The Moral Vision of the New Testament: A Contemporary Introduction to New Testament Ethics

by Richard B. Hays

Niebuhr had little concern with the church as a distinctive institution; in fact, it would not be inaccurate to say that his theology lacks an ecclesiology. His writings address the individual Christian not as a member of the church but as a citizen of the democratic social order. Thus, the fruits of Niebuhr’s ethic would be manifested in the guiding influence of Christians in positions of secular political responsibility. The corporate identity and life of the Christian community are not major themes in his work. Correspondingly, a community shaped by Niebuhr’s vision would be far more concerned with pursuing political efficacy than with defining and maintaining its own confessional identity. Such a position might have made sense in the America of Niebuhr’s time, in which the cultural vestiges of Christendom still persisted. As the culture of Christendom crumbles, however, the supposition that Christians can or should take responsibility for guiding the social struggle appears increasingly quaint and presumptuous.