Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born on February 04, 1906 with her sister sabine in Breslau, Germany. He completed his education from Tubingen, Berlin, and at Union Theological Seminary in New York. He also participated in European ecumenical movement and in the early 1930; Bonhoeffer became one of the known personality for German- and English-language theology.

At the age of 17 years, he was recognized as possessing an exceptional intellect and started the study of theology in the Universities of Tübingen and Berlin (1923-1927). During his studies, he came under the influence of Adolf von Harnack, Reinhold Seeberg, and Karl Holl.

After he completed his necessary education related to theological studies, he then served as pastor trainer in Evangelical (Lutheran) ministry and was posted in German church in Barcelona, Spain (1928-1929).

In the thirties, when Bonhoeffer's actively opposed the National Socialism, it continued to escalate till the retirement in the resistance in 1940. The group which murdered Adolph Hitler and conquered the Third Reich within the Abwehr (German Military Intelligence) was an elite group, which included, Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, Head of Military Intelligence, General Hans Oster (who recruited Bonhoeffer), and Hans von Dohnanyi, who was married to Bonhoeffer's sister, Christine. All three were executed with Bonhoeffer on April 9, 1945.

One of the diplomat and courier to the British government was Bonhoeffer's role in the conspiracy which he played on the behalf of resistance, because Allied group support was essential to end the war. During the abroad trips for resistance, Bonhoeffer stayed at Ettal, a Benedictine monastery outside of Munich, where he also worked on his book, Ethics, from 1940 till 1943 after which he was arrested.

Bonhoeffer became deeply involved in Anti – Hitler opposition group of the Young Reformers, a group which was organized by Pastor Martin Niemöller. "Aryan Paragraph" was when voted by the State Church through his confession (barring men from the pastorate who were converted Jews, who had Jewish ancestors, or who were married to Jews), Niemöller, Bonhoeffer, and others then shaped a new party within the church, named “Pastors' Emergency League”. The said league was soon developed as " Confessing Church" a group of German clergy which strongly stood against the pro – Aryan position, pro-Hitler State Church.

HE CHALLENGES THE CHURCH TO SEEK AN AUTHENTIC CHRISTIAN LIFE

During his deep involvement in Finkenwald seminary community, he wrote:

“Nachfolge (The Cost of Discipleship) (1937) an exposition of the Sermon on the Mount in which he attacked the "cheap grace" that was being dispensed by the State Church, in easy forgiveness of Christians acting in cooperation with the evil of the Nazi movement; Gemeinsames Leben (Life Together) (1939) a description of Church as it was meant by Christ to be: a Christian community that prayed, confessed, learned and suffered together as an instrument of Divine grace in our troubled world”.

Referances:

• Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. The Cost of Discipleship. Simon & Schuster.
• Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. "After Ten Years." Letters and Papers from Prison. Enlarged Edition, Eberhard Bethge, ed. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1971.

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