Theological Discussion Group papers, 1934 -- 1961

Summary Information

Abstract

The Theological Discussion Group, meeting twice yearly in weekend retreat initially at Yale University, included Reinhold Niebuhr, Richard Niebuhr, Paul Tillich, Henry Van Dusen, James Luther Adams, Georgia Harkness and many other leading Christian thinkers. Papers were presented and critiqued, and issues concerning the evolution of Christianity and the modern world discussed. The collection contains typescript addresses presented to the Theological Discussion Group, as well as a small amount of administrative correspondence, including lists of members.

At a Glance

Arrangement

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in one chronological series.

• Theological Discussion Group papers, 1934 -- 1961

Description

Scope and Contents

This collection contains typescript addresses presented to the Theological Discussion Group. It includes a small amount of administrative correspondence, including lists of members, which are included with the folders of addresses given at the retreats to which they refer. A number of undated or anonymous papers within this collection appear to originate from the group or to have circulated among members of the group.

• Theological Discussion Group papers, 1934 -- 1961

  This series contains typescript addresses presented to the Theological Discussion Group. It includes a small amount of administrative correspondence, including lists of members, which are included with the folders of addresses given at the retreats to which they refer. A number of undated or anonymous papers within this collection appear to originate from the group or to have circulated among members of the group.

Burke Library record group:

General collections

Using the Collection

Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Onsite storage.

Conditions Governing Use

Some material in this collection may be protected by copyright and other rights. Information concerning copyright, fair use, and reproduction requests can be consulted at Columbia's Copyright Advisory Office.

Preferred Citation

Item description, Theological Discussion Group papers, box #, folder #, The Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University in the City of New York.

Related Materials

42 of the total of 55 meetings are covered here. For papers and meetings not covered in this collection, please see Yale Divinity School archives: Theological Discussion Group Papers (RG 43), Special Collections, Yale Divinity School Library. https://archives.yale.edu/repositories/4/resources/252

Immediate Source of Acquisition

This collection is a compilation from two sources in the Burke Library: initially papers from Union Seminary Administrative records Series 9F whose original source was President H. P Van Dusen's papers after 1963 and the contents of a formerly unprocessed restricted access box of papers (Cage RK55T391).

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary

Processing Information

The collection has been retained in the original chronological order of the discussion group meetings. Administrative papers are retained with the meeting session to which they refer. Dated papers are followed by a sequence of undated papers and finally a small number of anonymous papers also undated. 42 of the total of 55 meetings are covered here. Materials were placed in new acid-free folders and boxes. In some cases, acidic items were separated from one another by interleaving with acid-free paper. The finding aid was created by R. Clifton Bailey in 2007 and revised with additions by Ruth Tonkiss Cameron in 2008, and edited by Leah Edelman in 2023.

Revision Description

2023-02-09 PDF converted to EAD and description updated by Leah Edelman.

Subject Headings

The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches at Columbia University through the Archival Collections Portal and through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, as well as ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.

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Subject

History / Biographical Note

Biographical / Historical

The [East Coast] Theological Discussion Group was started in 1934 by Henry Pitney Van Dusen at the time when he was Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at UTS and continued until the early 1960s. The aim of this long lived discussion group, in the words of Van Dusen, was to "discover what is essential and distinctive in the Christian gospel for today" by a process of debate around chosen themes. The recurrently attending theologians of this group were Reinhold Niebuhr, Richard Niebuhr, Paul Tillich, Henry Van Dusen, James Luther Adams, Georgia Harkness, Wilhelm Pauck, John Knox, Edwin Aubrey, Douglas Steere and Cornelius Kruse among others. The group chose a topic for the year and would meet twice yearly to present papers concerning that topic at a weekend retreat. A critic was chosen for each presentation. Topics include: Church and Politics, Humanism, American Corruptions, Redemption, War, Eschatology, etc. While most of the meetings were held as weekend retreats at Yale Divinity School in New Haven, CT, some were held at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey, Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey and College of Preachers in Washington D.C.