![]() ![]() He was an extraordinary and prolific writer and thinker whose ideas continue to shape liberal Protestantism today. Reinhold Niebuhr ’14BDiv, ’15MA, who died in 1971, was a theologian of towering importance who deeply influenced the political life of his time and courageously opposed Nazism in a period when most in his church backed U.S. It has given inspiration and solace to millions of people and has been very prominently employed by Alcoholics Anonymous. Billy Pilgrim hung it on his office wall in Slaughterhouse-Five Bill Clinton ’73JD invoked it repeatedly when he campaigned for the presidency. -Reinhold Niebuhr, The Serenity Prayer (1943)Īt least in the English- and German-speaking worlds, this is undoubtedly the most famous prayer originated in modern times, probably the only prayer ever to rival the Lord's Prayer in popularity.God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things that should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.One would be hard pressed to identify a Protestant theologian who has had more impact on contemporary reflections on our public responsibilities as Christians.”-Eds.Īt the beginning of this millennium, the editors of the World Almanac selected what they thought to be "the most memorable quotes by Americans in the last 100 years." One of their ten most memorable quotes was the following: Thomas Ogletree, the Frederick Marquand Professor of Ethics and Religious Studies, says, "His exceptional achievement was that he brought a thoroughly theological framework to bear upon the principles of liberal democracy. Oxford, Yale, and Harvard awarded him honorary degrees. neutrality in World War II, and denounced both McCarthyism and Soviet communism. He spoke out early against Nazi anti-Semitism, opposed U.S. He advocated a "Christian realism" that criticized the tendency of the church to see "the sins of individuals but never the sins of society": Christian ethics, he held, compel political engagement. Niebuhr taught at Union Theological Seminary for most of his professional life. Niebuhr acquired, says Gene Outka, the Dwight Professor of Philosophy and Christian Ethics at Yale, "a national and then an international following, as a preacher of uncommon power, the author of numerous books and articles, and a social and political activist.” It rates just a page and a half in Richard Fox’s 1985 biography, less in Charles C. He was an American theologian, philosopher, and longtime dean and professor of Applied Christianity at Union Theological Seminary in New York City.The Serenity Prayer, so well known to the public, hardly figures in Reinhold Niebuhr’s considerable reputation as a theologian and political thinker. So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,Īnd supremely happy with You forever in the next.Īlthough millions of people both in and out of the recovery community have been helped and strengthened by the Serenity Prayer's simple lines, few are aware the first stanza was written by Dr. Trusting that You will make all things right, God, give us grace to accept with serenityĪccepting hardship as a pathway to peace, The following is the original unabridged Serenity Prayer, written by Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971): ![]()
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