This authoritative Handbook features 38 chapters placing Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971) in his historical context to offer readers an appreciation of his insights and how he was received by his contemporaries.

Annotation What are the practical and theoretical issues that concern and shape theological ethics? This handbook offers a guide to the discipline. Written by an international group of 30 scholars, the book is aimed at all students and academics who want to explore more fully essential topics in Christian ethics.

This is Ronald Stone’s fifth book on his mentor and friend Reinhold Niebuhr. For the first time he analyzes all of Niebuhr’s writings on race to correct the academic work of critics of Niebuhr who have ignored Niebuhr’s creation of institutions fighting white supremacy in the South and who commented on Niebuhr while not reading his complete works. It also publishes the text of his work as chairman of the mayor’s committee on race in the strife-torn Detroit of 1926. Stone argues that Niebuhr’s work in total provides a complex theory for white and Black leaders to overcome white supremacy. Niebuhr combines idealism and realism in the bulk of his work, which is summarized in the two words of his well-known social theory: Christian Realism. Both words need to be recognized to understand the depth of Niebuhr’s synthesis. As early as 1932, Niebuhr recognized the need for minorities to use economic power and Gandhian nonviolent strategies to overcome color or caste discrimination. As late as the year of his death in 1971 he recommended to the Bicentennial Commission, as one of three national priorities, the overcoming of the racial discrimination that threatened American democracy. Racism as sin is central to his theology, and the breaking of white supremacy is essential to his hundreds of essays and editorials against racial discrimination and to democratic theory. As editor of Social Action in 1968 Stone published “The Fate of the Negro in a Self-Righteous Nation,” widely regarded as Niebuhr’s best essay on the subject and marking Niebuhr’s late analysis and his development between the two commission reports of 1926 and 1968. Another relatively unknown source of Niebuhr on racism is the seminar he taught from 1966 to 1968. It is reconstructed by Stone from the class notes of the seminar in which he served as class assistant. To complete the circle, James Cone asked Stone to lecture in his seminar the last three years he offered the seminar on Reinhold Niebuhr.

Renowned theologian Reinhold Niebuhr began his career as pastor of Bethel Evangelical Church in Detroit, Michigan, where he served from 1915–1928. Leaves from the Notebook of a Tamed Cynic is Niebuhr's account of the frustrations and joys he experienced during his years at Bethel. Addressed to young ministers, this book provides reflections and insights for those engaged in the challenging yet infinitely rewarding occupation of pastoral ministry. With a foreword from Jonathan Walton on Niebuhr's enduring insights into the challenges and relevance of pastoral ministry, this powerful book remains as useful today as it was last century.

Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971) was an inner-city pastor, ethics professor, and author of the famous Serenity Prayer. Time magazine's 25th anniversary issue in March 1948 featured Niebuhr on its cover, and Time later eulogized him as "the greatest Protestant theologian in America since Jonathan Edwards." Cited as an influence by public figures ranging from Billy Graham to Barack Obama, Niebuhr was described by historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. as "the most influential American theologian of the twentieth century." In this companion volume to the forthcoming documentary film by Martin Doblmeier on the life and influence of Reinhold Niebuhr, Jeremy Sabella draws on an unprecedented set of exclusive interviews to explore how Niebuhr continues to compel minds and stir consciences in the twenty-first century. Interviews with leading voices such as Jimmy Carter, David Brooks, Cornel West, and Stanley Hauerwas as well as with people who knew Niebuhr personally, including his daughter Elisabeth, provide a rich trove of original material to help readers understand Niebuhr's enduring impact on American life and thought. CONTRIBUTORS (interviewees) Andrew J. Bacevich David Brooks Lisa Sowle Cahill Jimmy Carter Gary Dorrien Andrew Finstuen K. Healan Gaston Stanley Hauerwas Susannah Heschel William H. Hudnut III Robin W. Lovin Fr. Mark S. Massa, SJ Elisabeth Sifton Ronald H. Stone Cornel West Andrew Young

In the world’s most developed democracies, anxiety about the future of democracy is palpable. The tension between moral aspiration and moral despair has reached a point of crisis. Christian realism arose during a similar time of crisis, when Reinhold Niebuhr used the insights of the Christian tradition to interpret the clash between democracy and totalitarianism. Beginning with Robin Lovin’s account of Christian realism as a nuanced blend of theological, moral, and political realisms, The Future of Christian Realism addresses fundamental topics in theology, ethics, and politics. The contributors come from different traditions, span five continents, and together present a case for the continuing relevance of Christian realism. By paying close attention to many of the most pressing moral challenges facing societies today, the authors illustrate and evaluate the enduring relevance of Christian realism.

