Sacred Rhetoric: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Participatory Tradition

Dietrich Bonhoeffer is a celebrated and enigmatic figure in theology. Though he is known for advocating a concrete and worldly Christianity Justin Mandela Roberts argues that his theology is in continuity with a participatory ontology especially as seen in the ressourcement movement and Radical Orthodoxy. While critical of such metaphysical speculation Bonhoeffer displays similar inclinations that situate Truth Goodness and Beauty as transcendental aspects of divine being. His theology affirms the pervasive rhetoric of doxology details the economy of reciprocal gift-giving and celebrates the sacramentality of creation. Sacred Rhetoric contributes to the ongoing discussion of metaphysics and also serves as a supplement to the debate between Karl Barth and Erich Przywara. Justin Roberts Sacred Rhetoric offers a reading of one of the twentieth centurys more enigmatic theologians Dietrich Bonhoeffer within the context of contemporary retrievals of the metaphysics of participation and the gift. This is an imaginative interpretation of Bonhoeffers work for our own time. --Simon Oliver Associate Professor of Philosophical Theology University of Nottingham In this important and beautifully written contribution to Bonhoeffer studies and modern theology Roberts demonstrates that Bonhoeffer can and should be read in continuity with the participatory theological tradition from patristic to medieval and modern theology. Bonhoeffers life and work thus appear in fresh perspective as representing the doxological modality of the Christian life that engages the world out of union with God; a sacramental sacred rhetoric that is most clearly expressed as worship. --Jens Zimmermann Author Professor of Humanities and Canada Research Chair in Interpretation Religion and Culture Trinity Western University Justin Mandela Roberts is a graduate of Regent College (Vancouver British Columbia) and a PhD Student at McMaster Divinity College (Hamilton Ontario). He is also the author of Behold Our God: Contemplative Theology for the Soul.