The Reluctant Revolutionary

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a uniquely reluctant and distinctly German Lutheran revolutionary. In this volume, the author, an Anglican priest and historian, argues that Bonhoeffers powerful critique of Germanys moral derailment needs to be understood as the expression of a devout Lutheran Protestant. Bonhoeffer gradually recognized the ways in which the intellectual and religious traditions of his own class - the Bildungsbrgertum - were enabling Nazi evil. In response, he offered a religiously inspired call to political opposition and Christian witnesswhich cost him his life. The author investigates Bonhoeffers stance in terms of his confrontation with the legacy of Hegelianism and Neo-Rankeanism, and by highlighting Bonhoeffers intellectual and spiritual journey, shows how his endeavor to politicially reeducate the German people must be examined in theological terms.