Poll

I find Bonhoeffer to be fascinating, so if I can find a copy, this could be an interesting read!

Wow, the votes are pretty close together this time around.

Okay, I change my mind about the Bonheoffer after speaking with my pastor. I would love to read the Gaiman book, especially because I'm in the midst of the Sandman productions and they're amazing!

Vote, please for the Bonhoeffer book!

Bonhoeffer can be considered a hero by any secular definition of the word. In Christian views, saint is applicable. That he was a martyr who stood up against Hitler and Nazism and paid for his courage by death in a concentration camp, is unquestioned.

Like the modern day Russian hero Navalny, Dietrich Bonhoeffer chose to leave the safety of a foreign country (the US) during WWII and return to his native Germany. He paid for that decision to fight Nazism and Hitler with his death at age 37 in a German concentration camp. He wrote to fellow theologian Reinhold Niebuhr:

"I have come to the conclusion that I made a mistake in coming to America this time. I must live through this difficult period in our national history along with the people of Germany. I will have no right to participate in the reconstruction of Christian life in Germany after the war if I do not share the trials of this time with my people ... Christians in Germany will have to face the terrible alternative of either willing the defeat of their nation in order that a future Christian civilization may survive, or else willing the victory of their nation and thereby destroying our civilization and any true Christianity. I know which of these alternatives I must choose but I cannot make that choice from a place of security.[43]

A pastor also and a writer as well as a respected German theologian, I will be reading this book with enthusiasm. I have read The Cost of Discipleshipby Dietrich Bonhoeffer and it is a firm statement of how to follow Jesus, as expressed in the New Testament.

I will vote for this book with enthusiasm and will be putting it on my short-list of books to read.

Lee wrote: "Vote, please for the Bonhoeffer book!

Bonhoeffer can be considered a hero by any secular definition of the word. In Christian views, saint is applicable. That he was a martyr who stood up against ..."

I agree with you, he was a great man willing to die for his convictions though I understand also why some people struggle with him and his decision to support/actively participating in the attempt to assassinate Hitler.
From what I read about him he wrote his most influential works in prison which shows that even such a dire situation can lead to something positive.
You’re not the first person recommending The Cost of Discipleship and I plan to read it soon-ish

BTW: should it not win, you can always request a buddy read. I’d love to join, unfortunately my online library doesn’t have it anymore (most likely all licenses were used up; even if I requested a new copy it’s unlikely it would be available in time). Additionally I’m looking for a new flat in a different region/state and can’t be sure I’ll have the time to read it before autumn.

Yes, buddy reads (or biddy reads, as my fingers insist on typing ...) are a great option if your chosen book does not win, any time!

This poll is really close, so make sure you vote if you have your eye on one book, and don't leave it to chance!

Lee wrote: "Vote, please for the Bonhoeffer book!

Bonhoeffer can be considered a hero by any secular definition of the word. In Christian views, saint is applicable. That he was a martyr who stood up against ..."

Thanks Lee! It’s been on my must read list for ages. We just talked about Bonhoeffer in my Bible study where we are reading AW Tozer’s The Crucified Life: How to Live Out a Deeper Christian Experience. I will be reading as well and would love a buddy read if snyone would like to join (provided it doesn’t win).

Last chance to vote, and it is still very close!

Anything which does not win can always be a buddy read, as Lee says 😊