Mike Watt
Theology
Mr. Sciuto
The Life of Reinhold Niebuhr
Reinhold Niebuhr was the son of a protestant minister. He believed in liberal protestant tradition. He was a Christian who believed in realism as a middle game between idealism and arrogance. He defined how Americans with realistic faith would deal with the world.
Niebuhr was famous for his original prayers; his most famous prayer was the serenity prayer which was adopted by Alcoholics Anonymous. It was like the prayer of St. Francis.
Niebuhr embodied the ideals of public theology. A group of atheists were named Atheists for Niebuhr. As they did not believe in God, they believed in Niebuhr’s philosophy for the world. Martin Luther King spoke on Niebuhr’s fusion of faith and social action. Niebuhr was a force for labor rights and race relations.
Niebuhr wrote in his books that “Humans live responsibly in tension between nature and spirit.” Niebuhr also crossed into the secular world. He encouraged people to “take responsibility in their world but not try to perfect it.”
Niebuhr believed that trying to perfect something led to arrogance and hubris. He believed you must attain realistic goals. Niebuhr promoted social justice and tried to recapture the idea of a transcendent God. He believed perfection will never be achieved. He wanted people to be aware of the world surrounding them and to never absolutize our conditions as they are always subject to change.
Niebuhr believed that all people including good people sin. He believed that sin accompanies the quest for love and justice. He believed in the reality of evil, the need to punish and restrain those who are determined to harm the innocent which are people who can not defend themselves. Thus, he supported WWII as he preached to help the fellow brothers who were Jews because they were being persecuted. He believed in trying to do good people often do wrong and must therefore always be seeking forgiveness and be aware of hubris.
Niebuhr was a listener to others and a great speaker who moved others. He had a quality of humility, and he knew what his stance in life was. He could dominate a room yet he saw himself as a servant. He believed that our practice is better than our theory. His ideas encouraged Martin Luther King Jr. to take up non-violent resistance to produce change.
Niebuhr
wrote in his book The Irony of American History “Nothing that is worth
doing can be achieved in our lifetime. Therefore we must be saved by hope. nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete
sense in any immediate context of history; therefore, we must be saved by
faith. Nothing we do, however virtuous, could be accomplished or done;
therefore, we must be saved by love. No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from
the standpoint of our friend or foe as it is from our own standpoint;
therefore, we must be saved by the final form of love, which is forgiveness.”
Niebuhr was encouraging others to try and make the world a better place for
future generations.