Brown, Robert McAfee 1920-2001 (Saint Hereticus)

PERSONAL:

Born May 28, 1920, in Carthage, IL; died September 4, 2001, in Greenfield, MA, from complications resulting from a broken hip; son of George William and Ruth Brown; married Sydney Thomson, June 21, 1944; children: Peter, Mark, Alison, Thomas. Education: Amherst College, B.A., 1943; Union Theological Seminary, New York, NY, B.D., 1945; Mansfield College, Oxford, graduate study, 1949-50; Columbia University, Ph.D., 1951; St. Mary's College, University of St. Andrews, postdoctoral study, 1959-60. Hobbies and other interests: Cello.

CAREER:

Ordained minister of Presbyterian Church, 1944. Amherst College, Amherst, MA, assistant chaplain, 1946-48; Macalester College, St. Paul, MN, professor of religion and chair of department, 1951- 53; Union Theological Seminary, New York, NY, professor of theology, 1953-62; Stanford University, Stanford, CA, professor of religious studies, 1962-76; Union Theological Seminary, New York, professor of ecumenics and world Christianity, 1976-79; Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, CA, professor of theology and ethics, 1979—. Military service: U.S. Navy, Chaplain's Corps, 1945-46; became lieutenant junior grade.

MEMBER:

American Theological Society, Society for Theological Discussion, Phi Beta Kappa.

AWARDS, HONORS:

D.D., Amherst College, 1958, Pacific School of Religion, 1967, and Kalamazoo College, 1980; National Conference of Christians and Jews Brotherhood Award for nonfiction, 1961, for An American Dialogue; Litt.D., University of San Francisco, 1964; L.H.D., Lewis and Clark College, 1964, St. Louis University, 1966, St. Mary's College, 1968, and Kenyon College, 1980; LL.D., Loyola University, University of Notre Dame, and Boston College, all in 1965.

WRITINGS:

P.T. Forsyth: Prophet for Today, Westminster (Philadelphia, PA), 1952.

The Bible Speaks to You, Westminster (Philadelphia PA), 1955.

The Significance of the Church, Westminster (Philadelphia, PA), 1956.

(With Gustave Weigel) An American Dialogue: A Protestant Looks at Catholicism and a Catholic Looks at Protestantism, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1960.

(Translator) Suzanne de Dietrich, God's Unfolding Purpose, Westminster (Philadelphia, PA), 1960.

The Spirit of Protestantism, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1961.

(Editor, with David H. Scott) The Challenge to Reunion, McGraw (New York, NY), 1963.

(Translator and author of introduction) Georges Casalis, Portrait of Karl Barth, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1963.

The Collected Writings of St. Hereticus (collection of columns from Christianity and Crisis), Westminster (Philadelphia, PA), 1964.

Observer in Rome: A Protestant Reports on the Vatican Council, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1964.

(With Abraham J. Heschel and Michael Novak) Vietnam: Crisis of Conscience, Association Press (New York, NY), 1967.

The Ecumenical Revolution: An Interpretation of the Catholic-Protestant Dialogue, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1967.

(Translator) Andre Dumas, Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Theologian of Reality, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1971.

The Pseudonyms of God, Westminster (Philadelphia, PA), 1972.

Frontiers for the Church Today, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1973.

Religion and Violence: A Primer for White Americans, Westminster (Philadelphia, PA), 1973.

Is Faith Obsolete?, Westminster (Philadelphia, PA), 1974.

Theology in a New Key: Responding to Liberation Themes, Westminster (Philadelphia, PA), 1978.

The Hereticus Papers, Westminster (Philadelphia, PA), 1979.

Creative Dislocation: The Movement of Grace, Abingdon (Nashville, TN), 1980.

Gustavo Guiterrez, John Knox Press (Atlanta, GA), 1980, published as Gustavo Gutierrez: An Introduction to Liberation Theology, Orbis Books (Maryknoll, NY), 1990.

Making Peace in the Global Village, Westminster (Philadelphia, PA), 1981.

Elie Wiesel, Messenger to All Humanity, University of Notre Dame Press (Notre Dame, IN), 1983.

Unexpected News: Reading the Bible with Third World Eyes, Westminster (Philadelphia, PA), 1984.

The Bible Speaks to You, Westminster Press (Philadelphia, PA), 1985.

Saying Yes and Saying No: On Rendering to God and Caesar, Westminster (Philadelphia, PA), 1986.

(Editor) The Essential Reinhold Niebuhr: Selected Essays and Addresses, Yale University Press (New Haven, CT), 1986.

Religion and Violence, Westminster Press (Philadelphia, PA), 1987.

Spirituality and Liberation: Overcoming the Great Fallacy, Westminster (Philadelphia, PA), 1988.

