Lydia Hosto Niebuhr: The Buried History of an Evangelical Matriarch
Ebook
This biography is about an immigrant's daughter who remained in the shadows of her father, husband, sons, and daughter. But it is also about the theological tradition--German Evangelical Pietism--that shaped her and that she helped to shape. That tradition is also hidden--or buried--for its tendency to embarrass modern sensitivities. As such it remains deeply misunderstood. Grounded in the history of the Prussian Union and the pietism of the free mission houses of Germany, it is evangelical in a way that is unrecognizable and bears little resemblance to the evangelicalism of the twenty-first century. In its pietism, it exudes an irenic approach to theological and doctrinal differences, in a way that is altogether misunderstood. It is focused on peacemaking and deeds of loving and just action in the world, rather than theological precision. The sad history of this tradition is that like the story of Lydia--both have been buried in the religious landscape of twentieth-century American Protestantism. It is time that the story of Lydia Hosto Niebuhr be emancipated from a church history that has minimized the story of many of its most important giants simply because they were born at a time when their stories were less valued than the men they supported and the sons they birthed and nurtured in the church. The biography of Lydia Hosto Niebuhr corrects and recalls what has been buried and hidden, and in doing so offers an alternative to the polarization of the political and religious fields of the United States.
“John Helt brings the life and ministry of Lydia Hosto Niebuhr out of the shadows. This biography of her great influence both in her family and in the church is told with vivid examples. Anyone who is interested in the theological contributions of her sons and daughter should read this book and see how the seeds were planted within her family and nurtured with her tender and fierce care.”
—Elizabeth Caldwell, author of A Mysterious Mantle: The Biography of Hulda Niebuhr
“This beautifully written and timely book brings to light the life of a ‘reverent spirit’ and servant of the gospel who helped shape the faith of several generations as one in whom, as Saint Jerome once put it, ‘the lips, the heart, and the hands agree.’”
—Frederick Trost, author of The Evangelical Catechism: A New Translation for the 21st Century
“John Helt is himself a wise and discerning son of the German Evangelical Pietistic tradition of which he writes. Here he narrates the centrality of Lydia Niebuhr, mother of Reinhold and Richard, as a key force in the nurture of that Evangelical tradition in the United States. Helt invites appreciation and gratitude for this strong woman of faith who bore lifelong energetic witness to the life-giving force of the gospel.”
—Walter Brueggemann, professor emeritus of Old Testament, Columbia Theological Seminary
- Title: Lydia Hosto Niebuhr: The Buried History of an Evangelical Matriarch
- Authors: Conrad L. Kanagy, Deborah Krause, John Clifford Helt
- Publisher: Pickwick Publications
- Print Publication Date: 2024
- Logos Release Date: 2024
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9798385210077, 9798385210060, 9798385210053
- Resource ID: LLS:9798385210077
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-09-18T21:25:39Z
John Clifford Helt is a retired United Church of Christ pastor living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He currently serves on the Creation Care Team and the Historical Committee of the Wisconsin Conference, United Church of Christ, sings in and serves on the board of the Lutheran A Cappella Choir of Milwaukee, and coaches new pastors. He has taught theology and history as an adjunct instructor at Chicago Theological Seminary, Elmhurst University (Illinois) and Lakeland University (Wisconsin). He studied at Edinburgh University New College (UK), Elmhurst University, Eden Theological Seminary, Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary, and Northwestern University (Illinois).