Bonhoeffer Student Edition

Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy

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Pub Date 05 May 2015 | Archive Date 26 Jun 2018

Description

What would you do if your faith could cost you your life?

The fascinating story of one of Christianity’s most courageous heroes, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, is now abridged and adapted for students. This compelling account of Bonhoeffer’s remarkable testimony—combined with historical, theological, and political elements and enhanced with photos—brings the story to life. How did Bonhoeffer become someone who would defend God’s truth, even when it was a matter of life and death? How did he endure the hardships that came with his faithfulness? How might we respond similarly to injustices today?

New York Times bestselling author Eric Metaxas vividly portrays the struggles and faith of Bonhoeffer, a man who had the courage to follow his convictions into Nazi Germany and stand up for the truth of God.

What would you do if your faith could cost you your life?

The fascinating story of one of Christianity’s most courageous heroes, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, is now abridged and adapted for students. This...


Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9780718021641
PRICE $14.99 (USD)

Average rating from 15 members


Featured Reviews

This book presented Pastor Bonhoeffer's life in an easy to read, and comprehensible manner. This would be an appropriate text book for middle school through college type course; or for an adult Sunday School class. The material is presented in a logical manner, and has greatly increased this reader''s overall understanding of the subject!

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I really enjoyed learning about this martyr of the Christian faith during WWII. This is the student edition so it makes it easier to read. There is one by the same author that is not abridged. It is very student friendly. It has pictures from his life in this book. I really enjoyed it and highly recommend it. The book talked about the political scene of Germany. It would start out each chapter of the book with a quote and then a timeline. This book covers his entire life to help connect with his story. It is a great resource for those who are curious about his life, even for adults.

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Metaxas chooses interesting details and original quotations to humanize Bonhoeffer and explore his enormous influence on the German church during the rise of the Nazi regime. He challenges readers to connect Bonhoeffer’s struggles to present-day concerns such as personal faith, prayer, and boldness. Beginning with timelines and ending with “things to think about,” chapters form succinct units complete with vocabulary (“idolatry,” “pacifism”), maps, and photographs. Bonhoeffer’s critique of Nazi power can shed light for young Christians about the challenges facing the church today.

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Bonhoeffer Student Edition is an excellent resource for parents to read with their children. It is an easily understandable book that will introduce your child to a man who understood sacrifice and service to God.

Bonhoeffer Student Edition is filled with great resources such as:

-Family trees
-Timelines
-Comparisons
-Definitions
-Historical information of the times and events surrounding and shaping Bonhoeffer's life.
-Discussion questions and exercises to provoke further thought and study.

I received a pre-release copy and so the tables, timelines, etc. we're not yet available in a clean format. I can tell though that this is a book where having a physical copy as opposed to an ebook would be advantageous. The charts, etc. would be much larger and easier to reference.

You can have your child read it on their own but the experience will be so much richer if you read it as a family. Delve into the life of a sinner saved by grace who sought to serve his God in a perilous time.

I received a review copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased review. My thanks to the author and publisher.

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I absolutely loved reading this book. I have always been fascinated with history and learning about this gentlemen was wonderful. He did such a brave thing and helping those people just proves how he was when he was alive. I never knew he was apart of the Holocaust. So it's interesting learning from others that were a partime of it. I recommend this book to anyone that loves history and learning about other people invovled in the Holocaust.

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I really like to read material by Eric Metaxas. It is some of the most interesting apologetics based material currently being produced. His treatment of Bonhoeffer is equally interesting and I believe this edition is quite a bit easier to digest than the full version of Bonhoeffer. I would recommend reading this book as a good introduction to both the author and the subject.

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Not too long ago, I was playing a game of Taboo with a bunch of high schoolers. I received a card that said “Adolf Hitler,” and my taboo words were World War 2, Nazis, Holocaust, etc. This group of high schoolers had NO IDEA what I was talking about. The timer went off, and I then said the taboo words, hoping that would spark some connections. Alas, none. I was frankly appalled that this group of high schoolers had no idea what I was talking about. They knew there had been a world war, but two? Really? And the only reference they knew about Nazi was “soup Nazi.” My father fought in WW2, and this episode broke my heart.

That is why books like this one by Eric Metaxas are so necessary. It often helps to introduce difficult history subjects by holding up the “good guys” who fought for what was right. Dietrich Bonhoeffer is such a person to uphold to our children, and Mr. Metaxas’s concise and impeccably researched writing is an excellent way to do it. This book is packed full of great information without bogging down.

The oft-quoted and paraphrased line about those who do not understand history are condemned to repeat it is very true. We can see evidence of that daily in our current culture. Use this book to help combat the ignorance and apathy among the students you know. I highly recommend it for upper elementary (for advanced students) on up to adults (for a quick read).

I gratefully received this eARC from the author, publisher and NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

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There were many martyrs of the Holocaust, but few have had the theological significance as Dietrich Bonhoeffer. His life sets an example for old and young of how to live out ones convictions even in the most difficult of circumstances.



I will have my oldest daughter read this year as we study other literature written about the Holocaust. I think it is highly valuable to learn about many different perspectives when studying history, especially very difficult periods such as the Holocaust.