(Editor, with Sydney Thomson Brown) A Cry for Justice: The Churches and Synagogues Speak, Paulist Press (New York, NY), 1989.

(Editor) Kairos: Three Prophetic Challenges to the Church, Eerdmans (Grand Rapids, MI), 1990.

Persuade Us to Rejoice: The Liberating Power of Fiction, Westminster (Philadelphia, PA), 1992.

Liberation Theology: An Introductory Guide, Westminster (Philadelphia, PA), 1993.

Reclaiming the Bible: Words for the Nineties, Westminster (Philadelphia, PA), 1994.

Speaking of Christianity: Practical Compassion, Social Justice, and Other Wonders, Westminster (Philadelphia, PA), 1997.

Dark the Night, Wild the Sea, Westminster (Philadelphia, PA), 1998.

Reflections over the Long Haul: A Memoir, Westminster John Knox Press (Louisville, KY), 2005.

Contributor to books, including F. Ernest Johnson, editor, Patterns of Faith in America Today, Harper, 1957; Philip Scharper, editor, American Catholics: A Protestant-Jewish View, Sheed, 1959; J.A. O'Brien, editor, Steps to Christian Unity, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1965; L.J. Swidler, editor, Scripture and Ecumenism, Duquesne University Press, 1965; D.T. Jenkins, editor, The Scope of Theology, World Publishing, 1965; M.E. Marty and D.G. Peerman, editors, Handbook of Christian Theologians, World Publishing, 1965; W.M. Abbott, editor, Documents of Vatican II, Association Press, 1966; Bernard Murchland, editor, The Meaning of the Death of God, Random House, 1967; L.J. Swidler, editor, Ecumenism: The Spirit and Worship, Duquesne University Press, 1967; Patrick Granfield, editor, Theologians at Work, Macmillan, 1967; John O'Connor, editor, American Catholic Exodus, Corpus, 1968; H.J. Mooney and T.F. Staley, editors, The Shapeless God, University of Pittsburgh Press, 1968; Donald R. Cutler, editor, The Religious Situation: 1968; Beacon, 1968; C.F. Mooney, editor, The Presence and Absence of God, Fordham University Press, 1969; C.E. Curran, editor, Contraception: Authority and Dissent, Herder & Herder, 1969; E.L. Long, Jr., and R.T. Handy, editors, Theology and Church in Times of Change, Westminster (Philadelphia, PA), 1970; J. Andrews, editor, Paul VI: Critical Appraisals, Bruce, 1970; William V. Casey and Philip Nobile, editors, The Berrigans, Praeger, 1971; Huston Smith and others, Great Religions of the World, National Geographic Society, 1971; Alan Geyer and Dean Peerman, Theological Crossings, Eerdmans, 1971; Military Chaplains, American Report Press, 1972; David Kennedy, editor, The American People in the Age of Kennedy, Pendulum Press, new edition, 1973; Norbert O. Schedler, editor, Philosophy of Religion: Contemporary Perspectives, Macmillan, 1974; Raines, editor, Conspiracy, Harper, 1974; Sergio Torres and John Eagleson, editors, Theology in Latin America, Orbis, 1976; Peter J. McCord, editor, A Pope for All Christians?, Paulist/Newman, 1976; Elie Wiesel and others, Dimensions of the Holocaust, Northwestern University Press, 1977; Harry J. Cargas, editor, Responses to Elie Wiesel, Persea Books, 1978; Franklin H. Littell, editor, Religious Liberty in the Crossfire of Creeds, Ecumenical Press, 1978; G. McLeod Bryand, editor, Naude: Prophet to South Africa, John Knox, 1978; James D. Whitehead and Evelyn E. Whitehead, editors, China: Search for Community, Friendship, 1978; and John Eagleson and Philip Scharper, editors, Puebla and Beyond, Orbis, 1979. Author of introduction to books, including Karl Barth and Johannes Hamel, How to Serve God in a Marxist Land, Association Press, 1959; and F.W. Foerster, The Jews, Farrar, Straus, 1962.

General editor, "Layman's Theological Library," twelve volumes, Westminster (Philadelphia, PA), 1956-58. Contributor to Christian Century, Religion in Life, and other publications. Columnist, under pseudonym St. Hereticus, for Christianity and Crisis. Member of editorial board of Christianity and Crisis, Journal of Ecumenical Studies, and Theology Today.

SIDELIGHTS:

Robert McAfee Brown's writings often focused on the ecumenical movement in modern Christianity. This movement, attempting to establish closer bonds between the various Christian denominations and, in some cases, even a union of the various groups into a single religious body, has played a major role in recent decades.

