Christian thinking and social order : conviction politics from the 1930s to the present day / edited by Marjorie Reeves.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Reeves, Marjorie.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Christianity and politics.

Christian sociology.

Church and social problems.

Christianity and justice.

Christian ethics.

Physical Description:

xvi, 238 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Cassell, 1999.

Summary:

This book endeavours to map out a part of the intellectual history of the twentieth century which once almost faded from memory but which now resonates with startling relevance. In 1941 William Temple, then Archbishop of York, called for a 'Christian Social Philosophy', voicing a concern that had been gathering momentum all through the 1930s, had been sharpened by the challenge of authoritarian regimes, left and right, and had formed the focus of the Oxford conference of Church, Community and State in 1937. Although it had been the First World War which set in motion the great social changes of this period, a conscious response began to surface only at the very end of the 1920s. In the spring of 1930 a new voice on the BBC aroused unprecedented interest: John Macmurray's twelve talks on 'Reality and Freedom' can be seen as one starting-point for the extraordinary outburst of thought and discussion on people and society which developed in the following decade.

A background section on the themes of the 1930s leads to chapters on a range of initiatives concerned with Christians and Society. The prime movers were predominately Christian but not exclusively so; they were thinkers but also doers; they were ecumenical in outlook with a variety of positions but no one party line; they were interdisciplinary. Membership of the various groups was fluid rather than focused in organized parties or pressure groups. Among the influential thinkers who figure in this book are Archbishop William Temple, J.H. Oldham, John Macmurray, John Middleton Murry, T.S. Eliot, Walter Moberly, Karl Mannheim, Reinhold Niebuhr and Michael Polanyi. Concluding chapters consider their relevance for today.

Contents:

1 Themes of the 1930s / Eric Lord, Marjorie Reeves 3

2 Intellectuals in Debate: The Moot / William Taylor, Marjorie Reeves 24

3 Tracts for Wartime: The Christian News-Letter / Marjorie Reeves, Elaine Kaye 49

4 Outside Ecclesiastical Organization: The Christian Frontier Council / Daniel Jenkins, Marjorie Reeves 80

5 A Ferment of Ideas on Education / W. Roy Niblett, Marjorie Reeves 101

6 A Forum for Students: Cumberland Lodge, 1947-1960 / Harry Judge 123

7 The Student Christian Movement and the Critique of Universities / Ronald H. Preston 141

8 Making All Things New: The University Teachers' Group Project, 1966-1970 / W. Salters Sterling 156

9 Then and Now / David L. Edwards 179

10 Coming Full Circle / Richard A. Pring 184

11 New Wine

Old Bottles? The Higher Education Foundation / John Wyatt 197

12 A Free Society Today? / Duncan B. Forrester 210

13 Britain and the World Today: A New Moot? / Keith W. Clements 221.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references index.

ISBN:

0304702471

030470248X

OCLC:

40926181