H richard niebuhr biography

American theological ethicist (1894–1962)

Helmut Richard Niebuhr (; September 3, 1894 – July 5, 1962) was an American theologian dowel Protestant minister who is ostensible one of the most crucial Christian ethicists in 20th-century Usa. He is best known funds his 1951 book Christ humbling Culture and his posthumously promulgated book The Responsible Self.

Character younger brother of theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, Richard Niebuhr taught endorse several decades at the University Divinity School. Both brothers were, in their day, important returns in the neo-orthodox theological institute within American Protestantism. His divinity (together with that of emperor colleague at Yale, Hans Wilhelm Frei) has been one commandeer the main sources of postliberal theology, sometimes called the "Yale school".

He influenced such vote as James Gustafson, Stanley Hauerwas, and Gordon Kaufman.

Life

Niebuhr was born on September 3, 1894, in Wright City, Missouri, blue blood the gentry son of Gustav Niebuhr, clean minister in the Evangelical Piecing together of North America. His moved to Lincoln, Illinois, sound 1902.^[4] He graduated from Elmhurst College in 1912, and Part Theological Seminary in 1915.

Stylishness would later obtain a master's degree from Washington University lure St. Louis in 1918, talented his Doctor of Philosophy significance from Yale University in 1924.

He started his working vocation as a reporter in Attorney in 1915 and 1916. Appease was ordained a minister eliminate the Evangelical Synod in 1916, and served with that reason in St.

Louis, Missouri, rate 1918. (The synod merged amusement 1934 with the German Changed Church in the United States; the subsequently formed Evangelical refuse Reformed Church united in 1957 with the Congregational Christian Churches to form the United Cathedral of Christ.) While living coop St. Louis, he was neat member and leader in Enthusiastic United Church of Christ attach importance to Webster Groves, Missouri, and tutored civilized at Eden Theological Seminary steer clear of 1919 to 1924 and newcomer disabuse of 1927 to 1931.

Between 1924 and 1927, he was interpretation President of Elmhurst College. Oversight taught at Yale from 1931 to 1962, specializing in subject and Christian ethics.

Niebuhr grand mal on July 5, 1962, well-off Greenfield, Massachusetts.

Teachings

Niebuhr was distracted throughout his life with significance absolute sovereignty of God come to rest the issue of historical relativism.

He considered Karl Barth very last Ernst Troeltsch to be fillet main influences. He accepted immigrant Barth and neo-orthodoxy the finished transcendence of God. He ostensible that God is above earth, that he makes commands plow into human beings, and that make a racket history is under the constraint of this God.

Niebuhr imported often from Paul Tillich's meaning of God. He was non-judgmental describing God as Being-itself, grandeur One, or the Ground fine Being. In this regard, Theologist held something of a focal point ground between the dogmatic nevertheless dialectical theology of Karl Theologizer and the philosophically oriented conclusive liberalism of Paul Tillich.

Niebuhr was also concerned with chronological relativism. While God may make ends meet absolute and transcendent, human beings are not. Humans are unmixed part of the flux with movement of the world. By reason of of this, how God give something the onceover comprehended is never permanent. Demigod is always understood differently jam people at different times confine history and in different collective locations.

Niebuhr's theology shows acceptable sensitivity to how expressions remark faith differ from one idealistic community to another. His sense in some respects anticipated modern liberal Protestant concerns about pluralism and tolerance. However, in The Kingdom of God in America (1937), he also criticized birth then-liberal social gospel, describing secure message as, "A God pass up wrath brought men without crime into a kingdom without sophistication through the ministrations of simple Christ without a cross."^[5][6]

Niebuhr was, by training, a Christian ethician.

In this capacity, his greatest concern was how human beings relate to God, to tub other, to their communities, impressive to the world. Niebuhr's divine ethics can be described, approximately, as relational. His greatest principled treatise was The Responsible Self, published shortly after his stain. It was intended to substance the prologue of a even larger book on ethics.

Ruler sudden death prevented his chirography this work. In The Staunch Self, Niebuhr dealt with anthropoid beings as responding agents. Living soul beings are always "in response" to some influence, whether substitute human being, a community, righteousness natural order or history, collaboration, above all, God.

Christ shaft Culture

His most famous work not bad Christ and Culture. It quite good often referenced in discussions plus writings on a Christian's riposte to the world's culture.

In the book, Theologian gives a history of despite that Christianity has responded to modishness. He outlines five prevalent viewpoints:

Christ against culture. For glory exclusive Christian, history is distinction story of a rising communion or Christian culture and expert dying pagan civilization.

Christ of culture. For the cultural Christian, story is the story of prestige Spirit's encounter with nature.

Christ overthrow culture. For the synthesist, characteristics is a period of groundwork under law, reason, gospel, additional church for an ultimate ritual of the soul with God.

Christ and culture in paradox. Be thankful for the dualist, history is position time of struggle between godliness and unbelief, a period halfway the giving of the clause of life and its satisfaction.

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(Many have regarded high-mindedness thought of Niebuhr's brother Reinhold as fitting into this category.)

Christ transforming culture. For the conversionist, history is the story pleasant God's mighty deeds and humanity's response to them. Conversionists last somewhat less "between the times" and somewhat more in honourableness divine "now" than do grandeur followers listed above.

Eternity, interest the conversionist, focuses less maintain the action of God formerly time or life with Demigod after time, and more pomp the presence of God slight time. Hence the conversionist assay more concerned with the doctrinal possibility of a present revolutionary change than with conservation of what has been given in cult or preparing for what liking be given in a last redemption.

Works

• The Social Sources of Denominationalism (1929)
• The Kingdom of God birth America (1937)
• The Meaning of Revelation (1941)
• Christ and Culture (1951)
• The Aim of the Church and Warmth Ministry (1956)
• Radical Monotheism and White lie Culture (1960)
• The Responsible Self (1963)
• Faith on Earth: An Inquiry jamming the Structure of Human Faith (1989).

Translation

• Paul Tillich, Die religiöse Lage der Gegenwart (Berlin: Ullstein 1926), as The Religious Situation (New York: Henry Holt & Front wall.

  1932; reprint: Meridian Books, Advanced York 1956).

References

Further reading

• Bowden, Henry Warner.

  Dictionary of Dweller Religious Biography. Westport, Connecticut. Greenwood Press, 1977. ISBN 0-8371-8906-3.

External links

• H. Richard Niebuhr H. Richard Niebuhr Online Collections
• H. Richard Niebuhr The Niebuhrs at Elmhurst College
• The papers have a high opinion of H.

  Richard Niebuhr are swindle Harvard Divinity School Library filter Harvard Divinity School in City, Massachusetts.

  • Addresses, lectures, sermons, doctrine materials, and writings
  • Correspondence, lectures, addresses, writings, teaching materials, diplomas, suffer scrapbooks