A quick one from Obama’s favorite theologian (ht MS):
The moral effectiveness of the religious life thus depends upon deeper resources than moral demands upon the will. Whenever the modern pulpit contents itself with the presentation of these demands, however urgent and fervent, it reveals its enslavement to the rationalistic presuppositions of our era. The law of love is not obeyed simply by being known. Whenever it is obeyed at all, it is because life in its beauty and terror has been more fully revealed to man. The love that cannot be willed may nevertheless grow up as a natural fruit upon a tree which has roots deep enough to be nurtured by springs of life beneath the surface and branches reaching up to heaven.
p.s. That John Squire sure can shred!
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5 responses to “From Reinhold Niebuhr’s Introduction to Christian Ethics”
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Fabulous, fabulous quote!
I liked the phrase "life in its beauty and terror." Very striking. And true.
This particular book of Niebuhr's tends to be forgotten. In part, this is because it clearly is transitional, between his early Moral Man and Immoral Society and the mature Nature and Destiny of Man. But also Niebuhr himself somewhat backed away from the stridency of his conclusions.
Perhaps more than in any of his other writings, Niebuhr makes the distinction between "love" as an ideal and difficulty of instantiating it. He calls it "the relevancy of an impossible ideal" — it is the measure of life which we inevitably fail to realize. As such, this probably is the book in which he comes the closest to something like a law-gospel framework for understanding matters. Its abiding category is the tension of lives lived under judgment for failing to fully love, yet also given meaning by the very Love we know is the final measure of, and meaning behind, our existence.
Because of this dynamic he explores throughout the book, he closes it with a meditation on forgiveness. It is this striking emphasis on forgiveness, "the crown of Christian ethics," that I find so appealing about the book. I return to it regularly, and it holds a special place for me among Niebuhr's many brilliant writings.
"Listen, lady," he said in a high voice, "if I had of been there [to see Jesus raise the dead] I would of known and I wouldn't be like I am now." His voice seemed about to crack and the grandmother's head cleared for an instant. She saw the man's face twisted close to her own as if he were going to cry and she murmured, "Why you're one of my babies. You're one of my own children!" She reached out and touched him on the shoulder. The Misfit sprang back as if a snake had bitten him and shot her three times through the chest."
This Niebuhr quote is incredible!