Pacifism, Just War, and Tyrannicide

Synopsis:Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s perplexing and controversial shift from admitted pacifism to tyrannicide has been the source of scholarly and popular inspiration and criticism. How could an admitted Christian pacifist be involved in a plot to assassinate a political figure? Is there a way to understand and explain this phenomenon comprehensive enough to encompass all relevant data? One that takes into account the nuances of Bonhoeffer’s theology and all of the elements of his complex historical and personal contexts? This study attempts to offer an explanation by linking Bonhoeffer’s political thinking and action with his understanding of the church-world relationship and by evaluating the changes in that thought-action dyad as his life progressed. What emerges is a portrait of a bold and visionary thinker and political agent whose church-world theology, while discontinuous, is consistent enough to be authentic and yet flexible enough to meet the extraordinary challenges presented by Nazism and its intrusion into the churches. Gides suggests that it is actually Bonhoeffer’s malleable church-world thinking that ultimately distinguishes him from his theological and ecclesial contemporaries and even from the mass of German church persons and citizenry; it allowed him to confront evil by reaching beyond the constraints of traditional Lutheran thinking.Endorsements:'David Gides’s nuanced interpretation of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s theology and practice is an important contribution to scholarship on this key figure . . . His analysis of Bonhoeffer is also a provocative case study of the relationship between theological principles and the hard realities of violence and war. Contemporary theologians and social ethicists attempting to shape a Christian response to war and oppression would benefit from reflecting on Gides’s able presentation of Bonhoeffer’s own struggle.'--Daniel Speed ThompsonAssociate Professor of Theology, St. Mary’s University, San Antonio, TexasAuthor, The Language of Dissent: Edward Schillebeeckx on the Crisis of Authority in the Catholic Church'This combative book . . . offers a direct challenge to the wider world of Bonhoeffer scholarship. . . . Gides argues strongly against what he claims is an uncritical use by Bonhoeffer scholars of memorable quotations out of their original context to establish a questionable continuity in his church-world theology. Gides highlights . . . discontinuities he perceives between an earlier immersion in a two-sphered reality and Bonhoeffer’s later affirmation of the reconciled reality of God’s incarnate interventions in the human world. . . . Bonhoeffer’s ethical consistency, rather than a developmental continuity, conferred validity to his exemplary achievements.'--Geffrey B. KellyProfessor of Systematic Theology, La Salle University, Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaAuthor Biography:David M. Gides holds a doctorate in historical theology from Fordham University. He is a member of the International Bonhoeffer Society. He is now an independent scholar living near Indianapolis, Indiana.