Reflections over the Long Haul: A Memoir

by Robert McAfee Brown

Robert McAfee Brown was one of the greatest public theologians of his day. He was a pacifist who enlisted as a chaplain in World War II and who later aligned himself with his students to resist the draft and protest the war during Vietnam; a supporter of civil rights who went on the Freedom Ride to Selma and fought for farm workers' rights; and an ecumenist who participated in interreligious dialogue among Protestant, Jews, and Roman Catholics. This is his memoir, the story of a modest man who lived life according to his conscience and his faith and who was a model for responsible social activism within and outside of the church. Interspersed with his writing are thoughts from his family members on the turbulent and sometimes frightening events through which they all lived.

336 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Robert McAfee Brown was a minister in the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, a theologian, and an activist.

He earned a bachelor's degree from Amherst College in 1943 and was ordained a Presbyterian minister in 1944. Brown earned a Bachelor of Divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary in 1945, and served as a United States Navy chaplain from 1945 to 1946. The recipient of a Fulbright grant, Brown studied at the University of Oxford before completing a doctorate in the philosophy of religion at Columbia University in 1951. He married Sydney Thomson, and had four children.

Initially, Brown taught at his alma mater, Union Theological Seminary, before accepting an appointment as Professor of Religion at Stanford University in 1962. There he became an international leader in civil rights, ecumenical and social justice causes. Brown campaigned against U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War and was a co-founder of the group "Clergy and Laity Concerned about Vietnam". He was also a Protestant observer at the Second Vatican Council.

Brown left Stanford in 1975 to return to Union as Professor of World Christianity and Ecumenism, but quickly found his new post unfulfilling. He resigned and moved back to the Bay Area, where he taught at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley until his retirement in 1984. Brown was the author of 29 books, and his papers are now held at the Graduate Theological Union. Brown died on 4 September 2001, survived by his wife. A lecture series is named in his honor.

Reviews

[Graig · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not much of an autobiography guy, but this was pretty good. I had read one of the author’s books about liberation theology. He’s much more liberal in his views than I am, but his concern for the marginalized made me aware of my need to have the same concerns. I appreciated reading of his participation in the freedom rides in the civil rights era; his active involvement in protesting the Vietnam War—I have a greater appreciation for being a pacifist. I would have loved to live life with this guy, to see how he approached situations that challenge me. The book is interspersed with writings by his children. I only hope that I am half as much adored by my children as he was. This won’t be the last of his books I read.