I continue to work through chapter nine of Bethge's
Dietrich Bonhoeffer: A Biography. I have a few paragraphs written for a post but I keep editing and deleting and rewording. Sunday morning I got hit with the writing bug. Then Monday and Tuesday my sisters came to town with their families and we've been going over to my mom's to be with them each day. Yesterday morning I finally got out on a nice long walk down a beautiful stretch of rural road. Manuevering down a hilly blacktop takes a lot of concentration! With Lucinda William's "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road" on my ipod I briskly walked and ran for a straight hour. I got better exercise than my typical six mile walk along the bike path in Chicago. The change of scenery was a welcome treat. Beautiful skies, stars at night, hilly pastures, its all a luxury I wish I could take home. I'll be traveling with my dad and daughters today. I plan to bring along DB and a notebook. We'll see how far I get.
I just have to say that while DB has been one of my most richly rewarding reads its also the most work I've ever put into a single book. Maybe a better mind than mine wouldn't find it this hard, but I spend a lot of time working the angles. I read and reread a lot. This is a book I'll no doubt continue to struggle along with for years to come. The reading and plodding really stretch my mind into new places. Its like mental weight lifting. Trouble comes in finding other folks who can really share my interest in the material. I have met exactly one other person this year who has been entirely through this book. I met him by chance in a bookstore over the summer. If you've been all the way through DB, chime in here too.
4 comments:
No, I'm afraid I do not number among that blessed group. I do have an old edition waiting to be read but am thinking I may buy the newest version in any case.
I found your blog on the 'Theology Blogs'. I also have a blog on this list - 'The Theology of G C Berkouwer'.
I wonder if you might be interested in my Bible Reading Notes, covering the whole of Scripture www.christinallthescriptures.blogspot.com http://chascameron.spaces.live.com
These notes are also on the Berkouwer blog www.theologyofgcberkouwer.blogspot.com
Best Wishes.
Hey Chris -- Good seeing you yesterday, and nice to see you "here" too -- once you work out the corners and kinks, or heck, if you decide just to post it with rough edges, I'll look forward to what you have to say about DB. Your passion for the man (and for grueling through tough material) inspires me to keep greuling myself -- sometime the only way to get anywhere. Here's to faith it all pays off...
I have tried to read the Bethge biography so many times, but every time I do, I get tied up with life and I have to start over!
I just wrote a paper on something that really interested me. I noticed that a bunch of biographers designate Bonhoeffer by his first name in their biographies. Elizabeth Raum does it all the way through "Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Called by God" as does Renate Wind in "A Spoke in the Wheel." A slew of others -- including Bethge -- use "Dietrich" during the early years and shift to "Bonhoeffer" when he begins his professional work.
I surveyed some biographical literature on Karl Barth, Paul Tillich, Reinhold Niebuhr, and Soren Kierkegaard, and I didn't find any parallels to this use of a first name. I think this says something about the personal connection people feel with Bonhoeffer.
Post a Comment