Query for readers …

Gentlemen and ladies: Assume that I am a lightweight, and that I am going to read only one book (or set of essays) by theologian/scholar Reinhold Neibuhr. Assume that my attitudes about the existence of a deity are pretty well set, and that I am interested more in ethics and the behavior of nations. What would you recommend?

11 thoughts on “Query for readers …”

  1. Mark, I suggest you start with his Serenity Prayer–

    “God, give us grace to accept with serenity
    the things that cannot be changed,
    Courage to change the things
    which should be changed,
    and the Wisdom to distinguish
    the one from the other.

    Living one day at a time,
    Enjoying one moment at a time,
    Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
    Taking, as Jesus did,
    This sinful world as it is,
    Not as I would have it,
    Trusting that You will make all things right,
    If I surrender to Your will,
    So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
    And supremely happy with You forever in the next.”

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  2. Mark, that’s an interesting question. I’ve never read any of his books but am certainly familiar with the ideas behind Christian Realism. I’ve been intending to study him for years.

    Understanding that he made a pretty significant journey away from pacifism in the run up to WWII I would approach reading him in that light – since reading his earlier works would cause me to come away with only an understanding of his immature thinking (not the pejorative definition of immature.)

    I think I’ll order either The Essential Reinhold Niebuhr: Selected Essays and Addresses or The Serenity Prayer – written by his daughter. My thinking is that “Essential Reinhold” might put in context the evolution of his thinking giving me a better place to start if I want to do further study but I’m inclined as well to read “Serenity” to develop a base context for his other writings.

    If you buy one I’ll buy the other and we can swap?

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  3. I would suggest The Nature and Destiny of Man, mostly because it is nearly canon to religious studies, among Protestant leaners. But, knowing you to the small degree that I do, I think you might enjoy The Irony of American History more. It’s rather more personal, and to a degree, cynical. It is also more focused on the actions of peoples, coming out of the Second Great War, and into the Cold War.

    Unfortunately, the only Neibuhr I read was checked out of the MSU library, or essays in textbooks I have long gotten rid of; so I have none to give you. Sorry.

    I am curious, though, what would inspire you to read Neibuhr?

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  4. I was exposed to his name growing up – my older brothers were very well-read. I even knew about Ayn Rand. Later I took a class in college on American intellectual tradition, and was impressed by one of his essays.

    Prior to reading him I am accepting of the notion that nations are not moral agents, which is where I think he ended up. From there, I’d like to know how he structured the world, since he was moral on an individual level but amoral when it came to nation states.

    Interesting, no?

    Also, FWIW, I also know that Obama is well read re Neibuhr.

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