Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906 – 1945) is one of the most well known theologians and activists of the 20th century. In April 1943, he was arrested for his part in a plot to assassinate Hitler. Initially held in Tegel prison, he was eventually transferred to a Nazi concentration camp and executed.
While in prison, Bonhoeffer started reflecting on the future of Christianity, predicting the possibility of a bold new reformation that he called "Religionless Christianity". A reformation that would subvert the distinction between theist and atheist, decommission the border seperating sacred from secular, and strip Christianity of its tattered religious worldview. For him, faith is not concerned with believing certain things about the world, but rather expresses an incendiary form of being in the world. It is a defiant, counter-cultural affirmation of existence that stands against all forms of oppression in its joyful affirmation of life.
Bonhoeffer's writings on this new vision are fragmentary, and his longing to write something more systematic was never realized. But these fragments, like Pascal's Pensées, have had a profound impact. Not only have they been widely discussed within Confessional settings (such as Progressive Evangelicalism and Liberation Theology), but they have been important in the ongoing development of Radical Theology. His writings even anticipate some of the themes developed within the Lacanian Theology of Zizek.
These writings provide an excellent grounding for anyone interested in understanding Radical Theology more generally, and Pyrotheology in particular.
Content
Everyone will get a PDF with all the fragments. Each week I'll give a seminar on the preceding weeks reading.
Dates
The first seminar will be on 24th June at 11am PST. You can participate live, or listen later.
How do I join?
Just sign up to Level 4 on my Patreon site (this also gives you access to over 40 hours of other courses, seminars and studies). You can sign off Patreon whenever you like, so feel free just to sign up for the study. By doing so you are supporting my work, and I deeply appreciate it!