Reinhold Niebuhr, an inspiration for this journal, was a Christian Realist who renounced Social Gospel utopianism in favor of firmly recognizing humanity's dark nature. He came to orthodox acceptance of the world's fallenness. But did he ever come to affirm orthodoxy's promise of full redemption in Christ?
Did Niebuhr affirm Christ's bodily resurrection on Easter morning or did he cleave to his earlier Modernism? The answer is not entirely clear. Stanley Hauerwas critiqued Niebuhr's reputedly low Christology. In this 2002 First Things piece, Gabriel Fackre countered that Niebuhr by his life's end believed in resurrection, if not fully articulated.
But how does faith in Christ's resurrection, as we celebrate today on Easter, affect Christian perspectives on global statecraft? Christian Realism, as Niebuhr conceived it, insists the world is corrupt and God's Kingdom's can't be attained through virtuous politics. Niebuhr was and remains a vital rebuttal to dreamy American Christians across many decades, whether theological liberals or Evangelicals, who imagine Bible verses and concerted good intent will attain earthly peace with justice.
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