Daring, Trusting Spirit

Book excerpt: The compelling story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, his resistance to the Nazi regime, and his sweeping postwar influence owe much to his close friendship with his fellow pastor Eberhard Bethge. In this important and engaging work, distinguished theologian John de Gruchy narrates the course and consequences of that friendship, building on interviews and newly available primary sources. Sympathetic yet astute, de Gruchy relates Bethge's own development, his unlikely yet devoted friendship with Bonhoeffer, their fateful involvement in the Confessing Church movement and opposition to Hitler, and Bethge's remarkable postwar journey, nurturing worldwide reception and regard for Bonhoeffer's signal theological insights. Book jacket.