Quotes by Reinhold Niebuhr
Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971) — Theologe · Reformiert · USA
Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971) war ein US-amerikanischer evangelischer Theologe und Sozialethiker, der nach Jahren als Gemeindepfarrer in Detroit jahrzehntelang am Union Theological Seminary in New York lehrte. Er begründete den Christlichen Realismus, verfasste das Gelassenheitsgebet und stieß mit seiner Absage an den Pazifismus sowie der theologischen Rechtfertigung politischer Machtausübung auf anhaltende Kritik. Für heutige Bibelleser bietet sein Werk Anstöße zur Reflexion über menschliche Fehlbarkeit, gesellschaftliche Schuldverstrickung und die nüchterne Anwendung biblischer Ethik in der Welt.
Era: The 20th Century
Recurring topics: Humility & Pride, Ethical Questions, Meaning & Identity, Faith & Trust, Prayer & Silence, Justice & Commitment, Guilt & Forgiveness, Grace & Redemption
Quotes by Reinhold Niebuhr
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.
Reinhold Niebuhr
Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.
Reinhold Niebuhr
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.
Reinhold Niebuhr
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
The final sin of man, said Luther truly, is his unwillingness to concede that he is a sinner.
Reinhold Niebuhr
Man does not know himself truly except as he knows himself confronted by God. Only in that confrontation does he become aware of his full stature and freedom and of the evil in him.
Reinhold Niebuhr
There is laughter in the vestibule of the temple, the echo of laughter in the temple itself, but only faith and prayer, and no laughter, in the holy of holies.
Reinhold Niebuhr
One of the fundamental points about religious humility is you say you don't know about the ultimate judgment. And if you equate God's judgment with your judgment, you have a wrong religion.
Reinhold Niebuhr
I wouldn't judge a man by the presuppositions of his life, but only by the fruits of his life. And whether the man is an atheist or a Christian, I would judge him by his fruits.
Reinhold Niebuhr
I know that the Communists are atheistic and godless, but I don't think that that's what's primarily the matter with them. What's primarily the matter with them is that they worship a false god.
Reinhold Niebuhr
He must die to self if he would truly live.
Reinhold Niebuhr
There is no level of moral achievement upon which man can have or actually has an easy conscience.
Reinhold Niebuhr
Since 1914 one tragic experience has followed another, as if history had been designed to refute the vain delusions of modern man.
Reinhold Niebuhr
This insinuation of the interests of the self into even the most ideal enterprises and most universal objectives, envisaged in moments of highest rationality, makes hypocrisy an inevitable by product of all virtuous endeavor.
Reinhold Niebuhr
15 quotes in total — browse the collection.
Sources: patheos.com, firstthings.com, ox.ac.uk
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