Segment 2: Conversation with Mr. Richard Wightman Fox

Listening Comprehension/Critical Thinking Questions

Read the following questions, then listen to the second segment of "Moral Man and Immoral Society" to find the answers.
Segment 2: Conversation with Mr. Richard Wightman Fox

1. Concept: Responsibility in the world
   Listen
   Professor Fox wrote about Niebuhr, "He exhorted his readers and listeners to take responsibility for their world while warning them against the temptation to try to perfect it."
   
   
    • What does the Niebuhrian idea of responsibility mean to you? What are the dangers inherent in "trying to perfect the world?"
   
   Answers will vary.
   
   
    • Think of historical situations where you have seen the dangers of "trying to perfect the world" become real. Do you see examples of this in society? In political life? What does "hubris" mean in this context?
   
   Answers will vary.
   
   
    • Have you ever been frustrated by trying to improve something in the world and discovering that you had actually made it worse?
   
   Answers will vary.
   
   
2. Concept: Paradox in Religion/Morality
   Listen
   
   This segment introduces the key words of "irony" and "paradox" that play a great role in Niebuhr's work.
    • Analyze the Niebuhrian concept that "doing right will inevitably involve doing some wrong" or that a "certain amount of evil will always be produced by the best people." Do you agree with his observations? What examples can you cite-historical or personal?
   
   Answers will vary.
   
   

   Concept: Realism
   Listen
   This segment of the program deals with Niebuhr's approach to moral controversies.
   
   

    • After listening to this segment, summarize Niebuhr's approach to racial controversy in Detroit. Cite examples or quotes that show why Niebuhr is considered a realist.
   
   Even though Niebuhr was a clear supporter of equal rights, he believed that the change needed to be gradual so as to better gain acceptance. "It is the idea that you don't try to force people to do what you may think is the moral thing because they may have to learn something before they're ready for it."
   
   

    • According to Niebuhr, what was the danger in Reverend Helm's approach to imposing racial equality on Helm's Congregation?
   
   He saw Helm as arrogant and that his bristling morality was spiritually deficient. Niebuhr felt that there were actual spiritual dangers in that kind of moral clear sightedness.
   
   

    • Have you encountered this kind of arrogance? If so, where? Is there a danger in Niebuhr's "gradualist" point of view?
   
   Answers will vary.
   
   

   Concept: Moral Values
   Listen
   This segment of the program focuses on the use of moral values in political discourse. Niebuhr is quoted, "Religions grow out of the real experience in which tragedy mingles with beauty and man learns that the moral values which dignify his life are embattled in his own soul and imperiled in the world." Listen to the discussion that follows.
   
   

    •  What rift is being discussed?
   
   The polarized political discussion of our time.
   
   

    •  How does listening to this segment give you new ways to think about bridging our cultural rifts?
   
   Answers will vary.

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Click on these links to find further instructional ideas and study guides for the material on the Speaking of Faith Web site.

Segment 1: Introduction to Niebuhr Listen (7:02)

Segment 3: Niebuhr on American Society Listen (2:15)

Segment 4: Niebuhr on War Listen (6:25)

Segment 5: Niebuhr and Engagement in the World Listen (3:51)

Segment 6: Inspiration for Reconciliation and the Need for Tension Listen (7:20)