Takeaway: This is one of the classics that everyone should read.
Over the past few years there has been renewed interest in Dietrich Bonhoeffer. There is a very good documentary (available for streaming on Netflix). Then two biographies of Bonhoeffer have been published in the last two years (I reviewed Eric Metaxas’s and have now read but have not read the Ferdinand Schlingensiepen biography, which has been much better received in the academic world and I think is a better biography.)
Much of the interest and resources for Bonhoeffer study is a result of a new 16 volume series of Bonhoeffer’s works. Previous, to this series that is published in English by Fortress Press, there were only limited editions of Bonhoeffer’s books that had significant translation issues.
I have purchased three of these volumes (they are not cheap, so many people are still purchasing older editions.) The volume that includes Life Together (Bonhoeffer’s most read book) also includes his book on the Psalms (Prayerbook of the Bible). I am not reviewing Prayerbook of the Bible here, but will later. There is a significant amount of extra material in these books to give context and understanding to these two short books. Life Together is only a bit over 100 pages, but page for page I think is one of the most useful books I have ever read about spiritual growth and the role of community within the church.
The book has only six chapters (Preface, Community, Day Together, Day Alone, Service, and Confession/Communion.)
One of the most useful things that I heard on this reading (I have read this at least twice previously, but not in the last 10 years) was Bonhoeffer’s understanding of the limits and strengths of community. These are two long quotes, but I think shows that Bonhoeffer is not being idealistic about his view of Christian community:
Read more
