Mount Mercy University Associate Professor of Religious Studies Dr. David Gides will host a series of lectures titled "Bonhoeffer: His Spiritual Journey: From the Church to Responsible Politics."

Lecture dates include:

• March 16
• March 23
• March 30
• April 6
• April 13

All lectures will begin at 7:00 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church in Cedar Rapids. Senior Pastor Reverend Thomas Miller will lead the lecture on March 23. The lectures are free and open to the public, no registration is required.

Gides's lectures will examine Bonhoeffer's life as a simultaneous journey toward Christ, Church, self and responsible political action in the world.

Lecture topics include:

• March 16: Bonhoeffer's early academic writings in the areas of Christology and Ecclesiology, paying special attention to their ramifications for his politics and spirituality.
• March 23: Pastor Miller will be treating Bonhoeffer's early resistance activity and the Barmen Declaration.
• March 30: Spiritual and political ramifications of Bonhoeffer's Discipleship, paying special attention to how it represents an ever deepening spirituality
• April 6: Bonhoeffer's actual involvement in the conspiracy against Hitler and other aspects of Christian existence in the modern world.
• April 13: Bonhoeffer and the spirituality of other forms of worldly engagement

In addition to offering this series, Gides also presented a paper on March 5 during the Southwest Commission on Religious Studies 2011 conference titled, "No Other Choice? Evaluating the Option for Violence in the German Church Struggle."

Gides joined Mount Mercy in Fall 2009. He previously taught at Manhattan College, Fordham University, Emmanuel College and Christian Brothers University, where he served as the first graduate director of their Master of Arts in Catholic Studies program. He holds a Doctorate from Fordham University, where he specialized in historical and systematic theology.

He is an active researcher in Bonhoeffer studies, and specifically in Bonhoeffer's political activities with respect to his personal, familial, political, social, theological and philosophical context. Gides contributes in this area through conference papers and presentations at regional and national conferences. His first book, Pacifism, Just War and Tyrannicide: Bonhoeffer's Church-World Theology and His Changing Forms of Political Thinking and Involvement, will be published in 2011.

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