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'''Reinhold Niebuhr''' (1892—1971) began his career as a Christian pastor in early industrial Detroit (1915-1928), famously taking stands against [[Henry Ford]] and the [[Ku Klux Klan]]. He then became an internationally recognized academic as a theologian at [[Union Theological Seminary]] in [[New York]], working there for over 30 years. Early on he was a left-leaning social activist espousing various pro-[[Marx]] positions, some of which he would later renounce. He was a star within the [[Neo-orthodoxy|neo-orthodox]] movement. He is a favorite thinker of both [[Jimmy Carter]] and [[Barack Hussein Obama]]. Obama has stated that Niebuhr is "one of my favorite '''''philosophers.''''"<ref> [http://pewforum.org/news/display.php?NewsID=14256 "Reinhold Niebuhr is Unseen Force in 2008 Elections"], September 27, 2007, Benedicta Cipolla,
'''Reinhold Niebuhr''' (1892—1971) was the leading [[Neo-Orthodox]] theologian in the United States. He began his career as a Christian pastor in early industrial Detroit (1915-1928), famously taking stands against [[Henry Ford]] and the [[Ku Klux Klan]]. He then became an internationally recognized academic as a theologian at [[Union Theological Seminary]] in [[New York]], working there for over 30 years. Early on he was a left-leaning social activist espousing various pro-[[Marx]] positions, some of which he would later renounce. He was a star within the [[Neo-orthodoxy|neo-orthodox]] movement. He is a favorite thinker of both [[Jimmy Carter]] and [[Barack Hussein Obama]].<ref> [http://pewforum.org/news/display.php?NewsID=14256 "Reinhold Niebuhr is Unseen Force in 2008 Elections"], September 27, 2007, Benedicta Cipolla,
''Religion News Service'' of the ''Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life'' </ref>.'' Niebuhr's willingness to renounce communism and his life-long pro-Jewish sentiments suggest that although left-leaning at times, he never actually held a [[liberal Christian]] viewpoint.
''Religion News Service'' of the ''Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life'' </ref>.'' Niebuhr's willingness to renounce communism and his life-long pro-Jewish sentiments suggest that although left-leaning at times, he never actually held a [[liberal Christian]] viewpoint.
The adoption of Niebuhr's ideas often miss the mark—while Niebuhr would couch his ideas in Christ-centered principles such as the [[Great Commandment]] and the doctrine of original sin, his admirers rarely grasp and generally ignore the underlying Christian theology.
The adoption of Niebuhr's ideas often miss the mark—while Niebuhr would couch his ideas in Christ-centered principles such as the [[Great Commandment]] and the doctrine of original sin, his admirers rarely grasp and generally ignore the underlying Christian theology.
The inherent weaknesses—i.e., various speculations and assumptions—found in Niebuhr's scriptual interpretations are often conflated by students—Niebuhrians—making additional misinterpretations of his writings or lectures. A representative example is some verse written by a student—Alan Richardson—who had studied Niebuhr in the late 1940's under C.H. Dodd, a professor at [[Oxford University]]<ref>''Reinhold Niebuhr: A Biography'', Richard Wightman Fox, Pantheon Books, 1985, page 181 </ref>:
The inherent weaknesses—i.e., various speculations and assumptions—found in Niebuhr's scriptural interpretations are often conflated by students—Niebuhrians—making additional misinterpretations of his writings or lectures. A representative example is some verse written by a student—Alan Richardson—who had studied Niebuhr in the late 1940's under C.H. Dodd, a professor at [[Oxford University]]<ref>''Reinhold Niebuhr: A Biography'', Richard Wightman Fox, Pantheon Books, 1985, page 181 </ref>:
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===Niebuhr and Dewey===
===Niebuhr and Dewey===
Reinhold Niebuhr has been described as an intellectual opponent of [[John Dewey]]. Both men were professional polemicists. Their ideas often clashed despite both men holding sway over the same realms of [[liberal]] intellectual schools of thought. Niebuhr was a strong proponent of the [[Jerusalem]] religious tradition as a corrective to the secular tradition of [[Athens]]. Dewey was a strong opponent of such a position. <ref> ''Reinhold Niebuhr and John Dewey: An American Odyssey'', Daniel F. Rice, 1993, State University of New York Press, ISBN 0-7914-1345-4, page 146 </ref> In the book ''Moral Man and Immoral Society'' (1932) a still intellectually young<ref> ''Moral Man and Immoral Society'' offended many of Niebuhr's intellectual Christian friends (some never to return). It lost sight of Christian love and espoused pro-Marxists views.</ref> Niebuhr heavily criticized Dewey's philosophy. Two years later in a review of Dewey's book ''A Common Faith'' (1934), Niebuhr was surprisingly calm and respectful towards Dewey's "religious footnote" on his then large body of educational and pragmatic philosophy.<ref> ''Reinhold Niebuhr and John Dewey: An American Odyssey'', Daniel F. Rice, 1993, State University of New York Press, ISBN 0-7914-1345-4, pages 43-58 (these pages are Chapter 5 titled "A Common Faih") </ref>
