In this episode, we interview Dr. Stephen R. Haynes about his books The Bonhoeffer Phenomenon and The Battle for Bonhoeffer. With as much attention as is given to Dietrich Bonhoeffer – why is there often so little care for the objective historical reality of his life and theology? In this interview, Dr. Haynes takes us through some of both the life and thought of Bonhoeffer in context, as well as the incentive many different groups have in appropriating his name for current (often political) causes. Dr. Haynes helps us see through some popular errors as we discuss why the truth matters both in history, as well as in appropriations of past figures in the present. 

Books: 

• Bonhoeffer for Armchair Theologians by Lori Brandt Hale and Stephen R. Haynes 
• The Bonhoeffer Phenomenon: Portraits of a Protestant Saint 
• The Battle for Bonhoeffer: Debating Discipleship in the Age of Trump 

Recommended Biographies: 

• Dietrich Bonhoeffer 1906-1945: Martyr, Thinker, Man of Resistance by Ferdinand Schlingensiepen 
• Strange Glory: A Life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Charles Marsh 

Other books by Stephen R. Haynes: 

• Noah’s Curse: The Biblical Justification of American Slavery 
• The Last Segregated Hour: The Memphis Kneel-Ins and the Campaign for Southern Church Desegregation 

Other resources mentioned: 

• The Myth of Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Is His Theology Evangelical? ; “Scripture and Myth in Dietrich Bonhoeffer” by Richard Weikart (also here) 
• Bonhoeffer’s Black Jesus: Harlem Rennaissance Theology and an Ethic of Resistance by Reggie L. Williams