Men go to God when they are sorely placed

Men go to God when they are sorely placed. Dietrich Bonhoeffer* (1906-1945), translated by Walter Farquharson* (1936- ). Bonhoeffer’s text, ‘Menschen gehen zu Gott in ihrer Not’, was sent by Bonhoeffer to Eberhard Bethge from prison at Tegel in 1944. It was printed by Bethge in Widerstand und Ergebung – Briefe und Aufzeichnungen aus der Haft (1951), translated into English as Letters and Papers from Prison (1953). The translation in Bethge’s edition begins ‘Men go to God when they are sore bestead’ (Fontana Edition, 1959, p. 174). In a letter of 18 July 1944 Bonhoeffer asks if the poem and the more famous one, ‘Who am I?’, have been received. He then provides a profound and moving...