Bonhoeffer and Contemporary Challenges
Crisis and Hope
Will be published approx. on 19. February 2026
Book
Hardback
384 pages
978-0-567-72053-5 (ISBN)
Description
The world is in a state of crisis. How can engaging Dietrich Bonhoeffer help with understanding and negotiating some of the many challenges that we are facing today?
Bonhoeffer wrote much of his theology during a time of intense upheaval. He developed his rich contributions to theology and ethics in the context of National Socialism and during the Second World War.
This collection of essays draws together the work of established and emerging scholars to engage Bonhoeffer and the present crises. Some chapters explore how Bonhoeffer's theology helps us understand and respond to the legacies of colonialism and systemic racism. Other chapters tackle the climate emergency, political authoritarianism, and modern conflicts through Bonhoeffer's timeless insights.
With contributions from around the globe, including philosophers, theologians, pastors and activists, this volume is essential for those looking for a theological path through today's divided world.
Bonhoeffer wrote much of his theology during a time of intense upheaval. He developed his rich contributions to theology and ethics in the context of National Socialism and during the Second World War.
This collection of essays draws together the work of established and emerging scholars to engage Bonhoeffer and the present crises. Some chapters explore how Bonhoeffer's theology helps us understand and respond to the legacies of colonialism and systemic racism. Other chapters tackle the climate emergency, political authoritarianism, and modern conflicts through Bonhoeffer's timeless insights.
With contributions from around the globe, including philosophers, theologians, pastors and activists, this volume is essential for those looking for a theological path through today's divided world.
Reviews / Votes
Eighty years after his tragic death, Bonhoeffer's legacy continues to challenge and inspire us through a new generation of scholars who help us discern who Christ is for us today in a complex world of pain and suffering. Such voices keep hope alive when tempted to despair. * John W. de Gruchy, University of Cape Town, South Africa * This collection of essays from the fourteenth gathering of the International Bonhoeffer Society comes at a critical moment in world history. The theme of this work speaks to the direction of the ideas collected here, and their yield is both troubling and deeply insightful. This collection is an example of timely, relevant scholarship by top scholars thinking through the meaning of Bonhoeffer's legacy for our time. * Reggie Williams, Saint Louis University, USA * This is an extraordinarily rich collection of essays, in which a diverse group of leading theologians think with and beyond Bonhoeffer to address the multifaceted challenges - ecological, political, intellectual and spiritual - of the contemporary world. It demonstrates how Bonhoeffer's life and thought continue to draw attention from new generations of scholars, to enable new insights, and to inform debates that he could never have foreseen. The authors take Bonhoeffer seriously in his own context in order to be able to take Christian theology seriously in ours. * Rachel Muers, University of Edinburgh, UK *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
731 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-567-72053-5 (9780567720535)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
02/2026
1st Edition
T.& T.Clark Ltd
€105.99
Not yet available
E-Book
02/2026
1st Edition
T.& T.Clark Ltd
€105.99
Not yet available
Persons
Michael Mawson is Maclaurin Goodfellow Associate Professor at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. He is also a Research Fellow at the University of the Free State, South Africa.
Dianne Rayson is Associate Professor in Theology and Ethics at Pacific Theological College, Fiji, and Secretary of the International Bonhoeffer Society, English Language Section.
Dianne Rayson is Associate Professor in Theology and Ethics at Pacific Theological College, Fiji, and Secretary of the International Bonhoeffer Society, English Language Section.
