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'''Reinhold Niebuhr''' (1892&mdash;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,

'''Reinhold Niebuhr''' (1892&mdash;1971) was the leading [[Neo-Orthodox]] theologian in the United States. He began his career as a 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; he later dropped the Marxism and socialism.  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>.''  He rejected the liberallism that dominated mainstream Protestantism in the 1920s.  

===Liberals missing the mark===

===Theology===

The adoption of Niebuhr's ideas often miss the mark&mdash;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.   

Niebuhr couched his ideas in Christ-centered principles such as the [[Great Commandment]] and the doctrine of original sin.   

The inherent weaknesses&mdash;i.e., various speculations and assumptions&mdash;found in Niebuhr's scriptural interpretations are often conflated by students&mdash;Niebuhrians&mdash;making additional misinterpretations of his writings or lectures.  A representative example is some verse written by a student&mdash;Alan Richardson&mdash;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 contemporary liberal's fascination with Niebuhr, I suggest, comes less from Niebuhr's dark theory of human nature and more from his actual political pronouncements, from the fact that he is a shrewd, courageous, and right-minded man on many political questions. Those who applaud his politics are too liable to turn then to his theory of human nature and praise it as the philosophical instrument of Niebuhr's political agreement with themselves. But very few of those whom I have called "atheists for Niebuhr" follow this inverted logic to its conclusion: they don't move from praise of Niebuhr's theory of human nature to praise of its theological ground. We may admire them for drawing the line somewhere, but certainly not for their consistency.<ref> ''Religion, Politics, and the Higher Learning'', Morton White, [[Harvard University]] Press, 1959 p.117-118</ref>}}

*Thou shalt love the Lord thy Dodd and thy Niebuhr as thyself. ''[Note: This follows the pattern of the [[Great Commandment]] ]''

His two volume work ''The Nature and Destiny of Man: A Christian Interpretation'' (1941) is considered to be his Magnum Opus.  

*A young man exclaimed 'I have hit it'

*The right sin to commit&mdash;and commit it.

===Niebuhr against anti-Catholicism===

 

 

 

===Niebuhr and Ku Klux Klan===

During the Detroit mayoral election of 1925, Niebuhr's sermon "We fair-minded Protestants cannot deny" appeared on the front pages of both the ''Detroit Times'' and the ''Free Press''.  This sermon urged listeners to vote against the Protestant mayoral candidate Charles Bowles, who was being openly endorsed by the [[Ku Klux Klan]].  The other candidate, who won by a narrow thirty thousand votes, was the Catholic incumbent John W. Smith.  Niebuhr preached<ref name=fox/>:

During the Detroit mayoral election of 1925, Niebuhr's sermon "We fair-minded Protestants cannot deny" appeared on the front pages of both the ''Detroit Times'' and the ''Free Press''.  This sermon urged listeners to vote against the Protestant mayoral candidate Charles Bowles, who was being openly endorsed by the [[Ku Klux Klan]].  The other candidate, who won by a narrow thirty thousand votes, was the Catholic incumbent John W. Smith.  Niebuhr preached<ref name=fox/>:

===Niebuhr and Judaism===

===Niebuhr and Judaism===

Over the course of both his pastoral and academic careers Niebuhr made several bold assertions regarding Judaism.  As a pastor in Detroit (around 30 years of age), he favored conversion of Jews to Christianity, scolding the status quo of evangelical Christians who then by and large ignored them. He did so by speaking out against "the unchristlike attitude of Christians" and what he then saw as his fellow Christian's "Jewish bigotry." <ref name=fox> ''Reinhold Niebuhr: A Biography'', [[Richard Wightman Fox]], [[Pantheon Books]], 1985, ISBN 0394516591, ISBN 9780394516592, 340 pages </ref> He wrote several articles regarding the pre and post World War II plight of European Jews: "Jews After the War" (in 2 parts ''Nation'' February 21 and February 28, 1942, pages 214-216 and 253-255), "It Might Have Been" (''Evangelical Herald'' March 29, 1923, page  202), "The Rapprochement Between Jews and Christians" (''Christian Century'' January 7, 1926, pages 9-11), "Germany Must Be Told" (''Christian Century'' August 9, 1933, pages 1014-1015, follow-up ''Letter to the Editor'' in to this article same journal May 27, 1936, p. 771). His 1933 article in the ''Christian Century'' was an attempt to sound the alarm within the Christian community over Hitler's "cultural annihilation of the Jews." <ref name=fox/>  Eventually his theology evolved to the point where "He [became] perhaps the first Christian theologian with ecumenical influence who developed a view of the relations between Christianity and Judaism that made it inappropriate for Christians to seek to convert Jews to their faith." <ref> 1998 [[Encyclopedia Britannica]], Volume 8 of [[Micropædia]] article on Reinhold Niebuhr, pages 694-695 </ref>  Niebuhr's early and later views on Judaism show that he was never truly a member of [[Liberal Christianity]], which is known for its [[anti-Semitism]]. "[Jews] were heartened by the clarifying moral perceptions of Reinhold Niebuhr, but were aware that he and his pragmatic-moralistic school of thought did not represent the mainstream of American liberal Protestantism"<ref>''American Protestantism and a Jewish State'', [[Hertzel Fishman]], Wayne State University Press, Detroit, 1973, ISBN 0-8143-1481-3, p. 11</ref>.

