Godsey's seminal study is the first dissertation to be written on Dietrich Bonhoeffer's theology. It first appeared in 1960 when Bonhoeffer's name was relatively new in English-language circles. This work, which surveyed the entire Bonhoeffer corpus available at the time, quickly became a standard text that laid the groundwork for Bonhoeffer studies thereafter. Godsey explores Bonhoeffer's life and the key themes of his Christocentric theology, providing an introduction to mid-century Protestant theology, and showing how Bonhoeffer's theology can serve as a resource for those who seek to engage theology with the world. In the intervening years since its publication, Bonhoeffer scholarship has progressed, but much of what we think about Bonhoeffer's theology can be found in the pages of this work. Bonhoeffer's life and work bear witness to the fact that the church cannot live on "cheap grace," but only on the present Christ.
