Reinhold Niebuhr

Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr ( June 21, 1892 in Wright City, Missouri, † June 1, 1971 in Stockbridge, Massachusetts) was an influential American theologian, philosopher and political scientist.

Life

Niebuhr came from a German - American rectory and was after studying at Eden Theological Seminary and at Elmhurst College in 1913 as pastor of the standing tradition in the united German Evangelical Synod of North America, a predecessor church of the United Church of Christ, ordained. After completing his graduate studies at Yale, he was appointed in 1915 to pastor a church in Detroit. From 1928 he taught at Union Theological Seminary in New York, where he received a full professorship in 1930, a position he held until his retirement in 1960. In 1933, he advocated that Paul Tillich became a professor at Union Theological Seminary after his emigration from Germany.

1931 married Reinhold Niebuhr Ursula Keppel - Compton; from the marriage were born a son and a daughter.

His brother Richard Niebuhr (1894-1962) was also a theologian.

Work and significance

Initially influenced by the Social Gospel movement, Niebuhr later developed its own basic position, which he called " Christian realism" called. It combines an orientation to collective interests with the central concept of justice. Influenced by Augustine's philosophical dualism Niebuhr a dialectical anthropological concept. This involves the recognition that through his intellectual freedom that man has the ability to produce the good or of evil. The man is due to its reflective abilities doomed to create his own meaning in life. Since finiteness and scarcity are the conditions of his actions, the man is seduced to born of self-righteousness and pride deeds. At the level of international politics, this leads to imperialist action powerful nations.

Niebuhr criticized not only the false utopianism of communism, which leads to despotism, but also the self-righteous arrogance of the United States, to feel a chosen nation. Exercise of power always lead also to moraldefizitärem behavior. Nowadays rely both liberals like Barack Obama and neoconservatives on Niebuhr.

1964 Niebuhr received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

677158
de