In Christ Existing as Community, Michael Mawson recovers and clarifies the German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer's early and important work on ecclesiology, focusing especially on his doctoral dissertation Sanctorum Communio. Despite occasional pronouncements of the importance of this dissertation, it has still received only limited scholarly attention. Mawson demonstrates how Bonhoeffer draws upon and reworks social theory in order to develop an account of the church as a reality of God's revelation and a concrete human community. On this basis Mawson concludes that Bonhoeffer's ecclesiology has ongoing significance for contemporary debates in theology and Christian ethics.

Back cover: How is God revealed through the life of a human community? Dietrich Bonhoeffer's theological ethics begins from the claim to 'Christ existing as community', which David Robinson presents as one of several critical and politically astute variations on G.W.F. Hegel's philosophy of religion.

In Christ Existing as Community, Michael Mawson recovers and clarifies the German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer's early and important work on ecclesiology, focusing especially on his doctoral dissertation Sanctorum Communio. Despite occasional pronouncements of the importance of this dissertation, it has still received only limited scholarly attention. Mawson demonstrates how Bonhoeffer draws upon and reworks social theory in order to develop an account of the church as a reality of God's revelation and a concrete human community. On this basis Mawson concludes that Bonhoeffer's ecclesiology has ongoing significance for contemporary debates in theology and Christian ethics.

Here is offered the complete text in translation, annotated by the German and American editors. The historical context is explained and textual commentary is provided in a Foreword and Afterword.

In 1944, Dietrich Bonhoeffer asked ‘Who is Christ for us today?’ In this theologically informed and very practical exploration of what it means to live ‘in Christ’, Clive Marsh seeks to answer Bonhoeffer’s question in a way that is appropriate for the 21st Century.Christ in Practice refuses to locate Christ solely in the Church, but finds him in the midst of contemporary life, especially in the complex ethical challenges of daily living. Clive Marsh considers how Christ is present today, and invites us to reflect on how communal human interaction can be informed and transformed through attempting to understand this question. In the process, he considers how Christ and the Church relate today, highlighting the decisive role to be played by the Church in society, and the humility with which it needs to fulfil its task.Clive Marsh argues that the point of Christology (and of Christianity itself) is not to interpret Christ but to live within Christ, and to do so without being consumed by ‘Church’. It is a passionate plea for Christians to remain faithful to a commitment to Christ as present and active in the world.