Niehbuhr, H. Richard. Christ and Culture. 50th Ann. Ed. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco. 19512001.

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Niehbuhr, H. Richard. Christ and Culture. 50th
Ann. Ed. San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco.
(1951)2001.
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Introduction

• Typological method
• Families of Christian ethics.
• Types are a mental construct.
• Niehbuhrs criteria is relationship of
  Christianity to society.

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1. Christ Against Culture (New Law Type)

• Example Gospel of Matthew
• Antithesis between law of God as practice in
  Jewish culture and law of God declared by Jesus
  Christ.
• Example Sermon on Mount Mt. 5.1-11, 20-48.
• Christians are a new people with a new law.
• Separation of Christian community from community
  where false ethics prevails.
• Spirituality dominates, individual spirituality a
  priority.
• New Law Christians twice born ethically, but is
  a pas experience.

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2. Christ of Culture (Natural Law Type
Accomodationist Type)

• Christian revelation through Christ understood
  using common reason of the culture.
• Natural law Christians are once-born ethically.
• Assimilate church to culture.
• Assimilate cultural goals into church.
• The teachings of Jesus can be understood by laws
  of reason or nature.
• The values reflected in the Bible that are most
  central to current cultural values are viewed as
  Jesus central teachings.
• The values reflected in culture that most agree
  with the New Testament are viewed as the cultures
  ideal ethics.

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3. Christ Above Culture (Architectonic Type)

• imperatives of nature and gospel are each divine
  .
• Natural law prepares us for Gospel ethics.
• Ethics learned by reason are incomplete
• Natural law does not sufficiently guide or
  motivate.

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4. Christ and Culture in Paradox (Oscillatory
Type)

• A pendulum.
• Accepts radical gospel ethic.
• Accepts ethic of nature and reason.
• These two ethical types cannot be mixed.
• Conviction of sin moderates both types.
• Examples Martin Luther, Karl Barth.

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Christ Transforming Culture (Conversionist Type)

• Corrupted reason discovers and distorts Natural
  law.
• Values detached from God are distorted.
• Ethics of Christ are final ethics, natural ethics
  transitional.
• Conversion of the existing society.