Yes, you may believe the hype. It really is that good. And annoying. And good. And annoying. It rips your heart out of your chest, and stomps on it, but you'll still enjoy the ride.

I am exhausted.

This is my second time reading this book, and it was so much clearer this time around. My first attempt was the Norwegian translation, and I was struggling. I don't know if this is due to the translation being bad or if it is because that was my very first Bonhoeffer, so everything was unfamiliar.

Several of the themes found in Life Together are similar to his discussions in both his book on the psalms and in The Cost of Discipleship. The book is partly a recipe for life in a Christian community, but it also gives advice for the days when we are alone, and it holds that both community and solitude are important parts of the Christian life.

When speaking of life in the congregation I especially enjoyed his emphasis on Holding One's Tongue. Particularly when it comes to covertly speaking of other people, judging them, condemning them etc. Here he also speaks of inclusion in the form of giving people particular tasks in the community, to make people see (or remember) that they are not useless or unusable. And he is explicitly saying that elimination of the (so called) weak from the fellowship will lead to its destruction. This part discusses several related themes, like actually listening, being actively helpful, being meek, and bearing others, and then (when all those things are in place) sharing the Word.

I get some supersessionistic vibes in his discussion of the psalms, and I'm (as per usual) not happy with his focus on penal substitution as the one true understanding of atonement. I am however happy with the claim that "God hates visionary dreaming". Thank you, Bonhoeffer, I will cross stitch this and put it on my wall.

This is a lovely collection of tiny theology canapés, where Bonhoeffer talks about the different kinds of psalms appearing in the Bible (covering things like lament/suffering, praise, guilt, hope, and vengeance), offering both explanation and examples. I find his Jesus focused reading of the psalms slightly problematic, but his writing is clear and interesting and absolutely worth reading (while making up counterarguments in your head ofc). His reliance on the penal substitutionary atonement (e.g. when speaking of the imprecatory psalms) is a bit of a disappointment, and it would be interesting to see whether his arguments (with a bit of tweaking) regarding the vengeance psalms would still work alongside another theory of atonement.

Aaaanyway, this is quite a nice starting point for your journey through the psalms. The book gives you a map, and a guide of sorts, which makes it slightly less intimidating to get started reading this part of the Bible.

This is the Swedish version of Wiederstand und Ergebung. Briefe und Aufzeichnungen aus der Haft (English title: Letters and Papers from Prison)

This book is amazing to such a degree that I struggle to find the correct words. We get to follow Bonhoeffer (through his letters to his parents and his friend) from his imprisonment in 1943 and almost all the way to his execution by the nazis in 1945. However, the book starts with his thoughts on the first ten years of Hitler's rule, and there are just too many parallels to our time. Too many.

The letters to his parents are mostly written to ease their anxiety, and contain descriptions of the day to day life in Tegel prison. The more interesting part (imho) are the letters to his friend Eberhardt Bethge, and this is where Bonhoeffer as a theologian really gets to shine. I find it easier to grasp his ideas here than in other writings I've read, but I still feel the need to both re-read this and compare with other translations. His thoughts on God, faith, and religion (or the lack thereof) seem pretty radical to me, and the letters containing the most heavy theology were actually the ones I enjoyed the most.

His thoughts on being a godfather broke my heart, and we also get to see his more conservative side in his wedding speech (letter) to Eberhardt and Renate Bethge. Sadly he didn't get the chance to rethink his views on women and marriage.

This book also contains an absolutely beautiful Swedish translation of Von Guten Mächten treu und still umgeben.