Chapters 7 and 8 Summary and Analysis

"Bonhoeffer in America, 1930-31"

Bonhoeffer's initial impression of both America and the school he was to attend (Union Theological Seminary - see "Objects/Places") was not initially favorable; he found, it seems the teachings at the school and of the American churches in general too liberal. It was only when, in the company of a black theological student named Albert Fisher (see "Important People") that Bonhoeffer realized there was a traditional, conservative side to American Christianity that he felt comfortable exploring. It also seemed to him, as a result of his experiences in black churches, that that the greatest faith in God, the most trusting, came from those who maintained that faith in the face of great suffering, as black Americans did in an environment still tainted by the residue of slavery. Meanwhile, back in Germany, Hitler's Nazi party...