March 11, 2005

MINNEAPOLIS – Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), a German pastor and scholar, played a central role in the Confessing Church during the Nazi period and became one of the most influential theologians of the twentieth century. His role in a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler ultimately cost him his life: he was hanged by the Gestapo on April 9, 1945. His theology and personal witness continue to challenge Christians of all denominations.

As we near the 60th anniversary of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's death, readers will find The Bonhoeffer Phenomenon: Portraits of a Protestant Saint by Stephen R. Haynes a provocative assessment of the Bonhoeffer mystique.

Stephen Haynes's study articulates the many motives and agendas that readers and scholars have brought to their study of Bonhoeffer, making it difficult to assess objectively the relationship of his political and religious commitments, the real meaning of his theology, and his words and actions on behalf of Jews. Reading Haynes's book helps us learn not only what Bonhoeffer has to teach us but also what it is we most desire to learn.

"This book has been waiting to be written. I am delighted to be numbered amongst its readers and commend it to others." – John W. de Gruchy, editor of Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Fortress Press, 1991).

"Explaining the grip of Bonhoeffer on people of different cultures and perspectives is a worthy and intriguing subject. . . . A valuable resource." – Larry Rasmussen, Reinhold Niebuhr Professor of Social Ethics, Union Theological Seminary, New York City.

"Stephen Haynes's analysis of Bonhoeffer's ‘sainthood' may seem iconoclastic to some, especially in regard to the ‘Jewish Question'; but this is the best kind of iconoclasm as it attests to Bonhoeffer's complexity, which continues to push us to break new ground." – Josiah U. Young III, author of No Difference in the Fare: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Problem of Racism.

Stephen R. Haynes is Associate Professor of Religion at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. His many works include Reluctant Witnesses: Jews and the Christian Imagination (1995), and Noah's Curse: The Biblical Justification of American Slavery (2002).

Format: Paperback 296 pages 6 x 9 inches; Item No: 080063652X-7; Price: $22.00.

To order The Bonhoeffer Phenomenon call Fortress Press at 1-800-328-4648 or visit the web site at http://www.augsburgfortress.com/.

Fortress Press