This volume presents reflections on the nature of Christian spirituality in the light of Immanuel Kant’s work Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals. It also contains two short comments on Kant’s work: Paul Tillich directly engages Kant’s moral philosophy, and Reinhold Niebuhr indirectly addresses him with his reflections on the role of conscience in religious experience. The whole volume rests on the constituent role that morality, and hence ethics, plays in a comprehensive understanding of Christian spirituality. Kant adds to that discussion by introducing the voice of the Enlightenment into the conversation. His work serves as a bridge between the spirituality displayed in the Medieval and Reformation periods and what may be called modern Western culture. Christians who are socialized into twenty-first century Western intellectual culture may be relatively unfamiliar with the cultures that spawned the characteristic accents of the spiritual languages that are learned in the churches today. When they move into the world of higher education, they will learn a whole series of ideas from science and critical modern thought that directly challenge the ordinary spiritual conceptions of church traditions. The critical discussion between intellectual culture and Christianity during the period of the Enlightenment was deep and serious, and it helps to explain how the churches in the West relate to present-day intellectual culture. Kant’s text on the metaphysics of morals presents in an exemplary way the deep questions that Christian spirituality faces today with almost laboratory precision. The two commentators neatly draw the conversation into contexts that are closer to life in the world of our time.

A primer on the current "Niebuhr revival" of the political left and right, this book traces the significance of Reinhold Niebuhr's thought for secular as well as deeply Christian minds. Placed in the context of religious and cultural history, Niebuhr's theological views deepen and challenge contemporary expertise on issues of war, peace, economic, and personal security. While rejecting cynical pessimism and naive optimism, Niebuhr's Christian realism reinvigorates age-old teachings of the Bible, St. Paul, Augustine, and Kierkegaard. His thought enriches present-day debates between science and religion and between atheists, agnostics, and believers. To live with Niebuhr's legacy is to combine critical acumen with humble self-awareness. It is to pursue a larger common good - for him, God-given - that is shared among individuals, nations, and the world community.

Early Americans have long been considered "A People of the Book" Because the nickname was coined primarily to invoke close associations between Americans and the Bible, it is easy to overlook the central fact that it was a book-not a geographic location, a monarch, or even a shared language-that has served as a cornerstone in countless investigations into the formation and fragmentation of early American culture. Few books can lay claim to such powers of civilization-altering influence. Among those which can are sacred books, and for Americans principal among such books stands the Bible. This Handbook is designed to address a noticeable void in resources focused on analyzing the Bible in America in various historical moments and in relationship to specific institutions and cultural expressions. It takes seriously the fact that the Bible is both a physical object that has exercised considerable totemic power, as well as a text with a powerful intellectual design that has inspired everything from national religious and educational practices to a wide spectrum of artistic endeavors to our nation's politics and foreign policy. This Handbook brings together a number of established scholars, as well as younger scholars on the rise, to provide a scholarly overview--rich with bibliographic resources--to those interested in the Bible's role in American cultural formation.

Captures the multiple voices of Christian theology in a diverse and interconnected world through in-depth studies of representative figures and overviews of key movements Providing an unparalleled overview of the subject, The Modern Theologians provides an indispensable guide to the diverse approaches and perspectives within Christian theology from the early twentieth century to the present. Each chapter is written by a leading scholar and explores the development and trajectory of modern theology while presenting critical accounts of a broad range of relevant topics and representative thinkers. The fourth edition of The Modern Theologians is fully updated to provide readers with a clear picture of the broad spectrum and core concerns of modern Christian theology worldwide. It offers new perspectives on key twentieth-century figures and movements from different geographical and ecclesial contexts. There are expanded sections on theological dialogue with non-Christian traditions, and on Christian theology's engagement with the arts and sciences. A new section explores theological responses to urgent global challenges - such as nationalism, racism, and the environmental crisis. Providing the next generation of theologians with the tools needed to take theological conversations forward, The Modern Theologians: Explores Christian theology's engagement with multiple ways of knowing across diverse approaches and traditions Combines introductions to key modern theologians and coverage of the major movements within contemporary theology Identifies common dynamics found across theologies to enable cross-contextual comparisons Positions individual theologians in geographical regions, trans-local movements, and ecclesial contexts Features new and revised chapters written by experts in particular movements, topics, and individuals Providing in-depth critical evaluation and extensive references to further readings and research, Ford's The Modern Theologians: An Introduction to Christian Theology since 1918, Fourth Edition, remains an ideal textbook for undergraduate and graduate courses in Theology and Religious Studies, such as Introduction to Christian Theology, Systematic Theology, Modern Theology, and Modern Theologians. It is also an invaluable resource for researchers, those involved in various forms of Christian ministry, teachers of religious studies, and general readers engaged in independent study.