presented by Lo Kai Ming, Charles. / Thesis (M.Div.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 106-110). / An Abstract --- p.i / Foreword --- p.iii / Chapter / Chapter I. --- Reinhold Niebuhr's theological development --- p.1 / Chapter II. --- Human nature --- p.17 / Chapter III. --- Man as sinner --- p.26 / Chapter IV. --- Social justice --- p.42 / Chapter 1. --- Love and mutual love --- p.42 / Chapter 2. --- Justice --- p.48 / Chapter 3. --- Middle axioms --- p.61 / Chapter V. --- The applicability of Niebuhr's theological framework for social justice in the context of contemporary Hong Kong society --- p.71 / Chapter VI. --- Conclusion --- p.85 / Notes --- p.89 / Bibliography --- p.106

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In this dissertation it is contended that central to Reinhold Niebuhr's theology and ethics is his understanding of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ as a revelation of the suffering of God. Keeping in mind the theologia crucis of Martin Luther, Part I examines the significance of the Christian symbol of the cross during Niebuhr's formative years and as he later sought to relate the moral and ethical insights of the Christian faith to the more tragic social and political events of his age. / Part II begins with a systematic appraisal of Niebuhr's theology of the cross in reference to his understanding of Christian anthropology, theology proper, the atonement, history and eschatology. The theological similarities of Niebuhr's thought to the theologia crucis of Luther are made explicit. A delineation is then made of Niebuhr's social ethic of the cross. It is an ethic which seeks to underscore the true but limited relevance of the norm of sacrificial love to issues of relative justice. This ethic is then contrasted to the ethica crucis of Luther. / The dissertation concludes with an examination of the current debate regarding Niebuhr's ultimate political position. It is suggested that an understanding of Niebuhr's theology and ethic of the cross is essential to any thorough appreciation of the major shifts which occurred within his political thought.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the nature and role of the relation which exists between the revelation of God to man, and ethics. Within Protestant Christianity two major schools of thought are involved in active debate over the issue. We have selected Reinhold Niebuhr of the neo-orthodox wing and Carl F. H. Henry as the evangelical spokesman, in view of comparing their concepts of revelation to their ethics. / We proceed by asking whether the ethical systems of both Niebuhr and Henry are dependent, interdependent, or independent in relation to revelation. We find the answer by observing the parallel movement of differences in the form and content of revelation with the differences in the form and content of their ethics. We discover dependence. / Furthermore, we consider the ways in which the revealed content is related to ethics. Thus we measure the relevance of revelation to ethics and discover again the same relatedness and dependence.

This dissertation examines the function of shame within Christian texts and practice through the lens of affect theory and trauma studies. A focus on the deleterious effects of interred shame and shame’s role in attachment presses theology to name corporeal shame, understand it as distinguished from guilt, and recognize how it relates to attachment and human bonding. Distinguishing shame from guilt provides conceptual markers of shame, shifting the focus away from the image of the lonely, guilty sinner and toward a self both attached to others and to God. An analysis of classic theological texts along with an exploration of touch in Christian practice discloses that shame must be disinterred and faced in order to repair its negative effects and to restore its natural function in attachment. An analysis of Augustine’s The City of God reveals shame’s emergence in Augustine’s theology embodied by the notion of “covering-up,” which impedes attachment to God. In The Nature and Destiny of Man, Reinhold Niebuhr’s notions of sensuality and pride reflect shame, yet Niebuhr subsumes shame under other terms. Examining the place of shame in these major works and displaying the continual covering-over of shame in these theologian’s descriptions of the human condition exposes shame’s toxicity but also unveils shame as indicative of attachment. Augustine’s notion that the forehead serves as the seat of shame parallels affect theory’s location of affective emergence on the face and corporeally situates shame on the forehead. The final chapter displays what it would mean to take seriously the implications of affect in theological anthropology and practical theology. Both affect theory and trauma studies underscore the somatic and textual interactions that create a shamed self. This dissertation turns to the liturgical enactment of Christian practices, highlighting the importance of touch in both harm and repair. Exploring the moment of touch in the imposition of ashes on the forehead on Ash Wednesday develops touch as an affective encounter with shame. This interdisciplinary study of shame broadens insights about how Christian theologians interpret the human condition, as disinterred shame directs the self towards its greatest attachments: connection to others and to God.

