The Bonhoeffer Phenomenon: Portraits of a Protestant Saint

Rating:
Summary: Informed, informative, fascinating reading
Review: The Bonhoeffer Phenomenon: Portraits Of A Protestant Saint by Stephen R. Haynes (Associate Professor of Religion, Rhodes College, Memphis, Tennessee) offers a groundbreaking assessment of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his continuing mystique and popularity among seminar students, theologians, and the Christian community so many years after his martyrdom at the hands of the Nazis. After the informative introduction "Beyond the Historical Bonhoeffer", this descriptive analytical history addresses the question "Who is Bonhoeffer for Us?" in terms of Seer (The Radical Bonhoeffer), Prophet (The Liberal Bonhoeffer), Apostle (The Conservative Bonhoeffer), and Bridge (The Universal Bonhoeffer). The next major section is dedicated to "Interpreting the Bonhoeffer Phenomenon" in terms of Saint (The Function and Form of Christian Hagiography), Cult (Expressions of the Bonhoeffer Phenomenon), and Domestication (The Perils of Protestant Sainthood). Enhanced with expensive notes, a substantial bibliography, and a thoroughly "user friendly" index, The Bonhoeffer Phenomenon is informed, informative, fascinating reading and a "must" for academic as well as non-specialist general readers with an interest in Dietrich Bonhoeffer's life and writings.