This week in Christian history: Dietrich Bonhoeffer born, Philipp Spener dies

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Sunday, February 04, 2024

Dietrich Bonhoeffer born – Feb. 4, 1906

A blown-up photo of 20th century martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer is shown in an image gallery at the Becket Fund's Canterbury Medal Dinner at the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington, D.C., on May 12, 2011. Author Eric Metaxas received the medal this year. | The Christian Post

This week marks the anniversary of when noted German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, author of The Cost of Discipleship, was born in Breslau, a city in modern-day Poland.

One of eight children, Bonhoeffer earned a doctorate from Berlin University in 1927 and was ordained a Lutheran pastor in 1931, serving a couple of congregations in the 1930s.

An opponent of Nationalism Socialism, Bonhoeffer was a key figure in the Confessing Church, which was an anti-Nazi Protestant sect, and authored the famous theological work, The Cost of Discipleship.

“He believed that the Church should not compromise its principles and teachings to align with the Nazi regime. Instead, he advocated for a faithful, active discipleship that resisted the pressures and temptations of the world,” wrote Pastor Darrell Stetler II last year.

“[The Cost of Discipleship] sought to challenge the prevailing understanding of grace and discipleship that he believed had become cheap and watered down. Bonhoeffer wanted to emphasize the radical nature of Christian discipleship and the commitment it required, especially in the face of the rising Nazi regime.”