The recalcitrant forces in the historical drama have a power and persistence beyond our reckoning.
REINHOLD NIEBUHRWe have, on the whole, more liberty and less equality than Russia has. Russia has less liberty and more equality. Whether democracy should be defined primarily in terms of liberty or equality is a source of unending debate.
More Reinhold Niebuhr Quotes
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Certainly, anybody who says, “in the eyes of God,” is pretentious.
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Civilization depends upon the vigorous pursuit of the highest values by people who are intelligent enough to know that their values are qualified by their interests and corrupted by their prejudices.
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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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For man as an historical creature has desires of indeterminate dimensions.
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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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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.”
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We judge the Russians because they’re living under despotism and we don’t like it, but we’ve gotten into a fix now where we’re living in a common predicament, and we ought to recognize this common predicament.
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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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It’s always wise to seek the truth in our opponents’ error, and the error in our own truth.
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History may defeat the Christ but it nevertheless points to him as the law of life.
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All known existence points beyond itself.
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Adam Smith’s was a real universalism in intent. Laissez Faire was intended to establish a world community as well as a natural harmony of interests within each nation… But the “children of darkness” were able to make good use of his creed.
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Politics deals with a common-sense approach to the imponderables of history, that I think are obscured by a certain kind of rationalism.
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The sad duty of politics is to establish justice in a sinful world.
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Goodness, armed with power, is corrupted; and pure love without power is destroyed.
REINHOLD NIEBUHR