Book Reviews

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Who is the Author?

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born in an affluent aristocratic family in Germany right before the coming of the first World War. He would come to be a prolific pastor, theologian, preacher, a political spy, and eventually a victim of the Nazi regime. Bonhoeffer is well known for standing up to the growing Antisemitism of the early Nazi political party and attempting to rally the historical Christian churches of Europe to confront the nominal and heretical German Christian Movement whom was increasingly growing obsessed with Adolf Hitler, someone who catered to their religious sentiments. Bonhoeffer had a true gift of discernment as he saw straight through the man before he would ever commit the atrocities for which we have come to know him for. The Cost of Discipleship remains his most well-known work but Life Together is a buried treasure that would be a delight to any who comes upon it.

What is the Book About?

Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote the book as an experiment in Christian community, to fully flesh out what living “life” with one another should look like biblically. He’s not necessarily discussing the worship service of Sunday morning but the communal setting of his Finkelwalde seminary that he began to lead in 1935. If you’ve ever heard anything about Bonhoeffer’s curious seminary, perhaps you’ve heard how gossip and slander was prohibited to such a degree, that no one could speak another’s name or about that person unless they were present. Perhaps you’ve heard of the strict regimen of prayers and bible reading each morning and the evening practices of meditation and intercessory prayer. Whatever you may have heard, this book is a window into the philosophy and biblical reasoning behind the practices of Finkelwalde.

The reader’s edition which I read, breaks the book down into an introduction on community, discussion on the part of the day spent together, the part of the day spent alone, the work of service, and then the work of confession to one another. It flows quite seamlessly as one continuous thought and thus its greater treasures and snippets of wisdom require some work to on the part of the reader, but this shouldn’t discourage you from reading it. Bonhoeffer’s analysis of Christian community goes way beyond the basic disciplines of prayer, meditation, confession, and bible reading and explores the theological basis for these actions and works. He isn’t satisfied with a flippant and superficial approach to the most basic of Christian living because he doesn’t like to take things for granted. Yes, Bonhoeffer’s approach to Christian Scripture is definitely more philosophical than straight up exegetical but his observations are keenly Christ-Centered. He also has a profound insight in human nature and the gnarly troubles of sinful motivation and selfishness; how it creeps in and corrupts such basic parts of discipleship and Christian life.

What are the Highlights?

Christ as Mediator. Some of the insightful things you will gain in this book that I have yet to see discussed in other works on Christian community is Christ as mediator not only between us and God but between one another in the Church. He writes that an approach to one another apart from this mediation leads to manipulation, control, abuse, and an attempt to morph others into our image instead of the image of Jesus Christ. “Spiritual love, however, comes from Jesus Christ; it serves him alone. It knows it has no direct access to other persons. Christ stands between me and others” (17).

Ideal vs. Reality. Another powerful insight Bonhoeffer explores is the danger of a good intention which sees the Church as an ideal to strive for rather than a reality in which is already taking place. He explains the pitfall of desiring the Church to be better according to our “aspirations” instead of relying on daily grace and utilizing forbearance and patience with one another. “Christian community is not an ideal we have to realize, but rather a reality created by God in Christ in which we may participate” (13).

Extrovert vs. Introvert. Perhaps one of Bonhoeffer’s greatest points is that we ought to beware of our social tendencies and how they might deceive us or lead us astray. Throughout the middle part of the book, he differentiates the time of day spent with other believers and the time of day spent in solitude. Both are important as we relate to Christ both individualistically and corporately. Bonhoeffer writes this, “Whoever cannot be alone should beware of community…. Whoever cannot stand being in community should beware of being alone” (55-56). What a great paradigm to asses our culture’s obsession with personality types. According to a biblical worldview, our heart can be deceptive and thus our desires and social tendencies may need reforming, especially in the area of frustration and disappointment with others. Bonhoeffer invites an honest assessment of your relating to others particularly in the area of silence, speech, and meditation.

True Service. Bonhoeffer explores the meaning of service in the act of listening to others, helping others, and bearing one another despite frustrations, sins, and personality differences. In a world that is easily offended and conditional with love, Bonhoeffer tackles the problem of relational distress with astounding clarity and very practical applications. This chapter is fraught with warnings against irritability, condescension, and ambitious endeavors over and against others.

True Confession. The last thing Bonhoeffer explores is the deep meaning behind confession. I have yet to read a book that explains the theological nature and practical outworking of confession as Life Together did. He explains that confession to one another can be a practical experience of Christ’s forgiveness for those sins. Through others we can experience this grace. Furthermore, he explores the mortification of prideful sin that occurs in confession so pervasively. He writes, “Confession in the presence of another believer is the most profound kind of humiliation. It hurts, makes one feel small; it deals a terrible blow to one’s pride. To stand there before another Christian as a sinner is an almost unbearable disgrace. By confessing actual sins, the old self dies a painful, humiliating death before the eyes of another Christian. Because this humiliation is so difficult, we keep thinking we can avoid confessing to one another” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together,90).

Overall

If you are struggling with the local church, relational distress with your fellow Christians, confused about how you fit into the community, not sure what the purpose of confession and service are, or are in need of some encouragement to endure in community, read this book. It was definitely a blessing to me; one of those rare books that grabs a hold of your soul and provides conviction and a direction to change.

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