ON BEING HUMAN-RELIGIOUSLY: Selected Essays in Religion and Society

by James Luther Adams ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 2, 1976

James Luther Adams, a legendary professor (now emeritus) at Harvard Divinity, has been a major force in American liberal theology for almost half a century and an architect of the discipline of Religious Social Ethics. But he has wielded his influence almost exclusively as a teacher, lecturer, editor, social activist, church leader (Unitarian), and essayist, not as a writer of books. Thus, to provide an accessible compendium of Adams' work, Max Stackhouse undertook the prodigious labor of collecting and editing the best of his mentor's writings, arranging them in appropriate thematic sequence, and outfitting the whole with an introduction detailing the man's contribution to the dialogue between theology and sociology. The resultant fifteen essays make for heavy but scarcely obscure reading, enhanced by Adams' gift for apt anecdotes and lucid formulation of principles. Together they articulate a vision of religious liberalism that balances belief and rationality, freedom and order, spontaneity and discipline; insisting that theory be practical and action wise, they argue that social activism must be sustained by religious roots and that authentic religion must be socially engaged. A valuable collection for serious students.

Pub Date: April 2, 1976

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Beacon

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1976

Categories: NONFICTION