Reinhold Niebuhr

Bibliographic Data

ID19990624
AuthorsRichard Crouter (corresponding author)
Year2010
Pages164
Publication date2010-06-17
Open AccessNo
TypeBOOK
VenueReinhold Niebuhr on politics, religion, and Christian faith (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195379679.001.0001
OpenAlexW4231116463
ISBN9780195379679
Open LibraryOL24487749M
LanguageEN
Citations received9

This book is a primer on the political prophet and Christian social ethicist Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971), who is widely cited for his political realism in the aftermath of George W. Bush's presidency. His works are on the favorite reading list of Barack Obama. In addition to mapping the "Niebuhr revival" on the political left and right, the book's seven chapters acquaint readers with the central teachings and ways of thinking behind this fresh interest. The core of Niebuhr's Christian realism and the role of irony in his thought are made accessible to non-specialists in ways that explain his appeal to secular as well as deeply religious minds. The book begins with an account of the fresh interest in the Protestant thinker and argues for Niebuhr's sense of history as a prelude to explaining how his view of the human self as sinful and self-preoccupied (individually and in groups) relates to his passion for social justice. Three chapters then examine Niebuhr's teaching as a preacher and writer with uncommon literary sensitivity, take up his classic 1952 title, The Irony of American History as an expression of his Christian realism, and probe the reasons for his mixed reception in contemporary Christian circles, both popular and academic. A final chapter examines the ways that Niebuhr's legacy invites levels of self-reflection that judiciously illumine the personal, political, and religious challenges that we face in the contemporary world

Aesthetics · Allegiance · Appeal · Art · Irony · Literature · Political science · Politics · Protestantism · Realism · American Constitutional Law and Politics · Law · Philosophy · Reformation and Early Modern Christianity · Religion and Society Interactions · Religious studies · 20th century · Christianity and politics · History of doctrines · Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971)

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