Crimson glory strange and beautiful songs
And in 1930 a year of postgraduate study at Union Theological Seminary in New York One notable characteristic of Bonhoeffer was his openness to styles of worship and spirituality that were different from his own background This was exemplified by his expressed appreciation of both the high liturgy witnessed at the Vatican and the free spirited worship at Harlem s Abyssinian Baptist Church. Crimson glory strange and beautiful lyrics He spend several years in various pastorates until he became a leader the Confessing Church which took exception to the nazification of the state churches Bonhoeffer organized a school for dissident seminarians until it was closed by the Gestapo in 1937 It s almost inexplicable.
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Which allowed him remarkable freedom to travel both in and out of Germany This situation didn t last He was eventually imprisoned on the charge of avoiding and encouraging others to avoid the draft Consequently he was in prison at the time of the failed assassination attempt of Hitler Subsequent investigations showed his name to be among those of other conspirators. Strange gloryland gospel The book includes a long chapter on Bonhoeffer s time spent in prison His last letters and fragments are explored as the author strives of describe Bonhoeffer s volatile and visionary thoughts Bonhoeffer himself at one point suggests that his scribblings from prison may be his best work Charles Marsh I ve often said Bonhoeffer s two popular works Cost of Discipleship and Life Together are two of my favorite books Along with that.
Strange Glory epub reader
I am mixed about this biography much in the way I am mixed towards Bonhoeffer pleased overall but left slightly puzzled. Crimson glory strange and beautiful I loved parts I was unsure at parts I disagreed with parts but I found it like I find Bonhoeffer completely worthwhile Marsh s prose is undeservedly elegant for scholarly work some of the best I ve ran my eyes over and such a pleasure to read But at times I found myself wanting from the content and yet questioning myself for wanting I can t decide if I quarreled with the book Marsh wrote or quarreled with Marsh for not encountering the book I wanted him to write For example It s a fairly anti climactic read that lacks any real tension or pace which was a bit of a letdown considering the outcome of Bonhoeffer s life It lacks a narrative quality And yet I gather that s precisely what Marsh wanted to avoid imbuing Bonhoeffer s life with dramatic flair and heroism He explicitly downplayed Bonhoeffer s involvement in the assassination plots and embraced the muddled facts surrounding his death This is in contrast to Eric Metaxas popular work which reads like a war drama and practically makes Bonhoeffer out to be a Christian James Bond I also felt aspects of Bonhoeffer s life were underdeveloped in this work especially his engagement to Maria Wedemeyer Marsh doesn t even devote a full sentence to Maria in the chapter on Finkenwalde where the two first interacted and says very little about her visiting Bonhoeffer in prison while they were engaged Conversely Marsh constantly highlighted and underscored Bonhoeffer s unique unusual relationship with Eberhard Bethge all but stating Bonhoeffer may have been romantically and sexually attracted to his dearest companion In fact Marsh goes so far as to note that Bonhoeffer never confessed any attraction to Bethge which suggests Marsh thought or suspected such a confession might occur I struggle with this picture of the relationship unsure if it s the product of reading our over sexualized world back into Bonhoeffer s life and a misrepresentation of the nature of deep abiding friendship or a fair reconstruction of Bonhoeffer and Bethge s relationship I m inclined to think the former considering Marsh makes a few obscure remarks like saying Bonhoeffer was in a strange position as a professor smitten for a student without citing any real evidence to substantiate the claims Granted Bonhoeffer and Bethge s relationship verges on unusual they shared a bank account Bonhoeffer repeatedly speaks of the value of their relationship he begs Bethge to come visit him in ways he never does with others Despite the lack of pace the book does a good job of capturing the transitory itinerate nature of Bonhoeffer s life his constant traveling various educational endeavors short term pastorates evolving ideas This is an aspect of his life I had not considered in other biographies but seems all too obvious and significant after reading this one Bonhoeffer was a theologian of prayer and action but both of these qualities were learned or at least developed over time particularly during his times in America where Bonhoeffer lamented the overly pragmatic Protestantism he encountered It was nice to see Bonhoeffer grow develop and have stages like any real theologian academic and human does Another aspect of the book I appreciated is that Marsh reveals the verve and liveliness of the saint Bonhoeffer had fine taste good tobacco stylish clothes incredible music exquisite food a captivating film fantastic literature Marsh communicates these very earthy though aristocratic qualities in a humanizing way The pastor theologian increasingly wrote about this worldliness so we should not gloss over just how much he loved life and how rich his life really was. Strange gloryless In sum Bonhoeffer is simply an infatuating if at times maddening person who s always worth reading and reading about This is an admirable biography and good picture of this venerable saint Charles Marsh This is a biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer that follows his theological and personal developments from birth to execution by the Nazi