Abstract
James Luther Adams is a theologian, social ethicist, Unitarian Universalist pastor who is best known as an important interpreter and translator of Paul Tillich’s ideas, and as a teacher of social ethics who accented the essential role of voluntary associations in the creation and maintenance of democratic societies. This chapter presents Adams’s ideas and introduces key works for further study.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Paul Tillich, The Protestant Era, trans. and afterword by James Luther Adams (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1948), 195f., 285, 291f.
- 2.
Regarding the difference between the full version of what Adams called his autobiography and the editor’s decision to call the posthumously published book “a memoir,” see George Kimmich Beach, “From Out the Rind of One Apple Tasted: Reflections on the Autobiography of James Luther Adams,” The James Luther Adams Workshop, online, www.thejameslutheradamsworkshop.org.
- 3.
These include “No Authority But From God,” “Religion Under Hitler, Germany’s Churches in the 30s,” and “Liberalism and the Barmen Declaration in Nazi Germany”—all films from 1936 to 1938 with added commentary. They are available from James Luther Adams Foundation website.
- 4.
These essays appeared in The Journal of Liberal Religion in 1939 and 1940 and are cited and discussed in George Kimmich Beach, Transforming Liberalism: The Theology of James Luther Adams (Boston: Skinner House, 2005), xix ff.
- 5.
Gary Dorrien, The Making of American Liberal Theology (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2006), esp. 134–144.
- 6.
Gary Dorrien, Social Ethics in the Making (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011), pp. 314–344.
- 7.
The James Luther Adams Foundation website is online at www.jameslutheradams.org.
Works Cited
Adams, James. 1968. Voluntary Associations. Ed. J. Engel. Chicago: Exploration.
———. 1977. On Being Human Religiously. Ed. M. Stackhouse. Boston: Beacon.
———. 1986. The Prophethood of All Believers. Ed. G. Beach. Boston: Beacon.
———. 1991. An Examined Faith. Ed. G. Beach. Boston: Beacon.
———. 1995. Not Without Dust and Heat. Chicago: Exploration.
———. 1998. The Essential James Luther Adams. Ed. G. Beach. Boston: Skinner House.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Beach, G.K. (2018). James Luther Adams. In: Rodkey, C., Miller, J. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Radical Theology. Radical Theologies and Philosophies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96595-6_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96595-6_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-96594-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-96595-6
eBook Packages: Religion and PhilosophyPhilosophy and Religion (R0)