Theology, history, and culture : major unpublished writings

This book brings together the best of the unpublished works of H. Richard Niebuhr, one of the outstanding American religious thinkers of this century. The collection includes lectures, sermons, and essays, some of which Niebuhr delivered at major universities to general audiences, and others that he prepared for circulation and discussion among colleagues at Yale and elsewhere. Contemporaneous events, religious figures, important issues in theology, and interpretations of American history and culture—all engaged Niebuhr's broad-ranging interest and revealed his concern with integrating theology and practical living. For those approaching the author's work for the first time, this volume opens the way; for readers already familiar with his concerns, it invites a deeper understanding of his theology. The collection will enrich contemporary public theological discussion, adding Niebuhr's confessionally grounded yet publicly focused voice to the conversation. Richard R. Niebuhr contributes a Foreword in which he recollects his father and offers insights from private writings, and William Stacy Johnson's Introduction orients the reader to Niebuhr's life and work, locating his writings in appropriate theological and historical contexts.

This book brings together the best of the unpublished works of H. Richard Niebuhr, one of the outstanding American religious thinkers of this century. The collection includes lectures, sermons, and essays, some of which Niebuhr delivered at major universities to general audiences, and others that he prepared for circulation and discussion among colleagues at Yale and elsewhere. Contemporaneous events, religious figures, important issues in theology, and interpretations of American history and culture—all engaged Niebuhr's broad-ranging interest and revealed his concern with integrating theology and practical living.

For those approaching the author's work for the first time, this volume opens the way; for readers already familiar with his concerns, it invites a deeper understanding of his theology. The collection will enrich contemporary public theological discussion, adding Niebuhr's confessionally grounded yet publicly focused voice to the conversation. Richard R. Niebuhr contributes a Foreword in which he recollects his father and offers insights from private writings, and William Stacy Johnson's Introduction orients the reader to Niebuhr's life and work, locating his writings inappropriate theological and historical contexts.

H. Richard Niebuhr (1894-1962) was Sterling Professor of Theology and Christian Ethics at Yale University and author of The Kingdom of God in America, The Meaning of Revelation, Christ and Culture, and Radical Monotheism and Western Culture. His posthumous book Faith on Earth: An Inquiry into the Structure of Human Faith was edited by Richard R. Niebuhr and published by Yale University Press. William Stacy Johnson is assistant professor of systematic theology at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Richard R. Niebuhr is Hollis Professor of Divinity at the Divinity School of Harvard University.

Contents 5 Foreword 7 Introduction 11 PART I. THEOLOGY 41 1. The Cole Lectures: "Next Steps in Theology*' 41 2. An Ecumenical Vision 88 PART II. HISTORY 115 3 The Meaning of History 115 4. Historical Interpretation 140 III CULTURE 181 5. Religion and the Democratic Tradition 181 6. Sermons 230 Notes 253 Index 269