Word: niebuhrs
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...describes as "the first full dress exposition of my philosophy." The man in the pew is not likely to read it, but he will hear about it from the pulpit for years to come. Whether he will be moved by what he hears is another question, for Dr. Niebuhr belligerently repudiates liberalism's "pathetic eagerness" to justify itself to the modern mind. He foresees the unpopularity of his dogma, concedes that little short of world catastrophe can make Babbitt think of himself as a sinner or worry about the problem...
...Niebuhr's "conversion" is a sign of the times. In the easy '20s sin was becoming an archaism, like the devil's tail and angels with six wings. Calvin Coolidge's preacher was against it, but liberal clergymen were accepting the Platonic conception of sin as ignorance, echoing the words of Socrates that no man knowingly does that which is wrong. The doctrine of progressive evolution had helped explain away the existence of evil in a God-made world; humanity seemed to be getting better and better; and righteousness was somehow just around the corner...
...these chaotic '40s Dr. Niebuhr is not alone in doubting the goodness of man and the certainty of progress. To him sin is not ignorance, but pride and self-righteousness. He finds the good fully balanced by the evil in humanity, sees hope only if man admits his unworthiness and throws himself on God for help. Convinced that modern civilization is bad and "careening at the present moment to almost certain destruction," he terms the assumption that evolution is tending ever upwards superficial and unwarranted, calls a halt to theology's capitulation to science...
...Niebuhr was a social reformer before he was a theologian and until two years ago was a member of the Socialist Party. He stands as far left economically as he now is far right theologically, but nonetheless presents a balanced if pointed view of society: "The anti-aristocratic emphasis of the Bible has been interpreted ... by certain types of sectarian Christianity and by modern secular radicalism in too simple politico-moral terms...
...Edinburgh, Dr. Niebuhr delighted his hearers by delivering his complicated lectures extempore, drew the largest crowds in Gifford history. Said one woman: "I dinna understand a word ye say when ye preach, but somehow I ken that ye're makin' God great." Before the lectures were finished, World War II broke out. Even that did not cut down the attendance. Intent on his exposition at one crowded lecture, Dr. Niebuhr suddenly noticed that his audience had grown restless. "Gracious, I'm losing their attention," he thought, "I'd better steam...