Reinhold Niebuhr has been described as an intellectual opponent of [[John Dewey]]. Both men were professional polemicists. Their ideas often clashed despite both men holding sway over the same realms of [[liberal]] intellectual schools of thought. Niebuhr was a strong proponent of the [[Jerusalem]] religious tradition as a corrective to the secular tradition of [[Athens]]. Dewey was a strong opponent of such a position. <ref> ''Reinhold Niebuhr and John Dewey: An American Odyssey'', Daniel F. Rice, 1993, State University of New York Press, ISBN 0-7914-1345-4, page 146 </ref> In the book ''Moral Man and Immoral Society'' (1932) a still intellectually young<ref> ''Moral Man and Immoral Society'' offended many of Niebuhr's intellectual Christian friends (some never to return). It lost sight of Christian love and espoused pro-Marxists views.</ref> Niebuhr heavily criticized Dewey's philosophy. Two years later in a review of Dewey's book ''A Common Faith'' (1934), Niebuhr was surprisingly calm and respectful towards Dewey's "religious footnote" on his then large body of educational and pragmatic philosophy.<ref> ''Reinhold Niebuhr and John Dewey: An American Odyssey'', Daniel F. Rice, 1993, State University of New York Press, ISBN 0-7914-1345-4, pages 43-58 (these pages are Chapter 5 titled "A Common Faith") </ref>
===Influence upon Martin Luther King, Jr.===
===Influence upon Martin Luther King, Jr.===
In the "Letter from Birmingham Jail" [[Martin Luther King]] wrote "Individuals may see the moral light and voluntarily give up their unjust posture; but, as Reinhold Niebuhr has reminded us, groups tend to be more immoral than individuals." (cf. Reinhold Neibuhr. ''Moral Man and Immoral Society''. Scribner's, 1932.) This is one example where it has been shown that King greatly valued Niebuhr's social and ethical ideals; another can be found in a letter from the ''Christianity and Crisis'' editor Wayne H. Cowan wherein it is stated that King attributed his own non-violent posture more to the influence of Niebuhr and [[Paul Tillich]] than to the example of [[Gandhi]].<ref> [http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/niebuhr-rediscovered/d72.shtml April 13, 1970 Letter to Niebuhr]</ref>
In the "Letter from Birmingham Jail" [[Martin Luther King]] wrote "Individuals may see the moral light and voluntarily give up their unjust posture; but, as Reinhold Niebuhr has reminded us, groups tend to be more immoral than individuals." (cf. Reinhold Niebuhr. ''Moral Man and Immoral Society''. Scribner's, 1932.) This is one example where it has been shown that King greatly valued Niebuhr's social and ethical ideals; another can be found in a letter from the ''Christianity and Crisis'' editor Wayne H. Cowan wherein it is stated that King attributed his own non-violent posture more to the influence of Niebuhr and [[Paul Tillich]] than to the example of [[Gandhi]].<ref> [http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/niebuhr-rediscovered/d72.shtml April 13, 1970 Letter to Niebuhr]</ref>
==="The sad duty of politics is to establish justice in a sinful world"===
==="The sad duty of politics is to establish justice in a sinful world"===
[[Jimmy Carter]]<ref> [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,914159,00.html "Jimmy Carter's Big Breakthrough"], ''[[Time magazine]]'' Monday, May. 10, 1976</ref> liked to quote Niebuhr's statement that "The sad duty of politics is to establish justice in a sinful world". Time magazine explicitedly stated that President [[Ronald Reagan]], unlike Carter, <ref>[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,967579,00.html "Ronald Reagan: a Man of Certitudes"], ''[[Time magazine]]'' Monday, May. 06, 1985 </ref> would not use such a phrase.
[[Jimmy Carter]]<ref> [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,914159,00.html "Jimmy Carter's Big Breakthrough"], ''[[Time magazine]]'' Monday, May. 10, 1976</ref> liked to quote Niebuhr's statement that "The sad duty of politics is to establish justice in a sinful world". Time magazine explicitly stated that President [[Ronald Reagan]], unlike Carter, <ref>[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,967579,00.html "Ronald Reagan: a Man of Certitudes"], ''[[Time magazine]]'' Monday, May. 06, 1985 </ref> would not use such a phrase.
===Serenity Prayer===
===Serenity Prayer===