Reinhold Niebuhr Quotes

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• Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by faith. Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore we must be saved by love. No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as it is from our standpoint. Therefore we must be saved by the final form of love which is forgiveness.

  Reinhold Niebuhr

  Love, Beautiful, Forgiveness

  Reinhold Niebuhr (2010). “The Irony of American History”, p.63, University of Chicago Press

  175 Copy quote

• God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at a time; accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him forever in the next. Amen.

  Reinhold Niebuhr

  Inspirational, Courage, Differences

  "Serenity Prayer". Prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr, www.beliefnet.com. 1951.

  188 Copy quote

• There was a time when I had all the answers. My real growth began when I discovered that the questions to which I had the answers were not the important questions.

  Reinhold Niebuhr

  Real, Growth, Important

  126 Copy quote

• Ultimately evil is done not so much by evil people, but by good people who do not know themselves and who do not probe deeply.

  Reinhold Niebuhr

  Evil People, Done, Good People

  143 Copy quote

• Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.

  Reinhold Niebuhr

  Freedom, Integrity, Adversity

  The Children of Light and the Children of Darkness foreword (1944)

  145 Copy quote

• It's always wise to seek the truth in our opponents' error, and the error in our own truth.

  Reinhold Niebuhr

  Wise, Errors, Opponents

  113 Copy quote

• Every experience proves that the real problem of our existence lies in the fact that we ought to love one another, but do not.

  Reinhold Niebuhr

  Real, Lying, Brotherhood

  138 Copy quote

• God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Grant me the patience with changes that take time, appreciation of all that I have, tolerance of those with different struggles, and the strength to get up and try again, one day at a time.

  Reinhold Niebuhr

  Appreciation, Struggle, Differences

  45 Copy quote

• Nationalism: One of the effective ways in which the modern man escapes life's ethical problems.

  Reinhold Niebuhr

  Men, Way, Problem

  107 Copy quote

• The stupidity of the average man will permit the oligarch, whether economic or political, to hide his real purposes from the scrutiny of his fellows and to withdraw his activities from effective control. Since it is impossible to count on enough moral goodwill among those who possess irresponsible power to sacrifice it for the good of the whole, it must be destroyed by coercive methods and these will always run the peril of introducing new forms of injustice in place of those abolished.

  Reinhold Niebuhr

  Running, Real, Sacrifice

  Reinhold Niebuhr (2013). “Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study in Ethics and Politics”, p.21, Westminster John Knox Press

  84 Copy quote

• Religion is so frequently a source of confusion in political life, and so frequently dangerous to democracy, precisely because it introduces absolutes into the realm of relative values.

  Reinhold Niebuhr

  Relative Value, Confusion, Political

  84 Copy quote

• Forgiveness is the final form of love.

  Reinhold Niebuhr

  Love, Forgiveness, Philosophical

  109 Copy quote

• Toleration of people who differ in convictions and habits requires a residual awareness of the complexity of truth and the possibility of opposing view having some light on one or the other facet of a many-sided truth.

  Reinhold Niebuhr

  Equality, Light, Views

  80 Copy quote

• Humor is a prelude to faith and laughter is the beginning of prayer.

  Reinhold Niebuhr

  Happiness, Laughter, Prayer

  Reinhold Niebuhr, (2013). “Discerning the Signs of the Times - Sermons for Today and Tomorrow”, p.72, Read Books Ltd

  81 Copy quote

• Change what cannot be accepted and accept what cannot be changed.

  Reinhold Niebuhr

  Accepted, Accepting, Changed

  12 Copy quote

• The tendency to claim God as an ally for our partisan value and ends is the source of all religious fanaticism.

  Reinhold Niebuhr

  Wisdom, Religious, Allies

  52 Copy quote

• Rationalism belongs to the cool observer. But because of the stupidity of the average person, they follow not reason, but faith. This naïve faith, requires necessary illusions and emotionally potent oversimplifications, which are provided by the myth maker to keep the ordinary person on course.

  Reinhold Niebuhr

  Average, Stupidity, Politics

  71 Copy quote

• Since inequalities of privilege are greater than could possibly be defended rationally, the intelligence of privileged groups is usually applied to the task of inventing specious proofs for the theory that universal values spring from, and that general interests are served by, the special privileges which they hold.

  Reinhold Niebuhr

  Spring, Special, Groups

  Reinhold Niebuhr (2013). “Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study in Ethics and Politics”, p.117, Westminster John Knox Press

  104 Copy quote

• If you equate God's judgment with your judgment, you have a wrong religion.

  Reinhold Niebuhr

  Judgment, Ifs

  Source: www.hrc.utexas.edu

  28 Copy quote

• Frantic orthodoxy is never rooted in faith but in doubt. It is when we are unsure that we are doubly sure.

  Reinhold Niebuhr

  Wisdom, Doubt, Orthodoxy

  13 Copy quote

• My personal attitude toward atheists is the same attitude that I have toward Christians, and would be governed by a very orthodox text: "By their fruits shall ye know them." I wouldn't judge a man by the presuppositions of his life, but only by the fruits of his life. And the fruits - the relevant fruits - are, I'd say, a sense of charity, a sense of proportion, a sense of justice. And whether the man is an atheist or a Christian, I would judge him by his fruits, and I have therefore many agnostic friends.

  Reinhold Niebuhr

  Christian, Atheist, Attitude

  "The Mike Wallace Interview". www.hrc.utexas.edu. April 27, 1958.

  12 Copy quote

• Life has no meaning except in terms of responsibility.

  Reinhold Niebuhr

  Life, Responsibility, Term

  Reinhold Niebuhr (1974). “Justice and Mercy”

  10 Copy quote

• Evil is not to be traced back to the individual but to the collective behavior of humanity.

  Reinhold Niebuhr

  Evil, Humanity, Behavior

  72 Copy quote

• Love is the motive, but justice is the instrument.

  Reinhold Niebuhr

  Love Is, Justice, Instruments

  15 Copy quote

• The separation of church and state is necessary partly because if religion is good then the state shouldn't interfere with the religious vision or with the religious prophet. There must be a realm of truth beyond political competence, that's why there must be a separation of churches, but if religion is bad and a bad religion is one that gives an ultimate sanctity to some particular cause. Then religion mustn't interfere with the state - so one of the basic Democratic principles as we know it in America is the separation of church and state.

  Reinhold Niebuhr

  Religious, America, Giving

  ABC TV Interview with Mike Wallace, www.hrc.utexas.edu. April 27, 1958.

  38 Copy quote

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