Bonhoeffer's Christological Interpretation of the Psalms: Tensions, Subjectivity, and the Voice of Christ

Abstract

By closely examining three texts (“Christ in the Psalms,” Life Together, and Prayerbook of the Bible: An Introduction to the Psalms), this article investigates how Dietrich Bonhoeffer develops and formulates his Christological approach to the Psalms in response to two specific tensions. The first tension emerges as Bonhoeffer discerns a problematic duality in the Psalter as both human prayers and divine word; he resolves this tension by asserting that the Psalms present the voice and presence of Christ, notably amid human suffering. This Christological resolution introduces an interpretive tension, as Bonhoeffer concedes that certain psalms seem implausibly to present Christ's voice; yet by reconstruing the subjectivity of Christ's voice in the Psalms, Bonhoeffer also resolves this second tension Christologically. Thus, Bonhoeffer's Christological approach to the Psalms takes shape as he lingers with—and interprets into—the tensions of Christological exegesis.