Reinhold Niebuhr and Paul Ramsey: Idealist and Pragmatic Christians on Politics, Philosophy, Religion, and War

Arguing for a revised reading of American moral theological tradition, Kevin Carnahan provides a thorough examination of the work of Reinhold Niebuhr and Paul Ramsey and deftly articulates the importance of these two theologians in twentieth century American moral theology. Carnahan introduces their philosophical inheritances, explaining the impact of philosophical pragmatism and idealism and on Niebuhr and Ramsey respectively. He then offers a critical account of the development and transformation of Ramsey and Niebuhr’s general moral theologies, in addition to the idealistic and pragmatic philosophical influences on their views of political society and war. For those interested in the development of contemporary American moral philosophy and the ethics of war, this book is timely, topical food for thought.