Over the course of both his pastoral and academic careers Niebuhr made several bold assertions regarding Judaism.  As a pastor in Detroit (around 30 years of age), he favored conversion of Jews to Christianity, scolding the status quo of evangelical Christians who then by and large ignored them. He did so by speaking out against "the unchristlike attitude of Christians" and what he then saw as his fellow Christian's "Jewish bigotry." <ref name=fox> ''Reinhold Niebuhr: A Biography'', [[Richard Wightman Fox]], [[Pantheon Books]], 1985, ISBN 0394516591, ISBN 9780394516592, 340 pages </ref> He wrote several articles regarding the pre and post World War II plight of European Jews: "Jews After the War" (in 2 parts ''Nation'' February 21 and February 28, 1942, pages 214-216 and 253-255), "It Might Have Been" (''Evangelical Herald'' March 29, 1923, page  202), "The Rapprochement Between Jews and Christians" (''Christian Century'' January 7, 1926, pages 9-11), "Germany Must Be Told" (''Christian Century'' August 9, 1933, pages 1014-1015, follow-up ''Letter to the Editor'' in to this article same journal May 27, 1936, p. 771). His 1933 article in the ''Christian Century'' was an attempt to sound the alarm within the Christian community over Hitler's "cultural annihilation of the Jews." <ref name=fox/>  Eventually his theology evolved to the point where "He [became] perhaps the first Christian theologian with ecumenical influence who developed a view of the relations between Christianity and Judaism that made it inappropriate for Christians to seek to convert Jews to their faith." <ref> 1998 [[Encyclopedia Britannica]], Volume 8 of [[Micropædia]] article on Reinhold Niebuhr, pages 694-695 </ref>   

 

===Niebuhr and Communism===

===Niebuhr and Communism===

After [[Stalin]] signed a pact with [[Hitler]] (apparently signed in Moscow on August 24, 1939 but dated August 23), Niebuhr severed his past ties with any [[liberal]] or liberal organization having any known Communist leanings.  In the 1950's his position became so anti-communist that he believed McCarthy was a force of [[evil]] not so much for disrespecting civil liberties as for being ineffective in rooting out Communists and their sympathizers<ref name=Fox252>''Reinhold Niebuhr: A Biography'', Richard Wightman Fox, Pantheon Books, 1985, page 252 </ref>.  He thought the [[Rosenbergs]] should be executed, stating "Traitors are never ordinary criminals and the Rosenbergs are quite obviously fiercely loyal Communists....Stealing atomic secrets is an unprecedented crime"<ref name=Fox252/>.

After [[Stalin]] signed a pact with [[Hitler]] in August 1939), Niebuhr severed his past ties with any fellow-travweleer  organization having any known Communist leanings.  In the 1950s his position became so anti-communist that he believed McCarthy was a force of [[evil]] not so much for disrespecting civil liberties as for being ineffective in rooting out Communists and their sympathizers<ref name=Fox252>''Reinhold Niebuhr: A Biography'', Richard Wightman Fox, Pantheon Books, 1985, page 252 </ref>.  He thought the [[Rosenbergs]] should be executed, stating "Traitors are never ordinary criminals and the Rosenbergs are quite obviously fiercely loyal Communists....Stealing atomic secrets is an unprecedented crime"<ref name=Fox252/>.

===His renunciation of liberal theology===

===His renunciation of liberal theology===

In the April 26, 1939 issues of ''The Christian Century'', Niebuhr published "Ten Years That Shook My World" (pages 542-546). Its first paragraph confesses that he has now rejected nearly all his earlier [[liberal]] views.<ref> Sources of the American Mind: Volume II, Loren Baritz, John Wesley, 1960 </ref>

In the April 26, 1939 issues of ''The Christian Century'', Niebuhr published "Ten Years That Shook My World" (pages 542-546). Its first paragraph confesses that he has now rejected nearly all his earlier liberal views.<ref> Sources of the American Mind: Volume II, Loren Baritz, John Wesley, 1960 </ref>

{{cquote|...About midway in my ministry which extends roughly from the peace of Versailles [June 1919] to the peace of Munich [1938], measured in terms of Western history, I underwent a fairly complete conversion of thought which involved rejection of almost all the liberal theological ideals and ideas with which I ventured forth in 1915. I wrote a book, my first, in 1927 which when now consulted is proved to contain almost all the theological windmills against which today I tilt my sword. These windmills must have tumbled shortly thereafter for every succeeding volume expresses a more and more explicit revolt against what is usually known as liberal culture.}}

{{cquote|...About midway in my ministry which extends roughly from the peace of Versailles [June 1919] to the peace of Munich [1938], measured in terms of Western history, I underwent a fairly complete conversion of thought which involved rejection of almost all the liberal theological ideals and ideas with which I ventured forth in 1915. I wrote a book, my first, in 1927 which when now consulted is proved to contain almost all the theological windmills against which today I tilt my sword. These windmills must have tumbled shortly thereafter for every succeeding volume expresses a more and more explicit revolt against what is usually known as liberal culture.}}

===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 Faith") </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 proponent of Athens. <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 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>

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 example shows that King 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"===

===Serenity Prayer===

===Serenity Prayer===

Niebuhr penned the famous prayer used by [[Alcoholics Anonymous]].  Niebuhr's daughter Elisabeth (now last name Sifton) wrote a book ''The Serenity Prayer (2003)'' about the prayer and her father.

Niebuhr is often credited with writing the famous prayer used by [[Alcoholics Anonymous]].  Niebuhr's daughter Elisabeth (now last name Sifton) wrote a book ''The Serenity Prayer (2003)'' about the prayer and her father.

 

 

 

==References==

==References==

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