The book Faith and History: A Comparison of Christian and Modern Views on History by Reinhold Niebuhr was written shortly after the conclusion of World War II. In it, Niebuhr compares the views of Christianity and modern thinking on history, especially wars. Niebhur states that Christians "recognized the peril" of human freedom, while modernists believe that human freedom should expand. He goes back to Hitler's Nazi Germany as something that the Christians prophecized about when it came to human freedom. However, Niebuhr states that although the act cannot be reversed, events like this can be prevented in the future "if challenged with sufficient initiative". Niebuhr admits that freedom can be taken advantage of and turned into something bad, but he says that it is not as if it cannot be fixed. He believes that people just need to be involved in what is going on and take initiative on some things.
http://www.archive.org/details/faithandhistorya027348mbp
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I found it interesting that Niebuhr believed that Christians recognized the peril of human freedom and prophisized about Nazi Germany. He wrote that although the WWII and the Holocaust cannot be prevented, future events can be. However, I was wondering if he thought that the Holocaust could be prevented or did the events of WWII have to happen? This article makes me wonder what Niebuhr would have to say about the U.S. presence in the Middle East today? Would he see it as the powers in the Middle East being "challenged with sufficient initiative,"?
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