"Dublin Core:Title","Dublin Core:Subject","Dublin Core:Description","Dublin Core:Creator","Dublin Core:Source","Dublin Core:Publisher","Dublin Core:Date","Dublin Core:Contributor","Dublin Core:Rights","Dublin Core:Relation","Dublin Core:Format","Dublin Core:Language","Dublin Core:Type","Dublin Core:Identifier","Dublin Core:Coverage","Item Type Metadata:Text","Item Type Metadata:Interviewer","Item Type Metadata:Interviewee","Item Type Metadata:Location","Item Type Metadata:Transcription","Item Type Metadata:Local URL","Item Type Metadata:Original Format","Item Type Metadata:Physical Dimensions","Item Type Metadata:Duration","Item Type Metadata:Compression","Item Type Metadata:Producer","Item Type Metadata:Director","Item Type Metadata:Bit Rate/Frequency","Item Type Metadata:Time Summary","Item Type Metadata:Email Body","Item Type Metadata:Subject Line","Item Type Metadata:From","Item Type Metadata:To","Item Type Metadata:CC","Item Type Metadata:BCC","Item Type Metadata:Number of Attachments","Item Type Metadata:Standards","Item Type Metadata:Objectives","Item Type Metadata:Materials","Item Type Metadata:Lesson Plan Text","Item Type Metadata:URL","Item Type Metadata:Event Type","Item Type Metadata:Participants","Item Type Metadata:Birth Date","Item Type Metadata:Birthplace","Item Type Metadata:Death Date","Item Type Metadata:Occupation","Item Type Metadata:Biographical Text","Item Type Metadata:Bibliography","Item Type Metadata:Player","Item Type Metadata:Imported Thumbnail","Item Type Metadata:Referrer",tags,file,itemType,collection,public,featured "U. S. Representative David Price on the Influence of Reinhold Niebuhr",,"In this excerpt from a podcast with National Humanities Center Robert D. Newman, U. S. Representative David Price reflects on the transformative experience of reading the work of Reinhold Niebuhr. Price notes how his exposure to Niebuhr in a Yale Divinity School classroom continues to shape his thinking about human nature and American democracy.",,"The writing of Reinhold Niebuhr",,,"U. S. Rep. David Price (NC-4)",,,,,,david-price-reinhold-niebuhr,,,,,,"Robert D. Newman: I’d like you to reflect, if you would, on some humanities moments, profound junctures that go back to the humanities in your own personal or public life that were transformative.
U.S. Representative David Price: I wouldn’t exactly describe it as a moment but I can tell you about an intellectual experience that really did transform my way of thinking and influences me to this day. It has to do with when I first went to Yale Divinity School. I never became a clergyman, obviously, but I certainly got a good liberal arts education at Yale Divinity School and feel that was a time of great intellectual development for me.
One important part of that was being introduced to the thought of Reinhold Niebuhr, who at that point was a very influential theologian, but he had a wide influence way beyond theological circles. He used his theological understanding—essentially understanding of human nature—to elaborate the way “small-d” democratic politics can and should work.
There’s an aphorism—which I can’t quote exactly—that’s associated with him but it sums this up rather neatly. He said once that our positive understanding of human nature makes democracy possible. Our negative understanding of human nature makes democracy necessary.
In other words, our understanding of human nature has a lot to do both with the positive possibilities we strive for in our society, the kind of aspirations that we have for a more perfect union, for expanding opportunity, for a just society. At the same time we understand that even the best intentions in politics can become distorted, can go astray by virtue of self-interest and the will to power. Therefore, it’s important that no one’s power be absolute and that we have the kind of checks and balances that, of course, we aspire to anyway in our American system.
He also understands power in this vein. In other words, we’ve always had a preoccupation in American political thought with power, and that comes partly from the Calvinist tradition, from some of the theological roots of our culture, but that, too, can lead us astray because we’ve tended to concentrate on political power as the most potent danger. Of course it can be extremely dangerous but sometimes we’re oblivious to other kinds of power. Economic power, let’s say. We don’t have a full appreciation for just how oppressive and how limiting that can be.
