Religion & Spirituality · Book club
The Cost of Discipleship book club questions
Here are 12 book club questions for The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, ordered to open easily and end somewhere worth arguing about. Copy them, print them, or bring them up one at a time.
The Cost of Discipleship was published in Germany in 1937, four years after Hitler came to power and two years after Bonhoeffer had taken over the underground seminary at Finkenwalde.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer · 1937 · 6h 0m
Full summary and key takeaways →The 12 questions
- 1.
Bonhoeffer's distinction between cheap grace and costly grace was aimed at German Protestantism in 1937. Where do you see cheap grace operating in religious or secular contexts today?
- 2.
He argues that only the obedient person believes and only the believing person obeys — that faith and action are inseparable. Do you think that's true, and what evidence do you have from your own experience?
- 3.
The Sermon on the Mount commands that seem impossible — do not resist the evil-doer, love your enemies, take no thought for tomorrow. How do you read those commands?
- 4.
Bonhoeffer wrote this book while running an illegal seminary. How does the political context in which he wrote it change how you read its demands?
- 5.
He is critical of Christians who make discipleship a private spiritual project rather than a communal one. Do you agree that genuine faith requires a community, or is that a cultural claim dressed as a theological one?
- 6.
The book's most controversial claim is that deliberation in response to Christ's call is already a form of refusal. Does that leave any room for honest intellectual doubt?
- 7.
Bonhoeffer was executed for his role in the plot to assassinate Hitler — an act that seems to contradict the nonresistance he taught here. How do you reconcile the two?
- 8.
What distinguishes costly grace from legalism? Is Bonhoeffer's framework vulnerable to becoming a new form of works-righteousness?
- 9.
The book was written in a moment of political extremity. Does its framework translate to ordinary peacetime life, or is it specifically a theology for crisis?
- 10.
Bonhoeffer reads the Beatitudes as descriptions of the community, not prescriptions for individuals. How does that shift in reading level — from personal to communal — change the text for you?
- 11.
Which of the Sermon on the Mount's specific commands do you find most difficult to take seriously, and why?
- 12.
If you were to rewrite the opening cheap grace / costly grace distinction for your own context today, what would you be arguing against?
How to run the discussion
- Pick six to eight, not all of them. An hour of real discussion covers fewer questions than anyone expects, and racing the list is what makes a book club feel like homework.
- Open with what people noticed, not what they concluded. Asking for a verdict first hardens opinions before anyone has heard each other.
- Let the disagreement run. The questions below that split a room are the ones worth the time; the ones everyone answers the same way can be skipped.
- Ask the quiet person a specific question. A direct, narrow question is far easier to answer than an open invitation to contribute.
Themes worth steering toward
If the conversation stalls, these are the threads that usually restart it.
Common questions
What are good book club questions for The Cost of Discipleship?
Here are 12 book club questions for The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, ordered to open easily and end somewhere worth arguing about. The strongest openers ask what each reader noticed rather than what they concluded, and the discussion usually turns on discipleship, grace, obedience.
How long should a book club discussion of The Cost of Discipleship last?
Most groups run 60 to 90 minutes of actual discussion. That is roughly six to eight questions, not all of them, so pick the ones that suit your group rather than working down the list in order.
What are the main themes in The Cost of Discipleship?
Discipleship, Grace, Obedience, Ethics, Resistance. Those are the threads most likely to divide a room, which makes them the useful places to steer a discussion that has gone quiet.
Picking the next one? See books like The Cost of Discipleship or questions for other book club picks.
