Born 100 years ago, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German theologian and pastor who was tragically executed at the end of the Second World War for his part in the plot to kill Hitler.

His life and thought continue to exercise a remarkable influence on into the twenty-first century. 

Personally I find reading Bonhoeffer a frustrating experience: I keep interrupting myself to read paragraphs out loud to whoever is in earshot!  This book of 365 short selections is a delightful remedy to my dilemma.

Bonhoeffer has three things that few Christian authors possess: (1) integrity " he lived and died for what he believed; (2) a deep theology " he was committed both to this world and the next; and (3) the knack of compelling expression " he writes well. 

To give just a couple of examples, he defined prayer as "nothing else but the readiness to appropriate the Word and to let it speak to me in my personal situation, in my particular tasks, decisions, sins, and temptations." 

He saw his marriage as "a yes to God's earth" (sadly, he was engaged but killed before he could get married).

And he called Jesus Christ "the man for others."

Books like this one are no replacement for daily Bible reading, nor even for reading the whole books from which they are compiled. In this case I highly recommend The Cost of Discipleship and Life Together.

Nonetheless, this book consists of a heady mix of arresting biography, profound theology, ethics and even politics, dotted with piercing insights into the life of obedience. 

Some excerpts will move you to action, while others will make you scratch your head.  None are predictable or trite. Spending a year with Dietrich Bonhoeffer promises to be challenging and rewarding. 

Brian Rosner teaches New Testament and Ethics at Moore College and recently gave a lecture on "Bonhoeffer on Disappointment' at the School of Theology (available on DVD or CD through the External Studies Department).