Book Review: Leaves from the Notebook of a Tamed Cynic

In Leaves from the Notebook of a Tamed Cynic, Reinhold Niebuhr offers us a fascinating glimpse into the thoughts of a developing minister. Niebuhr begins in 1915 when he is 23 years old and apparently very inexperienced. In spite of his relative inexperience, he nevertheless offers a keen insight into the world of a parish priest that reveals wisdom that surpasses his years. He says, “It is easier to speak sagely from the pulpit than to act wisely in the detailed tasks of the parish.” This statement reveals a fundamental concept that all “preachers” would do well to consider. That is, it is often easier to preach it, than to live it.
From initially recognizing that preaching from the pulpit is often the easier part of parish ministry, Niebuhr takes us on a journey that will span thirteen years as he shares insight into parish ministry through the eyes of one engaged with, and seeking to transform, the world around him.

Early accounts of Niebuhr’s parish ministry reveal to us one struggling to maintain enthusiasm for the work at hand. Again showing his wisdom at a young age, or maybe he is speaking entirely from frustration, he says, “The prophet speaks only when he is inspired. The parish preacher must speak whether he is inspired or not.” Here Niebuhr is shown to be grappling with the practical issue that faces all young preachers and many seasoned veterans from time to time, as we ask ourselves the question, “How in the world am I supposed to continue coming up with something new and exciting Sunday after Sunday?”

It seems strange that Niebuhr would be able to “stick it out” for five long years as he struggles to find some sense of fulfillment in the parish ministry. It is not until 1920, five years after the first journal reading, that he can say, “I am really beginning to like the ministry.” I say it is strange because it seems to me that most people today would have given up long before. Maybe it is just a touch of the “cynic” in me, but I do not see the same determination in people today as was evident in the people of Niebuhr’s generation.

Maybe Niebuhr’s “liking the ministry” comes from his new found freedom in the pulpit. As Niebuhr continues to evolve as a parish priest, we see him taking increasing freedom in the pulpit as he begins to speak to issues of cultural/societal significance. He begins to address a wide range of topics which include; business achievement and ethics, religious pluralism, church growth and orthodoxy, human sin and its consequences; as well as addressing deep philosophical meanings of the Christian faith. He says, “Religion is a reaction to life’s mysteries and a reverence before the infinitudes of the universe.” So we see that while Niebuhr is beginning to address social/cultural/political issues, he still remains rooted in the “mysteries” of the Christian faith.

In an entry from 1925 he asks a difficult, probing question. “Why doesn’t the church offer specific suggestions for the application of a Christian ethic to the difficulties of our day?” It seems that for Niebuhr, the practical aspects of theology are beginning to take center stage. No longer is theology for theology’s sake acceptable, but life changing, society transforming, results oriented teaching and preaching become for Niebuhr the primary emphasis of the gospel message.
During the same year, he makes a statement that would be for some today, a startling discovery. He says, “It seems pathetic to me that liberalism has too little appreciation for the tragedy of life to understand the cross and orthodoxy insists too much upon the absolute uniqueness of the sacrifice of Christ to make the preaching of the cross effective.” It reminds me of the title of the book by Jim Wallis, God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It. It seems that Niebuhr has made the earth shattering discovery that God doesn’t belong to a political party, that God’s politics transcend human invention.

Niebuhr’s message of life transforming love does not escape the notice of those who would resist the transformative message of the gospel. He says, “Anyone who incarnates the strategy of love as Jesus did meets the resistance and incites the passions of human society.” And, “Love conquers the world, but its victory is not an easy one. The price of all creativity and redemption is pain.” In so saying, Niebuhr reminds us that to speak prophetically against the dominate forces of oppression invites criticism and even persecution.

Niebuhr calls for a radical re-deployment and re-appropriation of the resources of the church in its struggle to face the world and see the church as the instrument of change by which God mediates God’s grace to a broken world. He says, “It seems to me rather unfortunate that we must depend on the ‘publicans’ for our social conscience to so great a degree while the ‘saints’ develop their private virtues and let the city as such fry in its iniquities.” In other words, the church should strive to be “salt and light” whereby the world witnesses the life changing glory of the creator through the life changing affirmations of the church. We must not, we cannot, turn a blind eye and deaf ear to the starving masses and continue to call ourselves the “Christian” church. The acts of caring and compassion that we witness from various church organizations must become the rule rather than the exception.

Throughout the excerpts of Niebuhr’s journal, we continue to see a person struggling to remain relevant as he proclaims the message of the incarnate Christ to a society that only wants to serve its own interests. His is a prophetic voice that decries the power-over mentality of the world around him, while continuing to proclaim the power-with message of the gospel.

Times certainly haven’t changed all that much…..