This volume chronicles the life of noted scholar of religion, politics, and philosophy Ronald H. Stone. From his childhood between the east and west banks of the Des Moines River through graduate work in New York between the Hudson and the East Rivers, through his scholarly career and retirement in Pittsburgh between the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers, the book highlights Stone’s focus on Christian social ethics and his prolific writing. The book includes unique insights into some of the renowned scholars with whom Stone worked closely, including Reinhold Niebuhr and Paul Tillich, and it discusses his scholarship on the relationship between religion and politics.
Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology
This is the book we have been waiting for and it is a hard one to put down.
The Humboldt Independent
Ronald H. Stone makes a home for his memoir on the lands between great rivers in Iowa, New York, and Pennsylvania. He offers ample evidence that the academic life is not only in-depth study and teaching; but also service to the Church, social protest, and leadership in local communities. Indeed, Ronald proves to be an excellent example of such a life as he leads us though his places between the rivers.
Robert L. Stivers, Pacific Lutheran University This memoir is a treasure of reflection and analysis, giving us Ronald Stone's account of his exemplary career in speaking with intelligence and relevance to three publics—the church, academy, and general public.
Gary Dorrien, Reinhold Niebuhr Professor of Social Ethics, Union Theological Seminary; author of Kantian Reason and Hegelian Spirit: The Idealistic Logic of Modern Theology A fascinating overview of Christian theology, ethics, and American politics over the past sixty years as lived out in the life of a major Christian social ethicist, Between Two Rivers offers insight and inspiration for living one's Christian faith as an activist in politics, church, and the academy. Ronald H. Stone's memoir shows the influences of family, friends, and major theologians (especially Reinhold Niebuhr and Paul Tillich) on his ideas and activism, but the reader also sees the development of Stone's own Christian realism rooted in love—a standpoint and grounding so needed in today's interactions of religion and politics.
Mary Ann Stenger, Professor Emerita in Humanities, University of Louisville Professor Stone’s memoir analyzes the sixty-year history of Christian social action and ethics that involved his passion and politics. I enjoy Ron’s ethical advice—borrowed from the field of boxing, which he practiced in his youth—to always keep the left side of your argument well covered in the midst of intellectual and social struggles.
Gonzalo Castillo, professor emeritus of Church and Society and Sociology of Religion, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary