Bonhoeffer's Reception of Luther

In Dietrich Bonhoeffer's writings, Martin Luther is ubiquitous. Despite this, Luther remains a largely untouched hermeneutic key in Bonhoeffer interpretation. This volume addresses Dietrich Bonhoeffer's reception of Martin Luther's justification theology, ecclesiology, doctrine of the two kingdoms, and political ethics. Bonhoeffer's Reception of Luther is determined in part by the relationship between hermeneutics and exegesis, which suggests the necessity of dealing with alternative interpretations of Bonhoeffer's relationship to Luther and Lutheranism. It explores issues where failing to take seriously the Lutheran character of Bonhoeffer's thinking has generated interpretive problems. Michael P. DeJonge highlights that the widespread failure to connect Bonhoeffer's theology with Lutheran two-kingdoms thinking has presented a serious obstacle in Bonhoeffer interpretation. He illustrates Bonhoeffer's connection with the Luther Renaissance, a dominant theological movement during his theological formation, by examining his relationship to his teacher and leader of that movement, Karl Holl.
DeJonge then counters Anabaptist interpretations of Bonhoeffer by treating the place of peace in his theology. He presents the Lutheran tradition's resistance resources as they were mediated to Bonhoeffer. The study then demonstrates how he drew from these resources, arguing that his thinking in the church struggle and resistance is best read in terms of a stable commitment to the Lutheran theological tradition, the resources of which he deployed according to changing circumstances.