WordVixen April 9th, 2010

Hey, I love Veggie Tales! Also, just wanted to point out that Erik was particularly amusing today, and that I thought Eric made a great guest.

My guess is that Bonhoeffer will sell quite well. I'm a book review blogger for his publisher, and when I asked about getting a review copy, they told me that they'd already had it and it was "sold" out. Congrats in advance, Eric! But darn it… now I actually have to pay for a book.

Watching Theology April 9th, 2010

Glad Erik G. asked about dirt; I was pretty surprised how resistant Eric M. was to addressing it. The biography is being sold as hero worship, from title to unwillingness to frankly address the complexities of Bonhoeffer and his theology.
I was pretty shocked by the claims of being the "ultimate Christian hero" and "theological, absolutely on the same page" ("theologically orthodox as St. Paul or Isaiah"). What's with the implied Falwell and Robertson comparisons?
I'm not sure why when asked about dirt, Eric didn't mention Bonhoeffer's views toward the Virgin Birth, scriptural veracity, or historical critical methods. He must know that Bonhoeffer reflected many of the theological views of his instructors and times.
Of course, I've never bought into the "martyr" idea. Bonhoeffer was executed because he involved himself in an assassination plot. He would be the first to acknowledge that the ethics and righteousness of his involvement was ambiguous (lesser of two evils — the drunk driver analogy).
Hopefully the book is more honest than the interview. Bonhoeffer deserves to be presented for what he believed and did, not what we wish he was.

davidjames April 10th, 2010

I have this feeling that standing up for Jesus in a Nazi concentration camp qualifies one for quite a bit of forgiveness where doctrinal ambiguities are concerned. And from all we know was is really "un-Christian" to be involved in an assassination plot against one of the most evil and vile men in the history of humanity? Whether he was the ultimate Christian Hero I don't know, but given the circumstances of his life I think little else needs brought to the forefront at this point.
I am particularly thankful to SteveBownEtc when I hear interviews like this…I would never have been introduced to Eric Mataxas and all he has to offer otherwise…what a blessing!

Watching Theology April 10th, 2010

Hi David,
I'm not sure what you mean by "quite a bit of forgiveness" for standing up to Nazis. Are you suggesting that doctrine is not important if someone has the right enemies? Lots of non-Christian opposed the Nazis; does that mean their doctrinal stances are insignificant and that we can then talk about them as being orthodox regardless of their actual beliefs and statements?
I was just noting that the quick classification of Bonhoeffer as some type of conservative consistent "Evangelical" isn't accurate. If a biographer (writer of the first English biography in 40 years) avoids these issues when asked point-blank, I'm merely concerned that he's less interested in a biography than an act of pleasing creation.
I'm also arguing that Bonhoeffer should be respected enough to be described according to his own teachings and beliefs. If the Union Theological death-of-God had no right to twist Bonhoeffer's words to serve them, then neither does any Evangelical have that right.
Bonhoeffer deserves better.

davidjames April 11th, 2010

Greetings "Watching Theology"
I probably, in hindsight, should have been a bit more clear in my statement. I guess my motivation for what I was thinking came more from the questions about "dirt" being a validating factor in either Christian aurthor-dom or Christian hero-ship…which I think is a good point, that we must look for that balance in people. Them I used the term doctrinal ambiguity and that probably wasn't the best choice. I guess what I was really trying to get across was that any figure in history who was subjected to Nazi tyranny through concentration camps or death camps, Christina or non-Christian…the magnitude of that whole experience seems to overshadow any discussion of their shortcomings just by virtue of the sheer evil they were subjected to. I guess that is what I meant by a bit of forgiveness, that the holocaust and all it meant to those who were caught up in it and how we look back at them now tends to make other issues slide into the background. I hope that helps, because your question was valid, and a good one, I am just sure at this point that further explanation on my part will just cause more confusion, as I am reaching the limit of my explanatory writing skills
(Sorry I did get back here for so long)

Watching Theology April 11th, 2010

Hey David,

Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. I think that's why Bonhoeffer has become so popular: he's a young pastor with one heck of a biography. We would probably have never remembered him (contrary to what Eric M said), if it wasn't for being hung by Hitler. So his "narrative arc" biographical sketch will probably remain the main thing.

It's just ironic to me that people present him like he's an Evangelical, when most Evangelicals would probably storm out of Bonhoeffer's church if they really knew what he taught on some key doctrines.

Thanks for the reply. I think you've probably given the fairest defense of Eric M's — what I would call — "evasion."

Joe Johnson.

Andre Bressan April 12th, 2010

Steven and folks,

I loved the interview with Eric Metaxas. Not only for the fun touch, but also because Dietrich has been a divisor in my christina life. I´ve been introduced to The Coast of Descipleship in Medical School by some odd christians. Also, I'm impressed because such a heavy book is so cheap. If you don´t like it – or get tired reading – just use it as a paperwight or to avoid the wind to hit the door…

Congratulations.

Noel December 10th, 2010

While everyone , especially evangelicals, love the book, see it as an indirect attack on liberal christians, this does not mean the book is good by scholarly standards. I think you evangelicals will look at anything uncritically if it's an attack. Victoria Barnett who was coauthor of the last edition of Bethge's biography, which Metaxas relies on , said in a review of Metaxas "This is a badly flawed book" She points out many gross errors. The same type of review comes from Clifford Green. He writes "I will not linger over the numerous factual errors, including problems with the German words sprinkled throughout the text (even the notorious names Buchenwald and Dachau are misspelled). I will not fret about the problems infecting the copious endnotes, especially the missing, incomplete and garbled sources. I will not dwell on the fact that a critical assessment of sources is absent. (Metaxas repeats the pious and probably self-serving statement of the Flossenbürg camp doctor about Bonhoeffer's death and the canard about Bonhoeffer's radio speech on the Führer being cut off as if he were a marked man from the beginning of Hitler's rule, when in fact he just went over the time limit.) One of the signs that the book was rushed through the press to appear on the 65th anniversary of Bonhoeffer's death is found in the news that Bonhoeffer crossed the Atlantic in the "thirty-three-ton ship" Columbus." http://www.christiancentury.org/reviews/2010-09/hijacking-bonhoeffer.
It's interesting that Metaxas does an interview with of all people Glenn Beck. Beck as a Mormon believes the Garden of Eden was in America, that God was once a man and became a God and lives on a planet near Kolob with his wife (wives). I am sure Bonheoffer would have balked more at Mormon doctrine than the "liberals" at Union Seminary. But then political alliances on the right have some strange bedfellows