عنوان

Paul Ramsey and Reinhold Niebuhr on a Public Theology of Tragedy and the Problem of Dirty Hands

LA113165

انگلیسی

Paul Ramsey and Reinhold Niebuhr on a Public Theology of Tragedy and the Problem of Dirty Hands

[Article]

Adam Edward Hollowell, John K. Burk, Adam Edward Hollowell, et al.

Leiden

Brill

Modern discussions of the problem of 'dirty hands' often draw upon a tradition of thinking in American public theology that wrestles with political conflicts between moral limitations and responsibilities. This article examines the problem of dirty hands through the way two significant figures in the field, Paul Ramsey and Reinhold Niebuhr, employ concepts of tragedy in their public theological writings. The analysis suggests that Ramsey and Niebuhr provide several starting points for describing the ambiguous realities of the political context and establishing limits on morally permissible political behaviour. This offers a significant challenge to the idea that 'tragedy' can be used to describe the liberal failings of either scholar and asserts the potential helpfulness of their arguments as the church seeks to exchange reasons in a democratic culture. Modern discussions of the problem of 'dirty hands' often draw upon a tradition of thinking in American public theology that wrestles with political conflicts between moral limitations and responsibilities. This article examines the problem of dirty hands through the way two significant figures in the field, Paul Ramsey and Reinhold Niebuhr, employ concepts of tragedy in their public theological writings. The analysis suggests that Ramsey and Niebuhr provide several starting points for describing the ambiguous realities of the political context and establishing limits on morally permissible political behaviour. This offers a significant challenge to the idea that 'tragedy' can be used to describe the liberal failings of either scholar and asserts the potential helpfulness of their arguments as the church seeks to exchange reasons in a democratic culture.

2011

458-475

International Journal of Public Theology

5/4

1569-7320

dirty hands

Niebuhr

political realism

Ramsey

tragedy

Adam Edward Hollowell

John K. Burk

10.1163/156973211X595943

p

[Article]

275578

a

Y