Richard Niebuhr 's Work, Christ And Culture

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H. Richard Niebuhr 's work, Christ and Culture, presents a fivefold typology to describe the different ways Christians understand the interrelation between God, human beings, and culture, and the inherent nature of each of these categories. Niebuhr begins by talking about Christians who understand Christ in diametric opposition to an inherently sinful culture. These Christians see Christ calling them to tear down culture or enter into monastic communities to guard themselves from it. Niebuhr ends his typology by describing Christians who see Christ’s work as the work of redemption. Christ transforms people by converting us back to our original state so that we might glorify God and change society so that it likewise reflects this change in personhood. Jose Porfirio Miranda’s brand of liberation theology adopts the logic of these Niebuhrian types while offering a unique constructive perspective. In this paper, I will explain Niebuhr 's construction of Christ against Culture and Christ transforming culture before applying these types to Miranda’s theory of justice and discussing the way in which Miranda’s description of Christians in the public sphere resonates with these Niebuhrian categories. I will then discuss what Niebuhr and Miranda offer to people of faith, I will apply their insights to the current presidential campaign, and then I will conclude by discussing the way in which our political culture lauds the voices of the rich and powerful at the expense of all

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