Why I have not yet blogged the Bonhoeffer chapters

Though I know that excuses are not "solution-oriented" I'm going to give you some insight into what is taking so long on blogging these next few Bonhoeffer chapters. 1932, the subject of the next chapter, is a crucial year in Bonhoeffer's development and for Hitler's Reich. Bethge dedicates the whole chapter to important months in this year. It's almost like "The Reich did this---Bonhoeffer did this." We are made keenly aware that Bonhoeffer was wide awake and active as a leader to countermand the German Christian seizure of the Evangelical church.

But here's the deal: As I said before I'm reading Clifford Green's Bonhoeffer: A Theology of Sociality at the same time. Green calls this period (1932) Bonhoeffer's transition "From the Phraseological to the Real". He follows that chapter (four) with "Creation and Christology 1932-33" (chapter five). This is 141 pages of not-lite reading! While Bethge only briefly refers to the Christology lectures, Green brings me into what I really want---full encounter.

I should say that I am really up to Finkenwalde in my Bethge reading. So the truth is I've gotten lazy, mixed-up, and distracted over the last few months. Also John Franke has just released Barth for Armchair Theologians on WJK press as a guilty and fun(!) rabbit-trail for me.

I set my face like flint to finishing Bethge's Bio by December 31st on the centennial of Bonhoeffer's birth. We'll see what happens. If you're along for the ride you might learn more about my personal reading habits than about Bonhoeffer by then. Bear with me. At the end I will post easy links to all chapter submissions.

Tags: Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Clifford Green, John Franke, Karl Barth