Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy
A Righteous Gentile vs. The Third Reich
By Eric Metaxas. Thomas Nelson. 608 pages. £19.99
ISBN 978 1 595 552 464
How should the church react when the state seeks to take away the liberties of others? Or when the state impinges on the freedom of churches to preach the truths of the gospel? These are the questions which lie at the heart of Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy, a biography by Eric Metaxas.
I confess that before embarking on this book I knew very little about Bonhoeffer. Bonhoeffer ministered as a pastor and theological educator in Germany during the turbulent years between the world wars. Leaderless democracy — in the form of the Weimar republic — had been imposed on Germany by the victors of WWI, along with harsh reparations and prohibitions. A resulting desire for strong leadership and the restoration of national pride played a large part in the (legal, democratic) rise to power of Adolf Hitler.
