Bonhoeffer's Theology in Historical Context (CH9025W)

Postgraduate, 24.0 points

Content

Beginning with his early philosophical theology and concluding with his radical prison writings, this unit explores the dynamic interaction between Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s leading theological ideas and his engagement with the changing religious, social, and political context of Hitler’s Third Reich.

Unit code: CH9025W

Unit status: Approved (Major revision)

Points: 24.0

Unit level: Postgraduate Elective

Unit discipline: Church History

Proposing College: Whitley College

Show when this unit is running

Learning outcomes

1.

Articulate a holistic understanding of Bonhoeffer’s often controversial theology
2.

Outline the major influences upon Bonhoeffer’s theology;
3.

Critique the relationship between Bonhoeffer’s theology and his ecclesial and political engagements;
4.

Analyse the mutual significance of systematic theology and church history in relation to Bonhoeffer’s works as an example of broader applicability
5.

Critique both primary and secondary literature in Bonhoeffer studies in light of contemporary challenges.

Unit sequence

48 points in CT

Pedagogy

lectures, seminars

Indicative Bibliography

  • Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Discipleship. Edited by Geffrey B. Kelly and John D. Godsey. Translated by Barbara Green and Krauss Reinhard. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2000.
  • ———. Ethics. Edited by Clifford J. Green. Translated by Reinhard Krauss, Charles C. West, and Douglas W. Scott. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2005.
  • ———. Letters and Papers from Prison. Edited by John W. de Gruchy. Translated by Isabel Best, Lisa E. Dahill, Reinhard Krauss, and Nancy Lukens. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2010.
  • ———. No Rusty Swords: Letters, Lectures and Notes 1928–1936. Translated by Edwin H. Robertson, John Bowden, and Eberhard Bethge. London: Collins, 1970.
  • Clements, Keith W. Bonhoeffer and Britain. London: Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, 2006.
  • ———. The SPCK Introduction to Bonhoeffer. London: SPCK, 2010.
  • Green, Clifford J. and Michael P. DeJonge, eds. The Bonhoeffer Reader. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2013.
  • Pugh, Jeffrey C. Religionless Christianity: Dietrich Bonhoeffer in Troubled Times. London: T&T Clark, 2008.
  • Schlingensiepen, Ferdinand. Dietrich Bonhoeffer 1906–1945: Martyr, Thinker, Man of Resistance. Translated by Isabel Best. London: T&T Clark, 2010.
  • Scholder, Klaus. The Churches and the Third Reich. Volume 1: Preliminary History and the Time of Illusions, 1918–1934. Translated by John Bowden. London: SCM Press, 1987.
  • ———. The Churches and the Third Reich. Volume 2: The Year of Disillusionment, 1934 – Barmen and Rome. Translated by John Bowden. London: SCM Press, 1988.
  • Ziegler, Philip G., and Michael Mawson (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Oxford Handbooks Oxford: Oxford Academic, 2019.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Seminar or Tutorial - Seminar Paper 1500 25.0
Book Review - Book Review 2000 25.0
Essay - Essay 4500 50.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by Prof Albert Haddad on 15 Sep, 2022

Unit record last updated: 2022-09-15 15:27:43 +1000