Eerdmans Summary
Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971) was an inner-city pastor, ethics professor, and author of the famous Serenity Prayer. Time magazine’s March 8, 1948, cover story called him “the greatest Protestant theologian in America since Jonathan Edwards”.
Cited as an influence by public figures ranging from Billy Graham to Barack Obama, Niebuhr was described by historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. as “the most influential American theologian of the 20th century”.
In this companion volume to the forthcoming documentary film by Martin Doblmeier on the life and influence of Reinhold Niebuhr, Jeremy Sabella draws on an unprecedented set of exclusive interviews to explore how Niebuhr continues to compel minds and stir consciences in the 21st century. Interviews with leading voices such as Jimmy Carter, David Brooks, Cornel West, and Stanley Hauerwas as well as with people who knew Niebuhr personally, including his daughter Elisabeth, provide a rich trove of original material to help listeners understand Niebuhr’s enduring impact on American life and thought.
©2018 Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (P) 2017 Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
Author: Jeremy L. Sabella | Narrator: Alan Taylor | Length: 6 hrs, 18 mins | Unabridged | English | $19.95 / 1 Audible Credit
Praise for An American Conscience
Cornel West
—author of Race Matters
“Reinhold Niebuhr makes me shake and tremble as a human being when I think of the depths of his courage, his vision, his determination, his discipline, his willingness to expose himself publicly and to continually grow and mature. That’s why I consider him a soul mate.”
David Brooks
—New York Times columnist
“Niebuhr had audacity. He wrote with audacity. He took big public stands. . . . There are not too many theologians who have that kind of courage anymore.”
