The Society for the Advancement of Ecclesiological Theology

April 24, 2010 by Gerald Hiestand

Joel Lawrence’s “Bonhoeffer: A Guide for the Perplexed”

Joel Lawrence — SAET Fellow, Bonhoeffer expert, and all around good guy — has recently released his new book, Bonhoeffer: A Guide for the Perplexed (T & T Clark). Joel presented a paper at last year’s SAET symposium on how Bonhoeffer’s theology navigated the gap between the academy and the church. I found the paper very helpful, and I trust this new book will be as well. The description of Joel’s book from the publisher’s website is below:

There is little doubt that the nature of Bonhoeffer’s unfinished final theological ruminations have made him a thinker whose influence has grown as theologians and pastors have tried to make sense of Bonhoeffer’s vision. In writing a guide for the perplexed, the best way to approach his thought is to use the “perplexing” themes of the prison letters as guides for engaging Bonhoeffer’s larger theological project. In this guide, Lawrence uses five key themes from the prison letters as ways into the movements of Bonhoeffer’s theology. In doing so, he engages specifically with the difficult concepts in the Bonhoefferian corpus, using these to address the larger field of Bonhoeffer’s theology. This approach aims at the readers who would be approaching Bonhoeffer for the first time as those who are struggling with his thought. Many would be familiar with the content of the prison letters, but would have failed to grasp the context of those letters in which their difficulty is best alleviated.

For more detailed product information (endorsements, chapter summaries, author bio) see the publisher’s website. To purchase the book at a cheaper price, go to Amazon.

Categories: Joel Lawrence | SAET Fellow Publications