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The Meaning Of Revelation By Helmut Richard Niebuhr

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The Meaning Of Revelation By Helmut Richard Niebuhr
Helmut Richard Niebuhr was born on September 3rd, 1893 in Wright City, MO. His father, Gustav Niebuhr was a German immigrant and a Protestant minister. His mother, Lydia, was born in the United States. Niebuhr was the youngest of five children, three of whom would become distinguished in theology. Niebuhr graduated from Elmhurst College in 1912, Eden Theological Seminary in 1915, and Washington University in 1917 where he got his master of arts degree. Niebuhr was ordained to the ministry of the Evangelical and Reformed Church in 1916 and was a pastor at a St. Louis church until 1918. From 1919 to 1922, he taught at Eden Seminary and was married to Florence Marie Mittendorff in 1920.

In 1922, Niebuhr enrolled at Yale University where
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Niebuhr goes on to explain how the concept of “the kingdom of God” has changed over time. Niebuhr studied what revelation means for Christians in his third book, The Meaning of Revelation, which was published in 1941. His next book, Christ and Culture, wasn’t published until 1951. In this book, Niebuhr states that there are five relationships that a Christian has with culture: opposition, agreement, Christ above culture, tension, and reformation. Opposition means that a Christian rejects culture because they believe it is too worldly. Agreement, on the other hand, means that a Christian accepts culture because it aligns with their religious beliefs. The next three relationships are somewhere in between agreement and opposition. Christ above culture means that a Christian would find culture acceptable, but nowhere near as great as Christ. Tension means that a Christian must not become too detached or too involved in the world. Finally, reformation means that a Christian should transform and improve culture in the name of …show more content…
The findings of this survey were published in The Ministry in Historical Perspectives and The Purpose of the Church and Its Ministry in 1956, and The Advancement of Theological Education in 1957. His final book, published in 1960, was Radical Monotheism and Western Culture. In this book, Niebuhr defines three forms that human faith has taken: henotheism, polytheism, and and radical monotheism. Henotheism means that people and things are valued based on how well they serve a group. Polytheism means that people and things are valued based on how well they contribute to various ends. Finally, radical monotheism means that God is the creator, power of being, and center of

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