The book itself is geared towards the middle school reader. The historical information is provided in a clear and interesting way. Even if the reader has not been made familiar with the intricacies surrounding World War 2 prior to reading this, they will have no trouble understanding all that happened leading up to and during the war. It is especially insightful to understand how the everyday citizen felt about what Germany's leaders were doing.


Individuals are famous for their brief moment in history, but we cannot understand the individuals completely without first knowing what led them to those moments. This biography is an excellently written description of Bonhoeffer's early life and how he became who he was. The clear writing will engage readers fully and hopefully help them think critically about not only World War 2, but also be more aware of all that is going on around them politically and socially.


Now I do want to make it clear that I do not agree with all of Bonhoeffer's theological beliefs. That being said, I believe studying his life and his thoughts on Scripture are still very valuable. If you also have the opportunity to read the original book by Eric Metaxes written for adults I strongly encourage that. It is excellent and will fill in any of the gaps you may feel was missing in this title.

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It's impossible to read anything about the incredible life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and not be inspired by his faith, saddened by his suffering, and full of questions about your own beliefs and faith. Does my life reflect the kind of fearless faith that Bonhoeffer showed? Is my heart filled with joy in the midst of dark circumstances the way Bonhoeffer's was?
The answer is no. My faith looks rather puny next to his. My life looks pathetic next to his courage and generosity. One will always feel small when compared to giants, but at least we are looking up, striving for greatness, seeking to know God more intimately as they did.

I was surprised that this book was written for students in elementary school, and I suppose I was expecting something closer to a high school or middle school level. But then... if you're in high school, you might as well read the original version of Metaxas' book. As it is, it's a wonderful tool to introduce young children to the history and biography of a great spiritual warrior.

I loved that at the end of each chapter there are group questions about what Bonhoeffer's testimony means to us and how we can apply his example to our own lives. I thought it very helpful that many of the terms used to describe warfare, religion, and espionage are explained and defined in little aside boxes or in the glossary at the back. I can just imagine a family reading this together with their children and discussing the chapter questions at the dinner table.

Disclaimer: I received an ecopy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.

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I have found myself quite interested in Dietrich Bonhoeffer for a number of years. He is a very controversial figure, and I really don’t agree with the conclusions he came to about the Christian’s duty in times like World War II, but at the same time I have to admire him for acting on his convictions. When I came across this Student Edition of Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas, I remembered hearing my daughter talking about the author, so I decided I’d read the book. I not only wanted to read about Bonhoeffer, but I wanted to find out if the author was someone I was interested in reading more from.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born in 1906, the fifth of seven children—his twin sister was only a few minutes younger than he was! As a young child, he experienced World War I, and learned that war was not glamorous when his older brother died. By the age of 15, the young man had decided that he wanted to become a theologian, and he never questioned his decision. Time in New York City among the African-American churches changed him forever, and he determined to infuse new life into what he saw as the dying Lutheran church in Germany.

A large part of this book talks about how Hitler became the Fuhrer of Germany, and how World War II began. I found that history very interesting. Of course, Bonhoeffer’s story is inextricably connected to the story of the Nazis and the war. Bonhoeffer struggled for a time with the ethics of resistance to the government but finally came to the conclusion that at times it was right to stand up for the right against corruption, even if it meant killing the leader. He joined a plot to assassinate Hitler—but unfortunately, was caught and imprisoned until nearly the end of the war. This is the point at which I differ from Bonhoeffer. From what I read in the New Testament, it is never right to kill anyone. Also, we are commanded to obey and pray for our government—and the person who wrote that, the Apostle Paul, was living under one of the worst of the Roman Emperors, Nero, who ended up killing him as well as thousands of other people. All the same, as I have said above, I do admire Bonhoeffer’s strength of conviction and his willingness to die for those convictions.

There are some features of this book that I felt really enhanced its usefulness. Each chapter begins with a timeline and ends with several questions to help you think about Bonhoeffer and how his story can apply to your life, as well as definitions of words and brief descriptions of people mentioned in the chapter. There are boxes of notes throughout the chapter to add more information and help you think about your life, as well. This is quite an educational book about World War II and Germany, although with my concern about Bonhoeffer’s theology, I would be careful about which children I handed this book to. They need to be well-grounded in their beliefs before reading this. Oh, and the original reason I wanted to read this book? I like Eric Metaxas’ way of writing history. He has written a very readable biography, and I would enjoy reading more of his books.

I received a free ecopy of this book from NetGalley and chose to write a review.

WARNING: As in paragraph 3.

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This is a fascinating book, easily accessible for everyone. I have read a lot of books about World War II and the holocaust and this book showed me a different side to it….what it was like to be a German Christian in Nazi Germany.

This book is written for students. It defines terms like “communism” or “holocaust.” It gives thoughtful explanations of the political climate in Germany and other areas of Europe. It showed the struggle that believers, like Bonhoeffer, had in how to respond to Hitler. As a Christian, are you called to submit to Hitler, or are you called to assassinate someone so evil, or something in between? It was fascinating. There were also some interesting asides about people who smuggled Jewish children out of Germany.

I feel this book gave a thoughtful, understandable look at the Christian German resistance, and in particular Bonhoeffer. It gave a pretty full picture of the climate. I enjoyed it and felt I learned a lot. I’d highly recommend it.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson for providing me with a free e-copy of this book. I was not required to leave a positive review. All opinions are my own.

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