s Bonhoeffer grew up in a privileged environment but one that was not especially religious He showed early signs of precocious intelligence and already at age thirteen Bonhoeffer revealed his decision to become a theologian This met with approval from his mother but derision from his older brothers who remarked one can hardly imagine a paltry institution than the church Bonhoeffer is reported to have replied In that case I shall reform it p 17. Strange gloryland ralph The biography follows him through his academic training a summer trip to Italy an early pastorate in Barcelona Spain but somehow Bonhoeffer an avowed pacifist secured an appointment with German military intelligence Bonhoeffer is an admirable person standing against the Nazis to the point of death Sadly this is as far as most of us go with our knowledge of him I ve come to realize that some of the heroes of contemporary American evangelicalism such as CS Lewis and Bonhoeffer would not be as liked if we knew of what they really believed These were not men whose faith would sit well with the shallow nationalistic dispensational fundamentalism popular in conservative evangelical America Bonhoeffer s cutting edge works Ethics and Letters and Papers From Prison reveal a man who continued to develop his theology in the face of stunning evil Marsh s book helps the reader understand and see this development I ve not read those two works of Bonhoeffer s but I want to now than ever. Crimson glory strange and beautiful songs This book came out shortly after Eric Metaxas bio on Bonhoeffer I recall Metaxas being a bit easier to read with Marsh writing as of a professional historian I also was incredibly disappointed to see Metaxas support Trump especially in light of Trump also getting support from the KKK and having trouble unequivocally renouncing such support good people on both sides come on This was in mind as I read Marsh s work and to be fair Trump is no Hitler The speed with which Hitler took over and eliminated opposition as well as his decades long plan to destroy the Jews is beyond anything Trump is I think Trump is just a narcissist who has trouble pushing away anyone who supports him no matter how odious that person is That said to see so many Christians who once proclaimed character mattering now totally silent in the face of anything Trump does or says that is wrongits sad. Strange Glory book This of course is a digression other than to note that Bonhoeffer had the courage to speak truth to power I suspect Bonhoeffer would be upset that Christianity in America is just as tribal as any other voting bloc We re defined by our politics than our theology Though perhaps Bonhoeffer who was no fan of American Christianity would not be surprised we ve ended up here All humans no matter how good or bad their theology is are susceptible to nationalism and being invited into the halls of power. Strange gloryland gospel Overall this is a strong book We need to hear the lessons and voices from people like Bonhoeffer now and always It is also encouraging to realize that Bonhoeffer was a rather unlikable guy in his early life He comes across as privileged wealthy and out of touch of normal people traveling all over Europe on his parents dime That reminds me there is hope for all of us in our privileged and comfortable lives that when the time of reckoning comes we may be able to be than we once were Charles Marsh Wish I could give this stars it captures the mysterious contradictory nature of a modern faith meaning in meaninglessness and holds so carefully the tensions we often don t have the nuance for Marsh is just as impressive at wielding this story as Bonhoeffer is with articulating the perplexing nature of God It s beautiful. EBook Strange glory Might not be your brand but if you re in for a Bonhoeffer bio read this one And if you re in for the review I wish I wrote Christian Wiman for ya Charles Marsh I can t say much about this book that has not already been said so I will simply say that this was a world class biography that I really enjoyed. Strange gloryland ralph Unlike many other popular attempts to frame Bonhoeffer Marsh presents a very human Bonhoeffer who was socially conditioned and susceptible to change As Marsh covers each major life stage we see a Bonhoeffer growing changing correcting and emerging as a different man with different focuses From Marsh s account we don t meet a martyr standing above all humanity as much of the hagiographic literature on Bonhoeffer is tempted to do but rather we see a very human and I would say very German man who is following Jesus on the road to the celestial city Also Marsh s prose is top tier thus making the book that much enjoyable as well The man can flat write Briefly on whether or not Bonhoeffer was gay after reading the book I must say that it seems to me to be incredibly anachronistic to speculate that something was up with Bethge and Bonhoeffer Rather it seems that they had a rather strange possibly unhealthy at times friendship But I think it s a stretch to try to make the argument that they were homosexual lovers For those who love biography this one is worth the time Charles Marsh
