CTBI to Launch Study into Theologian's Relevance in 21st Century

A Churches Together in Britain and Ireland worker is set to launch a new publication looking at an outstanding theologian's contribution to 20th century Christian thought and action.

Gillian Court, who is an Anglican and Quaker will launch 'Heart of Flesh' on 25 May at the CTBI offices in London.

The publication will look into Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a theologian who contributed greatly to 20th Century Christian thought and action.

It is over sixty years since the Nazis hung Dietrich Bonhoeffer for his involvement in a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler. Last year saw the centenary of Bonhoeffer's birth, when many meetings and exhibitions marked this outstanding theologian's contribution to Christianity.

Bonhoeffer inspired many with his radical approach to faith and God; he talked of Christianity without religion, of God's vulnerability and suffering, and of divine power being pushed out of the world on to a cross. Such thoughts inspired a generation of young Christians back in the 1960s and 70s.

Court's book will focus on answering the question: "What do the words and life of a 20th century intellectual have to say to a 21st century world faced with dangers, challenges and opportunities unknown back in the 1940s?"

In Heart of Flesh, Gillian Court examines the prophetic dimension of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's life and work.

In a clear and concise style, Court compares Bonhoeffer's message with that of the Hebrew prophets of the sixth century BC (Jeremiah, Ezekiel and second Isaiah), and invites us to see them afresh in today's climate of change, the shaking and dismantling of established structures, and the resultant confusion among the people of God.

Heart of Flesh: Dietrich Bonhoeffer - a study in Christian prophecy demonstrates that Bonhoeffer's vision, passion and love for God can continue to move and inspire in equal measure.

The launch of "Heart of Flesh" will take place on 25 May at Bastille Court, London.

The main speaker will be Canon Paul Oestreicher, who is a former director of the Centre for International Reconciliation, Coventry Cathedral, and is now a chaplain at the University of Sussex.

Gillian Court, who is an Anglican and Quaker, is currently on the staff of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland as secretary of the Churches' Commission for International Students.