Dietrich Bonhoeffer: ’n Lewe in die voetspore van Christus

Abstract

Dietrich Bonhoeffer: A life in the footsteps of Christ. The life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a life devoted to the following of Jesus Christ. This article aims to contextualise Bonhoeffer’s thoughts concerning discipleship against the background of Nazi Germany where he chose to stay in the years leading up to and during World War II. It is argued that the circumstances under which he lived and worked gave impetus to his understanding of discipleship, preventing this understanding of discipleship from being only abstract thoughts. A few remarks will be made about Bonhoeffer’s thoughts on discipleship, which will then be read against the background of Jesus’ call to discipleship in Mark 8:34.