In the decades since his execution by the Nazis in 1945 Dietrich Bonhoeffer the German pastor theologian and anti Hitler conspirator has become one of the most widely read and inspiring Christian thinkers of our time Now drawing on extensive new research Strange Glory offers a definitive account by turns majestic and intimate of this modern icon The scion of a grand family that rarely went to church Dietrich decided as a thirteen year old to become a theologian By twenty one the rather snobbish and awkward young man had already written a dissertation hailed by Karl Barth as a theological miracle But it was only the first step in a lifelong effort to recover an authentic and orthodox Christianity from the dilutions of liberal Protestantism and the modern idolatries of blood and nation which forces had left the German church completely helpless against the onslaught of Nazism From the start Bonhoeffer insisted that the essence of Christianity was not its abstract precepts but the concrete reality of the shared life in Christ In 1930 his search for that true fellowship led Bonhoeffer to America for ten fateful months in the company of social reformers Harlem churchmen and public intellectuals Energized by the lived faith he had seen he would now begin to make what he later saw as his definitive turn from the phraseological to the real He went home with renewed vocation and took up ministry among Berlin s downtrodden while trying to find his place in the hoary academic establishment increasingly captive to nationalist fervor With the rise of Hitler however Bonhoeffer s journey took yet another turn The German church was Nazified along with every other state sponsored institution But it was the Nuremberg laws that set Bonhoeffer s earthly life on an ineluctable path toward destruction His denunciation of the race statutes as heresy and his insistence on the church s moral obligation to defend all victims of state violence regardless of race or religion alienated him from what would become the Reich church and even some fellow resistors Soon the twenty seven year old pastor was one of the most conspicuous dissidents in Germany He would carry on subverting the regime and bearing Christian witness whether in the pastorate he assumed in London the Pomeranian monastery he established to train dissenting ministers or in the worldwide ecumenical movement Increasingly though Bonhoeffer would find himself a voice crying in the wilderness until finally he understood that true moral responsibility obliged him to commit treason for which he would pay with his life Charles Marsh brings Bonhoeffer to life in his full complexity for the first time With a keen understanding of the multifaceted writings often misunderstood as well as the imperfect man behind the saintly image here is a nuanced exhilarating and often heartrending portrait that lays bare Bonhoeffer s flaws and inner torment as well as the friendships and the faith that sustained and finally redeemed him Strange Glory is a momentous achievement Strange Glory A Life of Dietrich BonhoefferDietrich Bonhoeffer is almost a figure who transcends history He was a theological genius a theological provocateur a participant in the twentieth century s most trying moment seeking to defend Christianity against the inroads of an alien philosophy while lifting up the humanity of his Jewish neighbors He was involved in the conspiracy to overthrow Adolph Hitler and establish a new government that could negotiate with the allies He was deeply involved in the ecumenical movement a pastor a teacher of pastors and .
Crimson glory strange and beautiful lyrics Bonhoeffer has taken on an almost mythical aura His death at the hands of the Nazi s just days before the camp he was being held in was liberated stirs the imagination Many stories have been told about his road to death and his final moments the later in the realm of speculation Because he wrote so much at such a young age and because much of his later work written while in hiding or in prison is fragmentary he has almost become a Rorschach test We see in him what we want So there is a conservative evangelical version a liberal version a spiritual but not religious version a God is Dead version and The reality is Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a complex individual living at a unique moment in history.
Strange Glory epub reader I have read many of the biographies of Bonhoeffer including Eberhard Bethge s magisterial tome as well as the recent biography by Ferdinand Schlingensiepen s Dietrich Bonhoeffer 1906 1945 Martyr Thinker Man of Resistance I ve also had the unfortunate experience of reading Eric Metaxa s book Both the Bethge and Schlingensiepen books are necessary reads for those wishing to understand Bonhoeffer s life but this new book by Charles Marsh is also a necessary read.
Strange glorylight Marsh rehearses many of the same stories as previous biographies but what I found unique here is how he deconstructed the myth of martyrdom That is he helps us see Bonhoeffer as an individual one who could be arrogant needy self absorbed privileged and in some areas of life as immature emotionally as he was mature theologically Many will find intriguing the intimate relationship he had with Eberhard Bethge The closest analogy I could think of biblically was that of Jonathan and David In many ways Bethge was Bonhoeffer s soul mate with whom he shared the deepest elements of his life Was there a sexual component That is was Bonhoeffer gay It is possible but if we make that the focus then we ll miss the deeper meaning of his personhood My sense is that he was gay in orientation but spoiler he remained celibate to the end of his life Getting back to the myth of martyrdom I think it is appropriate that we place him among the saints of the church His willingness to stand up against Hitler is to be commended but he was not the only one to die with many of his friends being executed long before him He was able to evade that fate as long as he did in part due to family connections But most importantly Bonhoeffer didn t seek martyrdom and didn t see himself as a martyr He sought to escape his fate He looked forward to beginning a new life with his fiance Maria and sharing in the depth of friendship with Bethge He wanted to further develop the insights he had come to in prison especially the concept of religionless Christianity But such was not to be.