Moreover, we don’t always appreciate how political power can check other forms of power—as it goes back to the Antifederalist position we were discussing earlier. You don’t ever suppose that you can do away with, or have the luxury of, a totally libertarian society. Power is going to be exercised. There are going to be disparities in power. Power is going to be organized in some way, and the way we do our politics is going to have a profound influence on this. It’s much better to be intentional about that, deliberate about it, than it is to make glib assumptions about power being benign or, for that matter, power being completely dangerous.
There has to be a balance between a notion of using power, utilizing power, and checking power. Niebuhr argued very, very persuasively that our understanding of human nature, particularly coming out of our religious traditions, was an important resource. Not just Enlightenment optimism about human nature. Not just the classical liberal assumptions about natural harmonies in society. No, no. There are real conflicts and there are real abuses that are possible. At the same time, sometimes coercion is necessary. So, it’s that understanding of power, theologically rooted, that just transformed my way of thinking about politics.
",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"",,,"Christian Realism,Democracy,Human Behavior,Neibuhr, Reinhold,New Haven, Connecticut,Politicians,Politics,Power (Christian Theology),Religion,Theology,Yale Divinity School",https://humanitiesmoments.org/files/original/13/rep-david-price.jpg,Sound,,1,0 "How Theology Helped Me Succeed in International Business",,"In any successful international business venture, you need to understand another culture. That’s the advice that James Hackett gives to his students. In this video, he reflects on how theology school—especially the study of the Bible—prompted him to investigate the intricate connections between religion, history, and culture. ",,"The Bible",,,"James Hackett, CEO, Alta Mesa Resources",,,,,,james-hackett-theology-culture,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"",,"Heidi Camp","Business Leaders,Cultural Awareness,History,International Business,Religious Studies,The Bible,Theology,Vocation",https://humanitiesmoments.org/files/original/274/World_Flag_map.png,"Moving Image",,1,0 "Finding Meaning Under the Stars",,"I have always loved space. This love is why I earned an undergraduate degree in aerospace engineering. Fittingly, stargazing with friends was one of my favorite, albeit infrequent, diversions from the routine of life. Leaving behind the piles of engineering homework and bright lights of the city, I loved venturing out to a park or field where we could find a decent spot to lay down and look up at the stars. On a cool, brisk night, we would bring blankets to settle into a cozy spot for a few hours. We didn't bring any music or snacks, we just simply looked at the stars. Sometimes we talked. Sometimes we were silent. Occasionally, someone would excitedly point to a shooting star for others to see before it quickly disappeared. Our conversations always seemed more meaningful during these excursions. Looking at the stars for a few hours changes one’s perception of pace and time. Even though stars move incredibly fast, from our perspective, they look almost stationary - a welcome contrast to the often-breakneck pace of school and work. This respite offered us a chance to just be in serene silence or talk about things that deeply mattered to each of us - family, relationships, inspirations, goals, and more. Such conversations were fitting given the response stargazing can elicit. Looking up at the innumerable stars before me, I was often struck with a sense of wonder and smallness. What was my place in relation to this infinite but still expanding universe (yes, it is infinite but still expanding - crazy right?). There were so many stars, planets, and even galaxies, but just one me. Did my work, my education, or my life matter in relation to the vast cosmos? Does our common work to build a just society have meaning? Did any of this make an impact on a universe set into motion 13.7 billion years ago by a literal cosmic explosion? This was a humanities moment. Looking at the stars had provided me with a set of questions not answerable by the hard sciences. I had been exploring my passion of space through subjects such as orbital mechanics and astronautics, but the questions of meaning that the stars elicited eventually led me to pursue Theological Studies at the graduate level. In the course of these studies, theology not only provides me with a framework to explore these questions of meaning, but also with a critical lens through which to approach other challenging relational questions: What is my responsibility to others, society, the environment, and the common good? What is our societal obligation to the most vulnerable in light of racial injustice, inequality, and the other pressing challenges of our context? Theology enables critical conversations around these complex questions of relationship. In an infinite, expanding cosmos, there is nothing more meaningful than these questions of relationship. ",,,,2008,"Deepan Rajaratnam, Ph.D. Candidate",,,,,,finding-meaning-under-stars,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"Graduate Student Residents 2021","Awe,Common Good,Discovery,Meaning (Philosophy),Relationality,Stars,Theology",https://humanitiesmoments.org/files/original/18/498/nathan-anderson-L95xDkSSuWw-unsplash.jpg,Text,"Graduate Student Residents 2021",1,0