Dietrich Bonhoeffer books

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) was a German theologian, pastor, and anti-Nazi dissident whose writings on Christian ethics and community remain widely read and studied decades after his execution.

Anthologies

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Watch for the Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas 2001 Buy
Called to Community 2016 Buy
Following the Call: Living the Sermon on the Mount Together 2021 Buy

Collections

Title Published Buy on Amazon
No Rusty Swords 1970 Buy
The Way to Freedom 1971 Buy
Letters to London 1972 Buy
True Patriotism 1973 Buy
Meditating on the Word 1985 Buy
A Testament To Freedom 1990 Buy
Voices in the Night 1999 Buy
Prison Poems 2005 Buy
The Collected Sermons of Dietrich Bonhoeffer 2012 Buy
Bonhoeffer Reader 2013 Buy

Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Sanctorum Communio 1930 Buy
Act and Being 1930 Buy
Creation and Fall 1937 Buy
Discipleship 1937 Buy
Life Together and Prayerbook of the Bible 1939 Buy
Ethics 1949 Buy
Fiction from Tegel Prison 1950 Buy
Letters and Papers from Prison 1951 Buy
The Young Bonhoeffer, 1918–1927 1952 Buy
Theological Education at Finkenwalde, 1935-1937 1996 Buy
Berlin: 1932–1933. 1997 Buy
Theological Education Underground: 1937-40 1998 Buy
Barcelona, Berlin, New York: 1928–1931 2003 Buy
Conspiracy and Imprisonment 1940-1945 2006 Buy
London, 1933–1935 2007 Buy
Ecumenical Academic Pastoral Work 2012 Buy
Indexes and Supplementary Materials 2014 Buy

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German Lutheran pastor and theologian who lived from 1906 to 1945. He wrote his doctoral dissertation, Sanctorum Communio, at just 21 years old, and went on to produce some of the 20th century’s most widely read works of Christian theology. Discipleship and Life Together, both written in the 1930s, still appear on seminary reading lists and church study groups around the world.

Bonhoeffer’s life took a sharp turn during the Nazi era. He helped found the Confessing Church in opposition to the Nazi-aligned German Christian movement, and eventually joined a conspiracy to overthrow Hitler. He was arrested in 1943 and spent two years in prison, where he wrote the letters and papers that became one of his most important posthumous works. He was executed at Flossenburg concentration camp in April 1945, just weeks before the war ended.

His collected works, published in a 17-volume critical edition, cover everything from his early academic theology to his prison writings. Additional collections, sermons, and anthologies have continued to appear in the decades since his death, keeping his thought accessible to new generations of readers.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books has Dietrich Bonhoeffer written?

Dietrich Bonhoeffer has written 30 books across three series.

What was Dietrich Bonhoeffer's first book?

Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s first book is Act and Being, published in 1930.

What is Dietrich Bonhoeffer best known for?

Bonhoeffer is best known for his books Discipleship (also called The Cost of Discipleship), Life Together, and Letters and Papers from Prison. He is also remembered for his participation in the resistance against the Nazi regime, which led to his execution in April 1945.

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