Description
Book SynopsisDiscipleship and Unity: Bonhoeffer’s Ecumenical Theology presents a fresh approach to church unity and discipleship from a familiar voice. Building constructively from the thought of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Cole Jodon offers an account of ecumenism in which the church is understood to be united as the person of Christ — a unity that is concrete today through active obedient discipleship. To develop this theology, Jodon draws from Bonhoeffer’s ecumenical engagement, which is deepened through the theology of Bonhoeffer’s wider corpus. Jodon illumines Bonhoeffer’s dynamic understanding of the church, its unity, and the manner in which that unity is made concrete in the world. At its heart, this book serves to advance an ecumenical theology enlivened by the living and present Christ who calls his church to follow after him together.
Trade ReviewCole Jodon has provided the first systematic treatment of Bonhoeffer’s rich ecumenical theology, tracing the complex ways in which this theology is bound up with a conception of church as the presence of Christ. This is an important book that should be read and studied carefully by all those with interests in Bonhoeffer or commitments to Christian unity.
-- Michael Mawson, Charles Sturt University
Bonhoeffer’s role in the nascent ecumencial movement is well known, but has remained under resourced as an area of scholarly reflection. Cole Jodon’s book not only offers a clear and comprehensive account of Bonhoeffer’s ecumenism, but also moves beyond thinking towards Bonhoeffer to thinking with and beyond Bonhoeffer in constructive reflection. Bonhoeffer scholars and scholars of ecumenism are both well served by this book.
-- Tom Greggs, FRSE, Marischal Chair (1616) and Head of Divinity, University of Aberdeen
Table of Contents1. The Church
2. Church Unity
3. The Visible Church
4. Discipleship in Bonhoeffer’s Ecumenical Works
5. Bonhoeffer’s Ecumenism of Discipleship