Content
Introduction (Michael Mawson, University of Auckland, New Zealand)
Part I: Bonhoeffer After Colonisation
1. Bonhoeffer's Theology: Influencing and Empowering Australia's First Nations Theology for Justice
(Anne Pattel-Gray, School of Indigenious Studies, University of Divinity, Australia)
Part II: Bonhoeffer and Creaturely Life
2. Where is the Limit in Bonhoeffer? Heteronormativity or Creatureliness in Bonhoeffer's Commentary on Genesis 1-3 (Willie Jennings, Yale University, USA)
3. One Reality: Bonhoeffer, Non-Dualism, and Membraned Divine Ecologies, Lisa Dahill (Hartford University, USA)
4. Bonhoeffer's Earthly Christianity: Voices of the Anthropocene (Dianne Rayson, Pacific Theological College, Fiji)
5. Responding to Hope: A Challenge for Bonhoeffer's Ethics in Times of Climate Crisis (Ulrik Nissen, Aarhaus Univeristy, Denmark)
6. Without God, Within the Sky: The Religionless Ethics of an Animate Weather-World (Peter Kline, University of Divinity, Australia)
Part III: Bonhoeffer, Identity and Dialogue
7. The Mystery of the Other: Bonhoeffer and the Recognition of Difference (Robert Vosloo, Stellenbosch University, South Africa)
8. Bonhoeffer's Religionless Christianity in Conversation with Islamic and Habermasian Scholarship (Terry Lovat, University of Newcastle, UK)
9. The A Posteriori Nature of moral Judgement: A Ricoeurian Reflection on Bonhoeffer's Ethics (Jason Lam, Melbourne School of Theology, Australia)
10. Nationalism, Community, and Self: The Self-Understanding of Bonhoeffer and Korean Poet Dong-Ju Kim (Hyun Joo Kim, Torch Trinity Graduate University, Republic of Korea)
11. On Being with Others: The Vulnerability of Relationality (Petra Brown, Deakin University, Australia)
Part IV: Bonhoeffer, Conflict and War
12. Bonhoeffer on the Border (Claire Hein Blanton, Baylor University, USA)
13. Dialogue Or Confession? Bonhoeffer's Early Assault On Ecumenical Liberalism with Reference to the War on Ukraine (Keith Clements, Bristol University, UK)
14. Towards a Christocentric Public Theology: Implications from Bonhoeffer with Attention to the War in Ukraine (Christine Schliesser, Zurich University, Switzerland)
15. 'A Time of Testing for Us All': Bonhoeffer on Patience and Discernment Amidst Escalating Conflict (Kevin Lenehan, Catholic Theological College, University of Divinity, Australia)
16. 'Babylon is Fallen!' The Death of the Church as the Gospel Response to Political Tyranny (Mark Lindsay, Trinity College, University of Divinity, Australia)
Part V: Bonhoeffer, Prison Theology and Incarceration
17. Prison Letters as Liminal Carceral Space: Reciprocal Illumination between Bonhoeffer and Honk Kong Political Prisoners (Lap-Yan Kung, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong)
18. What Will the Prison System do to Us? Bonhoeffer, Moral Disengagement, and Christological Formation (Jenny McBride, International Bonhoeffer Society & Thomas Fabisiak, Life University, USA)
19. Reading Disenchantment in Letters and Papers from Prison (David Hall, Centre College, USA)
20. Revisiting Bonhoeffer's Prison Theology: Hope and Accountability for the Church (Lori Brandt Hale, Augsburg University, USA)
21. Left to our own Devices: Bonhoeffer's Ethics in a Distracted World Come of Age (Corey Tuttle, Aberdeen University, UK)
22. Betraying Bonhoeffer? Lost Subversions of a Legacy (Andrew Clark-Howard Charles Sturt University, USA)
23. The Theological Art of Failure: Reading Bonhoeffer's Late Writings with Jack Halberstam (Michael Mawson, University of Auckland, New Zealand)
Part VI: Bonhoeffer, Ethics and Liberation
24. Bonhoeffer and Moral Failure: "Always a Venture" (Karen Guth, College of the Holy Cross, USA)
25. The Crisis and Future of Human Dignity (Matthew Puffer, Valparaiso University, USA)
26. Bonhoeffer's Christ as Response to Programmed "Indigeneity" and Ideological "Colonization" (Karola Radler, Stellenbosch University, South Africa)
27. Bonhoeffer as a Wounded Prophet: "Jonah" Read Through a Trauma and Gender-critical Lens (Julie Claassens, Stellenbosch University, South Africa)
