Ethical Lessons from Dietrich Bonhoeffer: The Life of Discipleship

This nuanced book gives a Bonhoefferian account of contemporary moral issues with a fresh method, style, and perspective.

Norris addresses the most pressing ethical issues today, such as racism and politics, along with everyday ethical topics like friendship and truthtelling; he does so through the lens of a particular theological interpretation of Bonhoeffer’s work.

This considered book makes an argument for Bonhoeffer as a forerunner of what are now considered liberation and postliberal theologies, while providing analyses of contemporary ethical issues that emerge out of the use of this interpretative lens upon his work. Norris highlights how Bonhoeffer holds these positions together and reveals the nuanced ethical conclusions and practices one might reach from that perspective. Ultimately, this work argues that the life of discipleship, for Bonhoeffer, is a way of formation into a community of responsibility to and for others as a means of resistance to systems that suppress human liberation, especially for the marginalized.

This book intervenes into academic conversations, but it also provides resources for practitioners and clergy.

Kristopher Norris is Director of Flourish, a financial education and holistic wellness program that is part of The Shalom Project, USA. He also served as Professor of Christian Ethics at Virginia and Wesley Theological Seminaries.