Bonhoeffer's eschatology in a world “come of age”

Abstract

In this article, the author explores the eschatological development in Dietrich Bonhoeffer's theology, from his earliest lectures in 1932, to his final fragmentary writings in the Tegel prison cell. It will be shown that Bonhoeffer's eschatological interpretation of the Book of Genesis (Schöpfung und Fall) returns in his later work as an interpretive key to understanding his concept of “religionless Christianity.” Finally, the article attempts to show how a similarly eschatological commitment may assist the contemporary church to witness to Christ in a “world come of age,” and what such a witness may look like.