The prophet himself stands under the judgment which he preaches. If he does not know that, he is a false prophet.
REINHOLD NIEBUHRNothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by faith.
More Reinhold Niebuhr Quotes
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The pretensions of final truth are always partlyan effort to obscure a darkly felt consciousness of the limits of human knowledge.
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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.
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Self-righteousness is the inevitable fruit of simple moral judgments.
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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.
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The chief source of man’s inhumanity to man seems to be the tribal limits of his sense of obligation to other men.
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What is funny about us is precisely that we take ourselves too seriously.
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History is a realm in which human freedom and natural necessity are curiously intermingled.
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The nuclear age has refuted the idea of progress and Marxism has been refuted by Stalinism. Therefore people have returned to the historic religion.
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The more complex the world situation becomes, the more scientific and rational analysis you have to have, the less you can do with simple good will and sentiment.
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I’m not afraid of too many things, and I got that invincible kind of attitude from my father.
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Nothing worth doing can be accomplished in a single lifetime.
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We ought to really at least recognize the common predicament of Communists and democrats – or Americans, whatever.
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Marxism is the modern form of Jewish prophecy.
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History may defeat the Christ but it nevertheless points to him as the law of life.
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Religion, declares the modern man, is consciousness of our highest social values. Nothing could be further from the truth. True religion is a profound uneasiness about our highest social values.
REINHOLD NIEBUHR