Strange glorylilly I will have to say in a thorough review on my blog but let me say here that this is a must read I would suggest reading it in tandem with Schlingensiepen s book to get a full sense of Bonhoeffer the theologian activist and human being For the full review check out my blog Charles Marsh An ideal biography there s not much to say Marsh is very good on almost everything from social history to theology The picture of Bonhoeffer moving from reactionary German to anti Nazi saint is beautiful Why Metaxas s awful book sells so much better than this one is a mystery even greater than that the God of Karl Barth I m joking of course That one sells better because it helps people feel better about themselves This one points out that to be worthy of feeling good about yourself you actually have to try to be a better person Charles Marsh This is a well written and well researched biography of a complex individual Dietrich Bonhoeffer theologian pastor and member of the resistance movement against Hitler during World War II Charles Marsh has written a book that reads like a novel even when he weaves Bonhoeffer s theological insights and his growth as a theologian into the storyline Marsh avoids the hero worship we so often see when people write about Bonhoeffer presenting him as a complex and flawed individual who made mistakes along the way but was always willing to learn Marsh delves into Bonhoeffer s complex relationship with his close friend and companion Eberhard Bethge forthrightly but without descending into sensationalism or unfounded speculation For those of us who have read Bonhoeffer s writings Marsh provides a biographical context that provides greater insight into the sermons letters and theological books Bonhoeffer left behind Charles Marsh Here s the review I published for Cardus in their magazine Comment Charles Marsh This is a thorough and authoritative biography of a singular 20th century person scholar theologian resistor and to many Christian martyr I hesitate to say excellent though it probably is but at a minimum it s very very very very good Thus I recommend it enthusiastically.
Crimson glory strange and beautiful songs But it s a challenging read in part because it s so well researched and dense ly packed with detail and in part because it s an unfortunate story of transcendent faith and life cut short in the cruelest of twists of fate.
Crimson glory strange and beautiful Let s face it Dietrich Bonhoeffer lived a charmed life until virtually its very end He was the pampered scion of a comfortably affluent and possibly wealthy and distinguished family He went to the best schools lived graciously in the city and at his family s country home s and on vacations and extensive travels etc And he was seemingly always interested in things spiritual and this became the core of his life.
Strange glory ebook free In his adult life Bonhoeffer truly journeyed both personally and spiritually As he traveled the world in addition to his preternaturally cosmopolitan sensibility evolving so too did his faith In fact influenced by his travels and especially those to the holy lands of faiths other than his native progressive Lutheranism he became a true theological radical and innovator moving from his early insights that Christianity needed to tied inextricably to its adherents daily lives and thus is a fundamentally communal faith to his later elucidation of religionless Christianity and his unfinished but seminal Ethics.
Crimson glory strange and beautiful So strange then that this all ended as a result of his tangential involvement in a plot to assassinate Hitler the pretext and in effect payback for his meaningful leadership in the Confessing Church and his dissident preaching and organizing as that institution knuckled under to the Nazis takeover of the German Lutheran Church.
Strange glorylight teaching And since it would take me many pages to delve deeper and fairly into the unique gifts and contributions of this singular 20th century spiritual revolutionary and savant I ll simply turn to the author s ultimately far successful effort at just this.
Ebook strange glory download And Professor Marsh tells this incredible story exceedingly well and with such clear care and commitment to being both thorough and insightful In fact he s so good at finding and sharing information about and insights into Bonhoeffer and his spirituality that in the few instances when he misses it s palpably noticeable Having read several biographies of Bonhoeffer so far I can definitely share that in my opinion the author s is the most authoritative This being said he s a bit too reverential about certain aspects of his subject s life For example Bonhoeffer s exceedingly close relationship with his eventual biographer Eberhard Bethge is so deftly told that the choice not to address its clear homosexual undertones seems either forced or misguided When he does address it a few pages from the end the reader is left with an anticlimactic observation that is to put it kindly contrastingly superficial to the impressively and thoughtfully conveyed volume of information in the rest of this sizable volume Simply put I don t know if the author was trying to be overly discrete or if he was less confident in his conclusion but whatever the reason s he disappointed in this instance which thankfully is a rare occurence.
Strange unforgiven glory So to sum it all up this is an important work a thorough and authoritative assessment of a unique contributor to modern Christian theology and for many a secular saint It s worth the appreciable investment to read it as not only will you understand Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his life as well as possible but you ll be inspired by the evolution of his theology and perhaps be encouraged to explore your own in greater depth and breadth Accordingly I commend you to Strange Glory and suggest that your journey therewith will be anything but strange Charles Marsh Marsh is professor of religious studies at the University of Virginia and director of the research community Project on Lived Theology He is the author of eight books including Gods Long Summer Stories of Faith and Civil Rights which won the 1998 Grawemeyer Award in Religion He lives in Charlottesville Virginia Librarian Note There is than one author in the Goodreads database with this name Marsh is professor of religious studies at the University of Virginia and director of the research community Project on Lived Theology He is the author of eight books including God s Long Summer Stories of Faith and Civil Rights which won the 1998 Grawemeyer Award in Religion He lives in Charlottesville Virginia Librarian Note There is than one author in the Goodreads database with this name site_link
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