As the cold war gained steam, Nie\u00adbuhr thundered at the Manichaeism that viewed the Soviet Union as altogether evil and the United States as altogether good. J. Edgar Hoover\u2019s file on him eventually ran to 600 pages.<\/p>\n
Niebuhr spent a career writing \u201cbig books on big subjects with big public stands,\u201d as Brooks said. Sifton tells of the way her father could write fast, amidst chaos. And could he ever turn a phrase: \u201cNothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by faith. \u201c<\/p>\n
Niebuhr is still read, and West de\u00adscribes Moral Man and Immoral Society as still the most important book in Christian ethics. But Niebuhr\u2019s historical moment seems to have passed.<\/p>\n