The Theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Godsey's seminal study is the first dissertation to be written on Dietrich Bonhoeffer's theology. It first appeared in 1960 when Bonhoeffer's name was relatively new in English-language circles. This work, which surveyed the entire Bonhoeffer corpus available at the time, quickly became a standard text that laid the groundwork for Bonhoeffer studies thereafter. Godsey explores Bonhoeffer's life and the key themes of his Christocentric theology, providing an introduction to mid-century Protestant theology, and showing how Bonhoeffer's theology can serve as a resource for those who seek to engage theology with the world. In the intervening years since its publication, Bonhoeffer scholarship has progressed, but much of what we think about Bonhoeffer's theology can be found in the pages of this work. Bonhoeffer's life and work bear witness to the fact that the church cannot live on ""cheap grace,"" but only on the present Christ. ""The reissue of Godsey's ground-breaking Theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a doctoral dissertation directed by none other than Karl Barth, illuminates how Bonhoeffer's forceful Christocentrism was a foundation and unifying principle of his thought throughout his life and well into his prison letters."" Geffrey Kelly, Professor Emeritus of Systematic Theology, La Salle University John Drew Godsey (1922-2010) was a renowned scholar of German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer. After earning his doctorate in theology from the University of Basel, Switzerland, where he studied under Karl Barth, Godsey enjoyed a rewarding teaching career at Drew University and Wesley Theological Seminary. He was a founding member of the International Bonhoeffer Society, served as president of the American Theological Society, and was active in the American Academy of Religion and the Karl Barth Society of North America.