Bonhoeffer as Martyr: Social Responsibility and Modern Christian Commitment.

Craig J. Slane

Bonhoeffer as Martyr: Social Responsibility and Modern Christian Commitment

Brazos Press, 2004, 256pp.

In this accessible and enlightening study, Craig Slane interrogates the popular idea of Dietrich Bonhoeffer as a martyr in systematic, theological fashion, attempting not so much to tear down Bonhoeffer's martyrdom status as to 'secure it on a theological basis.' The book presents the classical meaning of martyr in its historical and theological context. In Slane's judgment, it would seem that Bonhoeffer does not meet this definition. In its stead, he formulates a revised, contemporary definition of martyrdom, using Bonhoeffer's life and work as its conceptual (and moral) template. As much a moral inquiry as a scholarly exploration, Slane's book encourages us to view contemporary life and its challenges through the lens of Bonhoeffer's dauntingly courageous ethic of social responsibility. 'Dietrich Bonhoeffer's story is like a tune that we catch off the radio and can't get out of our head," Slane writes. "Hardly a day or two goes by without a Bonhoefferian phrase or two crossing my mind. I often think about life's problems with him in mind.' After reading this concise examination of Bonhoeffer's life as moral exemplum, it is quite possible the reader will feel the same way.