The tendency to claim God as an ally for our partisan values and ends is the source of all religious fanaticism. Reinhold Niebuhr More Quotes by Reinhold Niebuhr More Quotes From Reinhold Niebuhr We have previously suggested that philanthropy combines genuine pity with the display of power and that the latter element explains why the powerful are more inclined to be generous than to grant social justice. Reinhold Niebuhr elementspowerfuljustice Perhaps the most significant moral characteristic of a nation is its hypocrisy. Reinhold Niebuhr moralpoliticshypocrisy Reason is not the sole basis of moral virtue in man. His social impulses are more deeply rooted than his rational life. Reinhold Niebuhr moralvirtuemen God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things which should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other. This prayer was first printed in a monthly bulletin of the Federal Council of Churches and has become enormously popular. It has been circulated in millions of copies. Reinhold Niebuhr changewisdomprayer Nothing worth doing is completed in our lifetime therefore, we must be saved by hope. Nothing 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 are saved by love. Reinhold Niebuhr
