Reinhold Niebuhr

Democracy means not 'I am as good as you are,' but 'You are as
good as I am.'

Democracy means not 'I am as good as you are,' but 'You are as
good as I am.'

Family life is too intimate to be preserved by the spirit of justice. It can be sustained by a spirit read more

Family life is too intimate to be preserved by the spirit of justice. It can be sustained by a spirit of love which goes beyond justice.

And the wisdom to distinguish one from the other.

And the wisdom to distinguish one from the other.

Commemoration of Pandita Mary Ramabai, Translator of the Scriptures, 1922 Ultimate confidence in the goodness of life cannot read more

Commemoration of Pandita Mary Ramabai, Translator of the Scriptures, 1922 Ultimate confidence in the goodness of life cannot rest upon confidence in the goodness of man. If that is where it rests, it is an optimism which will suffer ultimate disillusionment. Romanticism will be transmuted into cynicism, as it has always been in the world's history. The faith of a Christian is something quite different from this optimism. It is trust in God, in a good God who created a good world, though the world is not now good; in a good God, powerful and good enough finally to destroy the evil that men do and redeem them of their sins. This kind of faith is not optimism. It does not, in fact, arise until optimism breaks down and men cease to trust in themselves that they are righteous.

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, read more

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.