMS CONCLUSION 5: Bonhoeffer’s Hermeneutic Theology INTRODUCTION: BONHOEFFER’S CHRISTOLOGICAL HERMENEUTICS BONHOEFFER’S HERMENEUTIC CONSCIOUSNESS BASIC CONTOURS OF HERMENEUTIC PHILOSOPHY HERMENEUTIC ELEMENTS IN BONHOEFFER’S EARLY WORKS BONHOEFFER AND THE HERMENEUTICAL CIRCLE BONHOEFFER’S HERMENEUTICAL CIRCLE: ONE CHRIST REALITY PARTICIPATORY KNOWLEDGE: THE “EVANGELICAL” HERMENEUTICS OF DISCIPLESHIP FOLLOWING JESUS: ENGAGED KNOWING THE HERMENEUTIC IMPORTANCE OF THE THREEFOLD CHRIST EVENT THE INTERPRETIVE FUNCTION OF THE ULTIMATE-PENULTIMATE RELATION CONCLUSION: REALISTIC RESPONSIBILITY 6: Living Freely before God: Christian Humanist Ethics or “Realistic Responsible Action” INTRODUCTION PARTICIPATORY ONTOLOGY: BONHOEFFER’S ETHICAL REALISM ONE CHRIST-REALITY THE “REAL ONE” : RELATIONAL ONTOLOGY VERSUS CHRISTOMONISM ULTIMATE-PENULTIMATE: THE ESCHATOLOGICAL DIMENSION OF CHRISTFORMATION RENEWING THE IMAGE: ETHICS AS CHRISTFORMATION THE SOCIAL ASPECTS OF CHRISTFORMATION CHRISTFORMATION IN WESTERN CULTURE DISCERNING GOD’S WILL: ETHICS AS “REALISTIC RESPONSIBLE ACTION” RESPONSIBILITY AND THE ASSUMPTION OF “GUILT” LIVING FREELY BEFORE GOD CONCLUSION 7: The Vulnerability of the Word: Bonhoeffer’s Biblical Hermeneutics INTRODUCTION LETTING THE BIBLE SPEAK: BARTH’S CRITIQUE OF HISTORICAL CRITICISM GOD SPEAKS TO US: BONHOEFFER’S “DISCOVERY” OF THE BIBLE THE DIVINE-HUMAN WORD: BONHOEFFER’S INCARNATIONAL VIEW OF THE BIBLE READING THE BOOK OF THE CHURCH: BONHOEFFER ON THEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION READING THE BIBLE “FROM CHRIST TOWARD CHRIST” READING THE OLD TESTAMENT WITH BONHOEFFER THEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION OF GENESIS SERMONS AND MEDITATIONS CHRIST IN THE PSALMS THE SACRAMENT OF THE WORD: EXEGESIS IN THE SERVICE OF CHRISTFORMATION NON-RELIGIOUS INTERPRETATION OF BIBLICAL CONCEPTS NON-RELIGIOUS INTERPRETATION: CHRISTIAN HUMANIST IMPLICATIONS HUMANISM AS THE POLYPHONY OF LIFE: RE-DISCOVERING THE OLD TESTAMENT BONHOEFFER’S “CREATION FAITH”: TOWARD AN INTEGRAL CHRISTIAN HUMANISM CONCLUSION 8: Recovering the Natural: Humanizing Politics INTRODUCTION RECOVERING THE NATURAL NATURAL LIFE AND NATURAL RIGHTS RECOVERING NATURAL “LAW” BONHOEFFER’S VIEW OF CHURCH-STATE RELATIONS BONHOEFFER’S POLITICAL THOUGHT WITHIN THE BROADER CHRISTIAN TRADITION POLITICS AFTER CHRISTENDOM CHRIST, PLURALISM, AND SECULAR DEMOCRACIES CONCLUSION 9: Conclusion: The Continuing Relevance of Bonhoeffer’s Christian Humanism Bibliography Dietrich Bonhoeffer Werke Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works (English) Secondary sources Name Index Subject Index