Theology in the Public Square: Reflections on Reinhold Niebuhr and Malcolm X in a Racially Charged America
Theology in the Public Square:
Reflections on Reinhold Niebuhr and Malcolm X in a Racially Charged America This paper reflects the theological implications of life in the public square from the perspectives of two theologians in a very racially charged US of the 1950/60’s.
One can conclude from the Adamic creation account that God created
humanity to live in harmony with God, the created order, and itself. In spite of its fall and banishment from the sacred garden, humanity was not stripped of its imagination and curiosity. As its progeny increased and expanded across the lands of the earth so too did its potential for the marvelous: great acts of compassion, sympathy, and consideration; a desire for justice; and, as Reinhold Niebuhr furthers, the moral potential, “to consider interests other than their own … [and] on occasion preferring the advantages of others.”1 However, upon their collectivizing with each other over time a startling contrast emerged. There was, “less reason to guide and to check impulse, less capacity for self-‐transcendence, less ability to comprehend the needs of others and therefore more unrestrained egoism.”2 And within the womb of inferiority injustice, inequality, and oppression were birthed.
Reflections on Reinhold Niebuhr and Malcolm X in a Racially Charged America This paper reflects the theological implications of life in the public square from the perspectives of two theologians in a very racially charged US of the 1950/60’s.
One can conclude from the Adamic creation account that God created
humanity to live in harmony with God, the created order, and itself. In spite of its fall and banishment from the sacred garden, humanity was not stripped of its imagination and curiosity. As its progeny increased and expanded across the lands of the earth so too did its potential for the marvelous: great acts of compassion, sympathy, and consideration; a desire for justice; and, as Reinhold Niebuhr furthers, the moral potential, “to consider interests other than their own … [and] on occasion preferring the advantages of others.”1 However, upon their collectivizing with each other over time a startling contrast emerged. There was, “less reason to guide and to check impulse, less capacity for self-‐transcendence, less ability to comprehend the needs of others and therefore more unrestrained egoism.”2 And within the womb of inferiority injustice, inequality, and oppression were birthed.