During the month of October, I’m posting brief reviews of some of my favorite books from the past couple of years: those that really touched my heart, gave me a new perspective, taught me something, or were just plain fun. Hopefully you will be inspired to add something to your to-read list. 🙂
During my teenage years, I enthusiastically devoured many theologically-related books, R.C. Sproul being my favorite author. I remember coming across Bonhoeffer’s The Cost of Discipleship in the CBD catalogue, and I think I may even have bought it, but something (whether it was in the book or something I read elsewhere about him, I’m not sure) made me uncomfortable, and I did not read it. When I heard about Metaxas’s book, I was intrigued but cautious. I’m so glad I read it. Metaxas weaves many primary sources – sermons, letters, eyewitness accounts – into his narrative of this amazing man. He clears up much of the confusion surrounding his theology, and shows how God worked in his life to bring him to the point of being able to face imprisonment and martyrdom with peace and joy.
This book also brings out some of the subtleties of WWII. Many in the German military, as well as those called up for service, did not support Hitler, and were horrified at the atrocities committed, but because of their loyalty to their country, they felt they had to fight. Eventually many realized that to save Germany’s honor, they had to take action against the Nazis. On the other hand, the Allies did not always act out of altruistic motives. Many were prejudiced against all Germans and would not listen to the German Resistance’s pleas for aid, even though helping them could have a brought a swifter end to the war. Metaxas also shows how Bonhoeffer came to the conclusion that despite – or rather because of – his Christian convictions, he must deliberately work against the Nazis even though it involved deception and plotting to assassinate a ruler.
I bought the audio version, which I’m very glad I did, especially as he rendered all the German words and names beautifully. I discovered, however, that I really wanted to remember certain passages, so I ended up also buying the Kindle version which I could mark up with the highlighting feature.
I did find Metaxas’s humor a little crass at times (he often pokes fun at Hitler and his henchmen), and a few of the anecdotes seemed a little unnecessary, but overall it was wonderful, even moving me to tears in several places. I hope to read some of Bonhoeffer’s own works (Life Together sounds especially intriguing) in the near future. (I originally wrote this review in 2012, and bought Life Together, but haven’t got to it yet.)
