Christ the Center (Harper's Ministers Paperback Library)

Hard to read because he didn't seem to value "great plainness of speech". The wisdom of men is foolishness to God.Is Christ's blood and body physically present in the eucharist? Roman Catholics say yes, so if you are of that persuasion, then you will be fine with this book. (see page 57)The church is the body of Christ, but is the Church Christ? (Read page 57-58, he thinks so). I won't type it all out, but I have been studying and did an article on my site Redeeming Moments.com, because there were several things in several books, including his questioning of the historicity of the resurrection. I am still going through nine of his books, but I would not recommend any Bonhoeffer for Christians desiring the truth. I have plenty of screen shots of some very unbibilical thinking. Please consider checking redeemingmoments out, search Bonhoeffer.The following is a summary of beliefs and influence of Dietrich Bonhoeffer as taken from some of the over 14 books and documents attributed to him:1. Bonhoeffer believed that “God is teaching us that we must live as men who can get along very well without Him. The God who is with us is the God who forsakes us.” Bonhoeffer also believed that the concept of God as a “supreme Being, absolute in power and goodness,” was a “spurious conception of transcendence,” and that “God as a working hypothesis in morals, politics, and science … should be dropped, or as far as possible eliminated” (Letters and Papers from Prison, S.C.M. Press edition, Great Britain: Fontana Books, 1953, pp. 122, 164, 360).2. He believed that mankind had become of age and no longer needed religion, which was only a deceptive garment of true faith; he suggested the need for a “religionless Christianity.” To Bonhoeffer, “the Christian is identified not by his beliefs, but by actions, by his participation in the suffering of God in the life of the world” (Letters and Papers from Prison, S.C.M. Press edition, Great Britain: Fontana Books, 1953, p. 163). Thus, Bonhoeffer’s final writings have given impulse to Marxist theologians sponsoring “liberation theology” and to others wishing to promote a worldly social gospel.3. He refused to discuss the origin of Christ, His relationship to the Father, His two natures, or even the relationship of the two natures. Bonhoeffer was adamant in his belief that it was impossible to know the objective truth about the real essence of Christ’s being-nature (Christ the Center, pp. 30, 88, 100-101).4. He questioned the Virgin Birth, and in reality denied it (The Cost of Discipleship, p. 215).5. He denied the deity of Christ; he advocated that “Jesus Christ Today” is not a real person and being, but a “corporate presence” (Testimony to Freedom, pp. 75-76; Christ the Center, p. 58).6. He denied the sinlessness of Christ’s human nature and further questioned the sinlessness of His earthly behavior (Christ the Center, pp. 108-109).7. He believed that Christ exists in three “revelatory forms” — as Word, as sacrament, and as church. From asserting that Christ is the church, he followed that all persons in the church are identical with Christ (Christ the Center, p. 58; The Cost of Discipleship, p. 217). This amounts to pantheism!8. He believed that Christianity is not exclusive, i.e., that Christ is not the only way to God (Testimony to Freedom, pp. 55-56).9. He was a prominent figure in the early ecumenical movement, as evidenced through his associations with the “World Alliance for International Friendship” (a forerunner of the apostate World Council of Churches [WCC]), Union Theological Seminary, and Visser ‘t Hooft (who later became the first General Secretary of the WCC) (Testimony to Freedom, pp. 22, 212, 568). Bonhoeffer also reached out to Roman Catholics, prefiguring the broader ecumenism that blossomed after Vatican II in the mid-1960s.10. He was a practical evolutionist (No Rusty Swords, p. 143), and believed that the book of Genesis was scientifically naive and full of myths (Creation and Fall: A Theological Interpretation of Genesis 1-3).11. He adhered to neo-orthodox theology and terminology concerning salvation (Testimony to Freedom, p. 130), was a sacramentalist (Life Together, p. 122; The Way to Freedom, pp. 115, 153), believed in regenerational infant baptism (Letters and Papers from Prison, Macmillan, pp. 142-143) as well as adult baptismal regeneration (The Way to Freedom, p. 151), equated church membership with salvation (The Way to Freedom, p. 93), and denied a personal/individualistic salvation (Letters and Papers from Prison, Macmillan, p. 156).12. He placed little or no value on the Old Testament –”… the faith of the Old Testament is not a religion of salvation” (Letters and Papers from Prison, S.C.M. Press edition, Great Britain: Fontana Books, 1953, p. 112).13. He denied the verbal-plenary inspiration of Scripture, believing that the Bible was only a “witness” to the Word of God and becomes the Word of God only when it “speaks” to an individual; otherwise, it was simply the word of man/men (Testimony to Freedom, pp. 9, 104; Sanctorum Communio, p. 161). To Bonhoeffer, the Bible was meant “to be expounded as a witness, not as a book of wisdom, a teaching book, a book of eternal truth” (No Rusty Swords, p. 118). He also believed in the value of higher criticism/historical criticism, which is a denial of the inerrancy and authenticity of the Bible (Christ the Center, pp. 73-74). 14. He had no faith in the physical resurrection of Christ. Bonhoeffer believed the “historicity” of the Resurrection was in “the realm of ambiguity,” and that it was one of the “mythological” elements of Christianity that “must be interpreted in such a way as not to make religion a pre-condition of faith.” He also believed that “Belief in the Resurrection is not the solution of the problem of death,” and that such things as miracles and the ascension of Christ were “mythological conceptions” as well (Christ the Center, p. 112; Letters and Papers from Prison, S.C.M. Press edition, Great Britain: Fontana Books, 1953, pp. 93-94, 110).

This book benefited me spiritually. It explains just how paradoxical Christianity is, and how one can’t explain why or how Christ does what he does. Once you start asking those questions, you have lost, because all you need to be asking is who he is. It reminds me of Chesterton’s Orthodoxy.

It is nice to get a book that is in the condition that is advertised. I am looking forward to the opportunity to read this book, but I have a couple in front of it.Thank you for the accuracy and shipping expedience. I assure you that I appreciate it very much. I may buy used but I do like to make my own notes so a good clean copy is what I look for in a used book.

I had a hard time understanding this book, but it may be because it was translated from German. I will try it again sometime because a friend insists Bonhoeffer is an important Christian writer.

The title says it all. For Bonhoeffer, all teaching about Christ begins in silence. This is a silence of a world come of age that doesn't need religion. This is the best book about Bonhoeffer's words about the Word of God--our brother, our sister.

Bonhoeffer's Christology is insightful, inspiring, and potent. This unfinished work unveils Dietrich's theological center: Christ and Him crucified. Great book from a great theologian. Short, difficult at times, but worth the effort.

Well explained and translated. Loved the insight Bonhoeffer always has. Read this first and now 'The Cost of Discipleship'. Both are Bonhoeffer classics and must reads.

Awesome teaching by Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

I haven't read it yet ... but as I love Bonhoeffer I am looking forward to do so and use my English. I think Christ is the center and the one thing that continues to appear everywhere in Bonhoeffers theology - and if Christ is our center we have peace with God :-) - I think I can recommend the reading ! Greets, take care

good book