Index
Part I: Bonhoeffer After Colonisation
1. Bonhoeffer's Theology: Influencing and Empowering Australia's First Nations Theology for Justice
(Anne Pattel-Gray, School of Indigenious Studies, University of Divinity, Australia)
Part II: Bonhoeffer and Creaturely Life
2. Where is the Limit in Bonhoeffer? Heteronormativity or Creatureliness in Bonhoeffer's Commentary on Genesis 1-3 (Willie Jennings, Yale University, USA)
3. One Reality: Bonhoeffer, Non-Dualism, and Membraned Divine Ecologies, Lisa Dahill (Hartford University, USA)
4. Bonhoeffer's Earthly Christianity: Voices of the Anthropocene (Dianne Rayson, Pacific Theological College, Fiji)
5. Responding to Hope: A Challenge for Bonhoeffer's Ethics in Times of Climate Crisis (Ulrik Nissen, Aarhaus Univeristy, Denmark)
6. Without God, Within the Sky: The Religionless Ethics of an Animate Weather-World (Peter Kline, University of Divinity, Australia)
Part III: Bonhoeffer, Identity and Dialogue
7. The Mystery of the Other: Bonhoeffer and the Recognition of Difference (Robert Vosloo, Stellenbosch University, South Africa)
8. Bonhoeffer's Religionless Christianity in Conversation with Islamic and Habermasian Scholarship (Terry Lovat, University of Newcastle, UK)
9. The A Posteriori Nature of moral Judgement: A Ricoeurian Reflection on Bonhoeffer's Ethics (Jason Lam, Melbourne School of Theology, Australia)
10. Nationalism, Community, and Self: The Self-Understanding of Bonhoeffer and Korean Poet Dong-Ju Kim (Hyun Joo Kim, Torch Trinity Graduate University, Republic of Korea)
11. On Being with Others: The Vulnerability of Relationality (Petra Brown, Deakin University, Australia)
Part IV: Bonhoeffer, Conflict and War
12. Bonhoeffer on the Border (Claire Hein Blanton, Baylor University, USA)
13. Dialogue Or Confession? Bonhoeffer's Early Assault On Ecumenical Liberalism with Reference to the War on Ukraine (Keith Clements, Bristol University, UK)
14. Towards a Christocentric Public Theology: Implications from Bonhoeffer with Attention to the War in Ukraine (Christine Schliesser, Zurich University, Switzerland)
15. 'A Time of Testing for Us All': Bonhoeffer on Patience and Discernment Amidst Escalating Conflict (Kevin Lenehan, Catholic Theological College, University of Divinity, Australia)
16. 'Babylon is Fallen!' The Death of the Church as the Gospel Response to Political Tyranny (Mark Lindsay, Trinity College, University of Divinity, Australia)
Part V: Bonhoeffer, Prison Theology and Incarceration
17. Prison Letters as Liminal Carceral Space: Reciprocal Illumination between Bonhoeffer and Honk Kong Political Prisoners (Lap-Yan Kung, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong)
18. What Will the Prison System do to Us? Bonhoeffer, Moral Disengagement, and Christological Formation (Jenny McBride, International Bonhoeffer Society & Thomas Fabisiak, Life University, USA)
19. Reading Disenchantment in Letters and Papers from Prison (David Hall, Centre College, USA)
20. Revisiting Bonhoeffer's Prison Theology: Hope and Accountability for the Church (Lori Brandt Hale, Augsburg University, USA)
21. Left to our own Devices: Bonhoeffer's Ethics in a Distracted World Come of Age (Corey Tuttle, Aberdeen University, UK)
22. Betraying Bonhoeffer? Lost Subversions of a Legacy (Andrew Clark-Howard Charles Sturt University, USA)
23. The Theological Art of Failure: Reading Bonhoeffer's Late Writings with Jack Halberstam (Michael Mawson, University of Auckland, New Zealand)
Part VI: Bonhoeffer, Ethics and Liberation
24. Bonhoeffer and Moral Failure: "Always a Venture" (Karen Guth, College of the Holy Cross, USA)
25. The Crisis and Future of Human Dignity (Matthew Puffer, Valparaiso University, USA)
26. Bonhoeffer's Christ as Response to Programmed "Indigeneity" and Ideological "Colonization" (Karola Radler, Stellenbosch University, South Africa)
27. Bonhoeffer as a Wounded Prophet: "Jonah" Read Through a Trauma and Gender-critical Lens (Julie Claassens, Stellenbosch University, South Africa)
Index