An American Conscience: The Reinhold Niebuhr Story

by Jeremy L. Sabella

Overview

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

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781467447119
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	03/27/2017
Sold by:	Bookwire
Format:	eBook
Pages:	171
File size:	320 KB

About the Author

Jeremy L. Sabella earned his PhD in theology from Boston College and has taught religion courses at Fairfield University and Yale Divinity School.

Table of Contents

Foreword Robin W. Lovin vi

Acknowledgments x

Introduction: An American Conscience xii

1 The Preacher-Activist 1

2 Hope amid Chaos 29

3 Visions of a New World Order 59

4 Bumbling Knights and Nuclear Warheads 87

5 Niebuhr and the Twenty-First-Century Conscience 115

Bibliography 143

Contributors 147

Index 151

Editorial Reviews

Cornel West
"Reinhold Niebuhr makes me shake and tremble as a human being when I think of the depths of his courage, his vision, his determination, his discipline, his willingness to expose himself publicly and to continually grow and mature. That's why I consider him a soul mate."

David Brooks
"Niebuhr had audacity. He wrote with audacity. He took big public stands. . . . There are not too many theologians who have that kind of courage anymore."

From the Publisher