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Niebuhr

Reinhold Niebuhr

If there is one word to describe Reinhold Niebuhr it would have to be "realist." As the founder of Christian Realism Theology, Niebuhr was what one could describe as the ultimate realist. What many claim as an inconsistency on issues, others claim was his realistic view of the world manifesting itself. Reinhold Niebuhr may have had differing views on issues over time, but his realistic approach to the world, sin, people, and society never changed. There are as many views of Reinhold Niebuhr as there are writers in the theological world, but whatever one says about him, all agree that Reinhold Niebuhr was one of the most influential theological thinkers of the 20th century; and his influence on American society is still being felt today.

The American Midwest has always been a place that bred pragmatic people. From the time of the early settlers, this was no place for idealistic dreamers; they ended up dead. And thus from here were grown stout and hearty people who faced the reality of the world, and survived. From this environment came one of America's greatest thinkers; a man who would turned his Midwestern pragmatist's eye toward the horizon of theology. Reinhold Niebuhr was born in Wright City, Missouri on June 21st 1892, the son of an immigrant German Evangelical pastor. It would seem that religion was a major part of his and his sibling's upbringing as both his brother and sister also, when they grew up, enter careers in the field of theology. Reinhold graduated from Elmhurst College in 1910, then attended Eden Theological Seminary and finally Yale Divinity School, where he graduated in 1914. (Fox)

His first assignment as a pastor of a church was at the Bethel Evangelical Church in Detroit, Michigan. This was a German Evangelical church whose congregation consisted mainly of German-speaking auto workers. It was here that Niebuhr's socialist tendencies first appeared. In sermons based on the Social Gospel theory, he attacked what he saw as Ford's dehumanization of the workforce. Niebuhr called for labor pools, better wages, housing, healthcare, a 40-hour work-week, and retirement benefits for workers. (Tabscott) it was also in Detroit, during World War I, that Niebuhr first gained public acclaim for his patriotic appeals to the German-American community. His support for the Allied cause during the War led him to develop a realistic but ethical merging of the ideals of patriotism and pacifism. His natural pacifist tendencies were tempered by his outrage at the actions of the Central Powers during the war. In view of this, he felt that fighting against real and demonstrable evils could be justified for the sake of righteousness. (Bullert)

Reinhold Niebuhr joined the faculty of the Union Theological Seminary in 1928 and just two years later, beginning in 1930 with the publication of Leaves from the Notebook of a Tamed Cynic (which detailed his life as a young pastor in Detroit), Reinhold Niebuhr continually wrote and published throughout his lifetime. During the first half of the 1930's he experimented with the ideas of Marxism and Socialism. In works such as Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study of Ethics and Politics and Interpretation of Christian Ethics Niebuhr viewed Socialism as a possible means to bring about social justice in the United States. (Tabscott) However, by the late 1930's his personal realism had forced him to re-evaluate the effectiveness of Marxism and Socialism in view of the self-righteous attitude which often permeated such movements. Niebuhr view self righteous actions as a front to mask self-centered intentions.

At the end of the 1930's Reinhold Niebuhr had emerged as the leader of the Neo-Orthodoxy movement which sought to re-infuse orthodoxy with modern social conditions. His disillusionment with Marxist and Socialist theory led him to reexamine his basic ideals and began to view sin as more of a social event than a personal one. He found that pride was often the cause of sin, not only among the criminals but among the self righteous as well. With the publication of the Nature and Destiny of Man in 1941, Niebuhr had become the creator of the "Christian Realism" movement which viewed the human condition as reality, rejected idealism, and sought for find real solutions for the real world. At the same time it incorporated traditional Christian thought while attempting "…to avoid either a too optimistic or a too pessimistic view of human nature…." (Bains)

World War II had a tremendous impact on Reinhold Niebuhr and his theological thinking. In light of the actions of Hitler and the Japanese, his "Christian Realism" theory forced him to re-examine many of his previous views on the world. Niebuhr severed all socialist connections after Hitler and Stalin signed a non-aggression pact in 1939 and was a staunch supporter of America's entry into the war. He viewed sin as part of the world, felt it was more important to have justice in the world than universal love, felt the pacifist movement was unable to stop sin in the world, and that power could be balanced by power. He criticized the members of the pacifist movement for using intellectual arguments to respond to real threats. He claimed that the pacifist and non-interventionists "…shrouded the conflict in an ambiguity that operatively established a 'moral equivalency' between Nazism and the admitted flawed democracies." (Bullert) the United States, Allies, and other democracies represented the hope for the human race, that they would counter the evils of the world. He proposed realistic answers for the complicated issues confronting the world at that time.

After the war. Reinhold Niebuhr focused his attention on ethical meaning of American History. His 1952 book "The Irony of American History" took a hard, ethical look at the history of the United States. His interpretation of American history determined that liberal democracy was a better method of creating common good than Marxism, and that "…on the whole, [American government] is expected to gain its ends by moral attraction and limitation." (Berke) He criticized "American Idealism" as either pro-war imperialism, or anti-war non-interventionism. The pro-war crowd, he argued, viewed power as a virtue, while the anti-war movement was embarrassed by power. Niebuhr concluded that there were two major ironies concerning the United States; that the United States has acquired a great deal of power without actively seeking it, and that possessing such power come with it global responsibilities which limit the United States ability to control it's own destiny. (Berke)