''The Nature and Destiny of Man'' (two volumes, 1943) is one of the important works of the American

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

Reinhold Niebuhr Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr (June 21, 1892 – June 1, 1971) was an American Reformed theologian, ethicist, commentator on politics and public affairs, and professor at Union Theological Seminary for more than 30 years. Niebuhr was one of America ...

. The book is partly based on his 1939

Gifford Lectures The Gifford Lectures () are an annual series of lectures which were established in 1887 by the will of Adam Gifford, Lord Gifford. Their purpose is to "promote and diffuse the study of natural theology in the widest sense of the term – in o ...

. In 1998, the

Modern Library The Modern Library is an American book publishing imprint and formerly the parent company of Random House. Founded in 1917 by Albert Boni and Horace Liveright as an imprint of their publishing company Boni & Liveright, Modern Library became an ...

ranked it the 18th-greatest non-fiction book of the 20th century.

deals with profound issues such as

human nature Human nature is a concept that denotes the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of thinking, feeling, and acting—that humans are said to have naturally. The term is often used to denote the essence of humankind, or ...

, history, and the end of history. Niebuhr begins by arguing that the

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

view of human nature, compared with alternative views, is more complete and offers more explanatory power. According to the Christian view, human beings are made in the

image of God The image of God (; ) is a concept and theological doctrine in Christianity, as well as in Judaism. This concept is a foundational aspect of Christian and Jewish understandings of human nature. It stems from the primary text in Genesis 1:27, which ...

. Unlike alternative views that establish a good and bad duality between mind and body, in the Christian view, both mind and body are good because both are created by

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

. People are made to live in harmony with others and God's will but violate this harmony when they inevitably make themselves the center and source of meaning for their lives. Humans have tremendous creative and imaginative powers, and their minds can transcend both themselves (since they can make their own thoughts the object of contemplation) and the natural world (since they can manipulate natural forces to create new possibilities and vitalities of nature). Because people cannot find ultimate meaning in what they can transcend, they cannot find ultimate meaning within themselves or in the natural world. This is why people turn to religion. Christianity is a religion of revelation, meaning that Christians believe that God must speak to people in order for them to arrive at a correct understanding of the divine nature and will. If the Bible is to be believed, God spoke to people throughout history but the divine message was not clearly understood. Because of human misunderstanding, and because God's law is so radically different from human law, Jesus' message was highly offensive to his listeners. What Jesus told people is that God overcomes evil not by destroying evildoers but by taking their evil upon himself. God's love is suffering love. To live in accordance with the law of love seems to require that people accept the reality of an existence beyond this life. If the reality of this other existence is denied, then Jesus' statement that "whoever loses his life for my sake will find it" makes no sense. Yet, people are not to despise this life. To be righteous, to a Christian, means to serve others, and believers need to strive after intermediate and partial arrangements that help point the way toward ultimate resolutions and revelations. God provides ultimate meaning. Just as the human mind can provide meaning to a sequence of chronological events by comprehending them all in an instant, so God provides meaning by comprehending all events both prospectively and retrospectively.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nature And Destiny Of Man, The 1943 non-fiction books American non-fiction books Charles Scribner's Sons books Christian theology books Works by Reinhold Niebuhr

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References