In An American Dialogue: A Protestant Looks at Catholicism and a Catholic Looks at Protestantism, Brown teamed up with Gustave Weigel in a joint examination of the two main schools of Christianity. A discussion of both differences and commonalities, the dialogue "does not abolish the obvious and subtle barriers that separate the two faiths but it paves the way for further discussion and action," the Booklist critic noted. J.G. Kerwin in the Chicago Sunday Tribune remarked that Brown's "statement on the differences that divide Protestants and Catholics on the important doctrine of papal infallibility is the best it has been the fortune of this reviewer to read."

The Challenge to Reunion, coedited by Brown and David H. Scott, contains writings by some twenty Protestant churchmen on the subject of possibly merging the various Protestant denominations into a single church. Most reviewers found the book to be valuable for its assembly of many opinions on a controversial subject. The critic for Christian Century, for example, called the collection "an important book in which churchmen representing several sides of this ecumenical issue air their opinions freely." D.B. Watermulder, also writing in Christian Century, stated: "Discovering the actual viewpoints of the various authors is far more constructive than reading interpretations of their views. A rich variety is represented." N.K. Burger in the New York Times Book Review wrote: "The essays are a useful guide not only to the prospects of this particular proposal but to the present stage of ecumenical thinking in this country."

Brown's The Ecumenical Revolution: An Interpretation of the Catholic-Protestant Dialogue is a history of the ecumenical movement from its beginnings to the post-Vatican II era. Melvin Maddocks in the Christian Science Monitor noted: "Brown writes with comparatively boundless if rather vague enthusiasm…. What is missing … is a critical sense…. ‘Who is God?’ ‘What is a Christian?’ or even ‘What is the ultimate role of the church?’ are not the sort of questions that can be answered by moving about ecclesiastical furniture, no matter how many fresh perspectives new floor plans may afford." L.F. McKernan in America noted that Brown's "treatment of ecumenism seems disappointing and unexciting because it is such a balanced, reasonable interpretation of events." C.R. Johnson in the Library Journal concluded: "Both Roman Catholic and Protestant readers will find this work of great value and interest."

Published in 2005, after Brown's death, Reflections over the Long Haul: A Memoir provides readers with an open and honest look at Brown's life and his dedication to his faith. He addresses many of the most life-changing events of his lifetime. One of Brown's more profound remembrances centers on the civil rights movement, which he participated in from early on, even landing in jail in Florida. He also spent time with union organizer Cesar Chavez in California. Brown served as a chaplain in the U.S. Navy and later involved himself in politics, becoming friends with Democrat Senator Eugene McCarthy, experiences that all appear in his book. Brown also includes reflections on the Vietnam War, which he adamantly opposed. Wayne H. Cowan, writing for the Christian Century, noted that Brown's family collected the work and sent it out for publication after his death. He remarked: "Interspersed with Brown's words are reflections from his wife, his children and his grandchildren. It is impossible to come away from this book unmoved." Booklist reviewer Donna Chavez praised the book as "an intensely personal written memoir."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Brown, Robert McAfee, Reflections over the Long Haul: A Memoir, Westminster John Knox Press (Louisville, KY), 2005.

Carmody, Denise Lardner, and John Tully Carmody, editors, The Future of Prophetic Christianity: Essays in Honor of Robert McAfee Brown, Orbis Books, 1993.

PERIODICALS

America, August 19, 1967, L.F. McKernan, review of The Ecumenical Revolution: An Interpretation of the Catholic-Protestant Dialogue.

Booklist, October 15, 1960, review of An American Dialogue: A Protestant Looks at Catholicism and a Catholic Looks at Protestantism; March 15, 2005, Donna Chavez, review of Reflections over the Long Haul: A Memoir, p. 1615.

Chicago Sunday Tribune, September 11, 1960, J.G. Kerwin, review of An American Dialogue, p. 2.

Christian Century, April 24, 1963, review of The Challenge to Reunion; January 8, 1964, D.B. Watermulder, review of The Challenge to Reunion; April 4, 2006, Wayne H. Cowan, "A Prophet with Honor," p. 44.

Christian Science Monitor, July 6, 1967, Melvin Maddocks, review of The Ecumenical Revolution, p. 7.

Library Journal, June 1, 1967, C.R. Johnson, review of The Ecumenical Revolution.

New York Times Book Review, September 22, 1963, N.K. Burger, review of The Challenge to Reunion, p. 30.

OBITUARIES:

PERIODICALS

Chicago Tribune, September 8, 2001, obituary, section 1, p. 18.

Los Angeles Times, September 8, 2001, obituary, p. B17.

New York Times, September 7, 2001, obituary, p. A21.

Washington Post, September 9, 2001, obituary, p. C8.