Bonhoeffer

I've been reading this biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer this month. Scott got it for me for Christmas. I read the Cost of Discipleship years ago and had a general idea of Bonhoeffer's life.

I'm having a hard time with it though. Not because it isn't extremely well-written. Not because Bonhoeffer isn't fascinating. And not because his story isn't gripping. It's because Bonhoeffer was executed for his role in a plot to assassinate Hitler weeks before Hitler's suicide. Because Bonhoeffer was engaged. Last night I had to put the book down because he and his fiancé are fully expecting his release from prison and are writing each other about wedding plans.

The problem is that I like my endings happy.

This is hard because I also love reading autobiographies and biographies. And because most of them are about people who died. This isn't a criticism of the biography/autobiography industry. Just a statistical reality.

Malcom X's autobiography sat on my shelf for two years before I could read it. Joan of Arc (burned alive) took a while to get to as well.

Seriously though, it is hard to read about evil. And hard to see evil triumph in the short term. It drives me to pray for countries where oppressive regimes destroy lives. And helps me to understand the psalmists' pleas for justice and peace.