Langdon Gilkey has taught at Georgetown University, the University of Virginia, and the University of Chicago Divinity School, where he is the Shailer Mathews Professor of Theology (emeritus). He is the author of a number of books, including Shantung Compound, Gilkey on Tillich, and Nature, Reality, and the Sacred.

"Reinhold Niebuhr was one of the last great public intellectuals of American life.... Langdon Gilkey's fine new book on his theology can help counter the neglect into which his thought has fallen." - Roger S. Gottlieb, Tikkun "Gilkey dissects the interplay of Niebuhr's theology and his political theories, as informed by the Depression and World War II.... This is a serious and challenging book and a worthy read." - Publishers Weekly "An excellent general introduction to two of the most influential twentieth-century theologians and a good entry point for understanding the kind of influence theology may exert in the twenty-first century.... In an age as prone to cynicism as the present, Niebuhr's theologically informed ethical-political reflections are more relevant than ever. Gilkey does a real service by making Niebuhr's work accessible to a general audience." - Booklist