Lutheran

WASPs tended to identify themselves as uniquely positioned guardians of the nation’s heritage. As their cultural influence had begun waning by World War I, their spokesmen resorted with greater ferocity to a crusading mindset to bolster their influence.

After traveling through Europe in 1947—including to Scotland, Amsterdam, and Switzerland—Reinhold Niebuhr wrote some reflections, including on state churches, the Truman Doctrine, Christian political parties, and more.

In a series of articles in the fall of 1946, Christianity and Crisis contributors offered reports based upon their travels, including from Reinhold Niebuhr and John Baillie in Germany.

“Niemöller about the Question of Guilt,” by Martin NiemöllerJuly 8, 1946 You are concerned with the question of guilt and…

America is audacious and globally indispensable chiefly because of its soaring ideals. And those ideals speak to the world in the measured but constant affirmation of benevolence and good will to all who reciprocate. May it always be good news when a mighty American ship anchors in a distant harbor in times of trouble.

Matthew A. Sutton’s Double Crossed is an important book that offers a case study of how religious leaders contributed to national security in a challenging wartime environment.

Ironically, it is possible to boast of one’s humility. In this article, originally published in Christianity and Crisis on April 19, 1943, Paul Ramsey aims to explain why. While Ramsey advocates constant repentance as a logical consequence of a Christian self-evaluation and imperfect humanity, he portrays such repentance as moral hygiene rather than attitude. He avoids the divestment camp, which prioritizes a clear conscience over achieving moral good at the cost of personal iniquity. In its most essential form, this is repentance for our assumption of righteousness. 

This article about the history and future of Christian moral truth was originally published in Christianity and Crisis on December 28th, 1942. Contributor Barbara Ward details the history of Christian moral law, originally developed in the philosophical depths of the natural law tradition, all the way to its fracturing, resulting in the contemporaneous “will to power” found in Nazism. She councils Christians globally to recover this tradition and bring it to bear on the world in her day.

On September 24, Angela Merkel won a fourth term as chancellor of Germany. Here is what you should know about the most powerful woman in the world.