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Permission from the author to digitize this work is pending. Please contact the ICS library if you would like to view this work. / There are many excellent studies of the life and thought of Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971), prominent Christian ethicist, social philosopher, and political activist of the American Century. Most studies focus on his mature works of mid-century, particularly his theological ethics. The following study treats his emergent theory of history between 1927-1934, especially the idea of progress and the narrative of modern capitalist society. During this formative period Niebuhr wrote three major books (Does Civilization Need Religion? [1927], Moral Man and Immoral Society [1932], and Reflections on the End of an Era [1934]) which reflect his intellectual passage from religious liberalism and the politics of persuasion to "Christian-Marxism" and the politics of power. The following thesis will trace the diverse historiographical influences found in these works, from the church-historical perspective of Ernst Troeltsch to the dialectical materialism of Karl Marx. It is common to say that Niebuhr was purely a theologian of history. But following Ricoeur and White, I describe the main ingredients of a philosophy of history that are present in these writings: myth, plot, social processes, patterns of progress and cycle. Moreover, he was a "thinker in time"--these philosophical elements combined to render a plausible and meaningful narrative context for social action. In the early period Niebuhr began his lifelong critique of Enlightenment, capitalism, and the idea of progress. Following Robert Nisbet's analysis of the concept of progress in Western cultural history, I will argue that Niebuhr traverses his own peculiar dialectics of history, moving from the idea of progress-as-freedom (in the twenties) to the idea of progress-as-power (in the thirties); from the form of irony to the form of tragedy; from the concept of the voluntary reform of the excesses of captialism to the concept of the frank use of coercion to implement a socialist alternative to captialism. His philosophy of history in this period thus reflects in Christian idiom aspects of the very antinomies of the Enlightenment regarding personality and power, freedom and fate, which he desires to overcome.

Thesis (DTh)--Stellenbosch University, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis is a critical study of the work of John Rawls, political philosopher, and Reinhold Niebuhr, theologian. The work of these two scholars is brought into dialogue with theological thought to work towards a Christian notion of justice which seeks more than justice as fairness but realises the impossibility of perfect love in this world. Rawls’s two principles of justice form the basis of the discussion, with liberty placed prior to equality, and permissible inequalities only allowed when the weakest benefit. He excludes religion and moral reasoning from justice, essentially any thick theory of the good, in favour of the right; any conception of the good must be in agreement with the right and a thin theory of the good is necessary to guide people in the right direction. In his later works he accepts that people will mostly be guided by some moral or religious thought. Niebuhr believed that a prophetic religion combines an utmost seriousness about history with a transcendent norm. Hope, faith and love form the foundation of a call to a continual struggle for justice and equality. The boundaries in which justice is sought are being continually extended as global cooperation and dependence increase. Perfect justice would be a state of solidarity with no conflict of interests. Because people are a combination of vitality and reason, the social coherence of life can never be based on pure rationality. Our truth is never the truth; we are always subjective and prejudiced. There can be no universal rational standards of justice or neutrality in social struggle. Love is the primary law of nature and a fundamental requirement of social existence. We are called to involvement in society by the very nature of our justification by faith. Equality as the pinnacle of the ideal of justice points towards love as the final norm of justice; for equal justice is the realization of community under the conditions of sin. Justice as imperfect love aims for an equality which is increasingly inclusive and continuously creates space for people to live in harmony. In the final chapter, Rawls and Niebuhr are