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neilrcoulter's review against another edition
3.0
It’s been a good year with Dietrich Bonhoeffer. His insights into all aspects of life have challenged and encouraged me as I read a little bit from him each day. The only problem with this book is the same problem all such books share: the author is meant to be read in long form, not in short, page-long excerpts of longer works. Some of the excerpts (and connected series of days’ selections) are fine, but others feel too choppy in this format. For that reason, I’ll be doing something different for my daily readings next year.
As I looked through pages that I’d marked along the way as being particularly insightful, I liked this one, from August 16 (p. 239):
As I looked through pages that I’d marked along the way as being particularly insightful, I liked this one, from August 16 (p. 239):
Human beings are not supposed to sleep but to be awake. Being awake means being sober, living not in dreams and wishes but in stark reality. Being awake means loving the day and its work. It means being without illusions, because illusions idolize the world for us and veil our vision of the one God of whom one is to make no idols; illusions let us see the world in the colors of our own wishes and prejudices. Being awake means seeing the world as it is before God, without judging it. Being awake means being open, being ready for the future, looking it in the eye and not fearing it. It means seeing God’s clear day as it is, loving his creation and his work, but at the same time seeing the suffering of creation, the misery and helplessness of other people, hearing their petition even where it remains unspoken. And it means knowing about eternal guilt. This being awake is not something we can give ourselves. Rather, God must call us to this being awake. . . . Live before God as the one he has made you to be! But this word “live” cannot be a command; it is the word of God himself as Creator.
tammiegitt's review against another edition
4.0
Good Introduction
The daily readings in this year-long devotional form a good introduction to the writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The writings are classic and well-suited to the different seasons of the year, but the book would have been improved greatly by identifying the source of the material in each daily reading and by putting dates or day numbers on each entry.
The daily readings in this year-long devotional form a good introduction to the writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The writings are classic and well-suited to the different seasons of the year, but the book would have been improved greatly by identifying the source of the material in each daily reading and by putting dates or day numbers on each entry.
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