After "The End of Our Exploring," a Reaction and Summary

I must not be up on my Christian blogosphere knowledge, because up until a month ago, I had no idea who Matthew Lee Anderson was. But then a link or retweet of some sort sent me to his Mere Orthodoxy blog, and next thing I knew, I was plowing through the Kindle version of his just-released book on a Saturday.

I have subsequently realized that Anderson was also the author of a "contrarian's-take-on-a-popular-evangelical-trend" piece for Christianity Today in March titled "Here Come the Radicals." My dad printed me off a copy to read, which may have been a not-so-subtle suggestion that he thought I needed to read it. Not sure on that score.

Anyway, onto the book at hand. Below are my thoughts and reflections on Anderson's work.

Niebuhr's "Children of Light," a Summary and Reflection

You may not know Reinhold Niebuhr, but you know Reinhold Niebuhr. At least you do if you've ever read that "man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary," or recited the prayer "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” 

Gary Dorrien, professor at Union Theological Seminary and Columbia University, has called him "the most important thinker of the past century concerning the relation of Christianity to problems of social ethics and politics." Time went even further, eulogizing him as the "greatest Protestant theologian since Jonathan Edwards." His career as a pastor, theologian, professor, author, and social commentator left an indelible imprint on intellectual life in the 20th-century United States.