brought into critical discussion with other theologians. The Christian preference for the poor, an inherent part of theological justice begins the discussion. The importance of moral reasoning for justice comes into conflict with Rawls’s idea that there should be no thick theory of the good influencing justice. Human dignity is an important facet of justice. The inalienable dignity owed to every human being, created in the image of God, is an essential part of theology and can enrich secular theories of justice. Justice necessitates community. People learn how to behave in a way which is just, moral and ethical from their associations in communities. The church community can provide an important place where dialogue and learning can take place. The boundaries of justice are ever-increasing. Globalisation presents challenges to where and how justice is implemented and we become increasingly aware of how our actions affect other people. The responsibility of the struggle for justice is everincreasing. The eschatological hope and the specific way of life which can be offered by the church complete the Christian notion of justice. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis is ’n kritiese studie van die werk van die politieke filosoof John Rawls en die teoloog Reinhold Niebuhr. Hierdie denkers se werk word met teologiese nadenke in gesprek gebring om sodoende ’n Christelike idee van geregtigheid te vorm wat meer as billikheid wil wees, en wat terselfdertyd die onmoontlikheid van perfekte liefde in dié wêreld erken. Rawls se twee beginsels van geregtigheid vorm die basis van die argument, deurdat vryheid voor gelykheid geplaas word en met die enigste toelaatbare ongelykhede dié wat tot die swakstes se voordeel is. Hy maak nie gebruik van godsdienstige of morele arugmente om geregtigheid te begrond of vul nie – enige begrip van die goeie moet in ooreenstemming met die regte wees en slegs ’n dun teorie van die goeie is nodig om mense in die regte rigting te lei. Hy aanvaar in sy latere werk dat die meeste mense tog deur morele denke of godsdiens gelei sal word. Niebuhr glo dat ’n profetiese godsdiens ’n diepe erns met die geskiedenis met ’n transendente norm kombineer. Hoop, geloof en liefde vorm die grondslag van ’n oproep tot ’n voortdurende stryd om geregtigheid en gelykheid. Die beperkinge waarbinne geregtigheid gesoek word, word voortdurend uitgebrei soos globale samewerking en afhanklikheid verhoog. Volmaakte geregtigheid sou ’n toestand van solidariteit met geen konflik van belange wees. Omdat mense 'n kombinasie van vitaliteit en rede is, kan die sosiale kohesie van die lewe nooit op suiwer rasionaliteit gebaseer word nie. Óns waarheid is nooit dié waarheid nie en ons is altyd subjektief en bevooroordeeld. Daar kan geen universele rasionele standaarde van geregtigheid of neutraliteit in die sosiale stryd wees nie. Liefde is die primêre wet van die natuur en ’n fundamentele vereiste vir sosiale bestaan. Ons word geroep tot betrokkenheid in die samelewing op grond van die regverdigmaking deur geloof. Gelykheid as die toppunt van geregtigheid verwys na liefde as die finale norm van geregtigheid, want gelyke geregtigheid is die verwesenliking van die gemeenskap onder die voorwaardes van die sonde. Geregtigheid as onvolmaakte liefde het gelykheid wat toenemend inklusief is en voortdurend ruimte skep waar mense in harmonie kan lewe ten doel. In die laaste hoofstuk van hierdie studie word Rawls en Niebuhr in kritiese gesprek met ander teoloë gebring. Die bespreking begin met die Christelike voorrang vir die armes, ’n basiese element van teologiese geregtigheid. Die belang van morele redenering vir geregtigheid kom in konflik met Rawls se idee dat enige dik teorie van die goeie geregtigheid nie behoort te beïnvloed nie. Menswaardigheid is 'n belangrike faset van geregtigheid. Elke mens – as beeld van God – se onvervreembare waardigheid, vorm ’n noodsaaklike deel van die teologie en kan sekulêre teorieë van geregtigheid verryk. Geregtigheid vereis gemeenskap. Mense kan in gemeenskappe leer hoe om op te tree op 'n manier wat regverdig, moreel en eties is. Die kerk as gemeenskap kan 'n belangrike plek wees waar dialoog en opvoeding kan plaasvind. Die omvang van geregtigheid neem steeds toe. Globalisering bied uitdagings oor waar en hoe geregtigheid geïmplementeer behoort te word en ons raak meer bewus van hoe ons aksies ander mense beïnvloed. Die verantwoordelikheid vir die stryd om geregtigheid neem ook steeds toe. Die eskatologiese hoop en die manier van lewe wat die kerk kan aanbied voltooi die Christelike idee van geregtigheid.