Faith and History - A Comparison of Christian and Modern Views of History

by Reinhold Niebuhr

FAITH AND HISTORY A COMPARISON OF CHRISTIAN AND MODERN VIEWS OF HISTORY by REINHOLD NIEBUHR. PREFACE: THE theme of this volume was first presented as the Lyman Beecher Lectures On Preaching at the Yale Divinity School in 1945. Some of the same lectures were given, by arrange ment, under the Warrack Lectureship On Preaching at the Universities of Glasgow and Aberdeen in Scotland in the winter of 1947. Some of the chapters were used as the basis of lectures given under the Olaf Petri Foundation of the University of Uppsala in Sweden. I sought to develop various portions of a general theme in these various lectureships. In this volume I have drawn these lectures into a more comprehensive study of the total problem of the relation of the Christian faith to modern conceptions of history. While the total work, therefore, bares little resemblance to the lectures, it does contain consideration of the specific problems which were dealt with in the lectures. I shall not seek to identify this material by chapters as I subjected the whole to reorganization. Two of these lectureships usually deal with the art of preaching, though not a few of the actual lectures have been concerned with the preachers message. Since I had no special competence in the art of homiletics I thought it wise to devote the lectures to a definition of the apologetic task of the Christian pulpit in the unique spiritual climate of our day. Since several of the Beecher lecturers in the past half-century sought to accommodate the Christian message to the prevailing evolutionary optimism of the nineteenth and early twen tieth centuries, I thought it might be particularly appropriate to consider the spiritual situation in a period in which this evolutionary optimism is in the process of decay. This volume is written on the basis of the faith that the Gospel of Christ is true for men of every age and that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. It is, nevertheless, the task of the pulpit to relate the ageless Gospel to the special problems of each age. In doing so, however, there is always a temptation to capitulate to the characteristic prejudices of an age. The preaching of the Gospel was not immune to this temptation in the past centuries. The real alternative to the Christian faith elaborated by modern secular culture was the idea that history is itself Christ, which is to say that historical development is redemp tive. Typical modern theology accommodated itself to this secular scheme of redemption much too readily. Meanwhile the experiences of contemporary man have refuted the modern faith in the redemp tive character of history itself. This refutation has given the Christian faith, as presented in the Bible, a new relevance. It is not the thesis of this new volume that this new relevance could establish the truth of the Christian Gospel in the mind of modern man. The truth of the Christian faith must, in fact, be apprehended in any age by repentance and faith. It is, therefore, not made acceptable by rational validation in the first instance. It is important, nevertheless, for the preacher of the Gospel to understand, and come to terms with, the characteristic credos of his age. It is important in our age to understand how the spiritual com placency of a culture which believed in redemption through history is now on the edge of despair.

Genres: Theology, History, Christian

272 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1949

About the author

U.S. theologian. The son of an evangelical minister, he studied at Eden Theological Seminary and Yale Divinity School. He was ordained in the Evangelical Synod of North America in 1915 and served as pastor of Bethel Evangelical Church in Detroit, Mich., until 1928. His years in that industrial city made him a critic of capitalism and an advocate of socialism. From 1928 to 1960 he taught at New York's Union Theological Seminary. His influential writings, which forcefully criticized liberal Protestant thought and emphasized the persistence of evil in human nature and social institutions, include Moral Man and Immoral Society (1932), The Nature and Destiny of Man, 2 vol. (1941 – 43), and The Self and the Dramas of History (1955).

from The Britannica Concise Encyclopedia

A 1958 interview with Reinhold Niebuhr: http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/multimedia/video/2008/wallace/niebuhr_reinhold.html

Reviews

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE 'RELATION OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH TO MODERN IDEAS OF HISTORY

Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971) was an American theologian and "public intellectual" during the mid-20th century. He wrote in the Preface to this 1949 book, "The theme of this volume was first presented ... at the Yale Divinity School in 1945... In this volume I have drawn these lectures into a more comprehensive study of the total problem of the relation of the Christian faith to modern conceptions of history.

In the first chapter, he argues that modern men are agreed "in the belief that historical development is a redemptive process... that human culture is subject to indeterminate development." (Pg. 1-2) He added, "The dominant note in modern culture is not so much confidence in reason as faith in history." (Pg. 3)

He asserts that Christianity "comprehends the whole of history," and deals with the problems of evil "ultimately and not merely from the standpoint of what may appear to be evil to a particular individual or collective agent in human history." (Pg. 22) But he adds that "a symbolic event, such as the 'fall' of man, loses its real meaning when taken as literal history" (pg. 33), and that "Human freedom makes history into something more than natural time." (Pg. 37)

He suggests that there is "no simple Christian 'philosophy of history' which could be set against a modern or classical one in such a way as to prove its superior profundity through rational comparison." (Pg. 101) Rather, "The idea of a universal history emerges by reason of the fact that the divine sovereignty which overarches all historical destiny is not the possession of any people or the extension of any particular historical power." (Pg. 104) He praises Arnold Toynbee's "profound analysis" in A Study of History, Vol. 1: Abridgement of Volumes I-VI (pg. 222). Ultimately, the Christian philosophy of history is rational in that "the alternatives to it fail to do justice to all aspects of human existence," and it gives "an account of life and history in which all facts and antinomies are comprehended." (Pg. 138)

One proclaimed as "America's greatest theologian," Niebuhr is increasingly forgotten in these Postmodern times. But his voice still rings steady and true, in many respects.

[Dan Snyder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why study history? "Nothing new happens in the universe, if you consider infinite time past" - Epicurus.

And yet, we experience novelty. In fact, the notion and hope of progressivism requires it. How to maintain hope in the face of the evidence of mankind's freedom and its consequences? This book that examines theoretical history in light of Christian versus Modern views, as well as an analysis of classical Western understanding will either propel you backward to the time of infinite reiteration, or forward to hopefulness and fascination with the unfolding of the past through the present. History and Faith have a necessary relationship to anyone who considers either worth having.

[Aidan Corrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This had some points that definitely dragged and the theology got quite dense, but on the whole there is a lot of rich Material here.

Niebuhr’s social critique and analysis of history and order is wonderful and somber. I love it. He, like me, carries Augustinian criticism of individuals and society as being of paramount importance.

The “church” indeed did not adapt to a lot of current questions in reality, but the broader discussions of a church of truth and genuine history is still to be seen. He is a king, in my opinion.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I have generally found, this is a somewhat difficult read. Niebuhr has such a vast knowledge of history, philosophy, and theology, and he consistently brings that knowledge to bear in his literary arguments. The general theme of this work seems to be the idea that even true faith can fall victim to the sin of idolatry when it begins to esteem its own version of the truth (and therefore its own interests) over and above the truth and interests of the other. After reading this, I am more than ever convinced that the keys to a faithful Christian life include profound humility and non-judgmental tolerance. One's primary concern should be one's personal walk with God; leave others to worry about their own walk.