''Ethics'' (german: link=no, Ethik) is an unfinished book by

Dietrich Bonhoeffer Dietrich Bonhoeffer (; 4 February 1906 – 9 April 1945) was a German Lutheran pastor, theologian and anti-Nazi dissident who was a key founding member of the Confessing Church. His writings on Christianity's role in the secular world have ...

that was edited and published after his death by

Eberhard Bethge Eberhard Bethge (August 28, 1909 – March 18, 2000) was a German theologian and pastor, best known for being the close friend and biographer of the theologian and anti-Nazi Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Early life Bethge was born in Rosenau (Branden ...

in 1949. Bonhoeffer worked on the book in the early 1940s and intended it to be his ''

magnum opus A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...

''. At the time of writing, he was a

double agent In the field of counterintelligence, a double agent is an employee of a secret intelligence service for one country, whose primary purpose is to spy on a target organization of another country, but who is now spying on their own country's organi ...

; he was working for ,

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...

organization but was simultaneously involved in the

20 July plot On 20 July 1944, Claus von Stauffenberg and other conspirators attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Führer of Nazi Germany, inside his Wolf's Lair field headquarters near Rastenburg, East Prussia, now Kętrzyn, in present-day Poland. The ...

to assassinate Adolf Hitler. The central theme of ''Ethics'' is Christlikeness. The arguments in the book are informed by

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

Christology In Christianity, Christology (from the Ancient Greek, Greek grc, Χριστός, Khristós, label=none and grc, wiktionary:-λογία, -λογία, wiktionary:-logia, -logia, label=none), translated literally from Greek as "the study of Chr ...

and are influenced by Bonhoeffer's participation in the

German resistance to Nazism Many individuals and groups in Germany that were opposed to the Nazi Germany, Nazi regime engaged in active resistance, including assassination attempts on Adolf Hitler, attempts to remove Adolf Hitler from power by assassination or by overthro ...

. ''Ethics'' is commonly compared to Bonhoeffer's earlier book ''

The Cost of Discipleship ''The Cost of Discipleship'' is a book by the German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, considered to be a classic of Christian thought. The original German title is simply ("the act of following"). It is centered on an exposition of the Sermon on ...

'', with scholars debating the extent to which Bonhoeffer's views on

Christian ethics Christian ethics, also known as moral theology, is a multi-faceted ethical system: it is a virtue ethic which focuses on building moral character, and a deontological ethic which emphasizes duty. It also incorporates natural law ethics, whic ...

changed between his writing of the two books. In ''The Cambridge Companion to Dietrich Bonhoeffer'',

John W. de Gruchy John W. de Gruchy (born 18 March 1939) is a Christian theology, Christian theologian known for his work Internal resistance to apartheid, resisting apartheid. He is presently Emeritus Professor at the University of Cape Town and Extraordinary prof ...

argues that ''Ethics'' evinces more nuance than Bonhoeffer's earlier writings. In 2012,

David P. Gushee David P. Gushee is a Christian ethicist and public intellectual. Work and membership David P. Gushee is Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics and formerly the Director of the Center for Theology and Public Life at Mercer Univers ...

, director of

Mercer University Mercer University is a private research university with its main campus in Macon, Georgia. Founded in 1833 as Mercer Institute and gaining university status in 1837, it is the oldest private university in the state and enrolls more than 9,000 ...

's Center for Theology and Public Life, named ''Ethics'' one of the five best books about patriotism.

Bibliography

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References

{{Bonhoeffer Unfinished books 1949 non-fiction books Works by Dietrich Bonhoeffer Ethics books Christian theology books Books about spirituality Christian devotional literature Christian pacifism Nazi Germany and Protestantism Christian theology and politics History of Lutheranism in Germany Pacifism in Germany Books about politics of Germany Anti-fascist books German non-fiction books Books published posthumously Patriotism Lutheran texts 20th-century Lutheranism 1940s in Christianity