Fanatic orthodoxy is never rooted in faith but in doubt. It is when we are not sure that we are doubly sure.
¶ (Attributed)
Quotations by ...
Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971) American theologian and clergyman
Love must be regarded as the final flower and fruit of justice. When it is substituted for justice it degenerates into sentimentality and may become the accomplice of tyranny. Looking at the tragic contemporary scene within this frame of reference, we feel that American Christianity is all too prone to disavow its responsibilities for the preservation of our civilization against the perils of totalitarian aggression. We are well aware of the sins of all the nations, including our own, which have contributed to the chaos of our era. [...] Yet we believe the task of defending the rich inheritance of our civilization to be an imperative one, however much we might desire that our social system were more worthy of defense. We believe that the possibility of correcting its faults and extending its gains may be annulled for centuries if this external peril is not resolutely faced.
¶ Christianity and Crisis (10 February 1941)
Humor is the prelude to faith, and laughter is the beginning of prayer.
¶ Discerning the Signs of the Times
Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.
¶ The Children of Light and the Children of Darkness
Democracy means, not "I am as good as you are," but, "You are as good as I am."
¶ The Children of Light and the Children of Darkness, foreward (1944)
This quote was difficult to track down. It's quoted everywhere -- but often attributed to Theodore Parker (as I previously did) or James Russell Lowell. I couldn't find, however, any specific citation from either gentleman.
Rev. John Murray Atwood, in his essay "Universalism and Educational Ideas" in 1770-1920 - From Good Luck to Gloucester, ed. Rev. Frederick A Bisbee (1920), writes:
But he who not only feels that he himself has unknown, divine possibilities, but so has his fellow, that democracy means, not I am as good as you are, but you are as good as I am, who seeks as the expression of his own true nature the larger liberty and life for others, is the kind of man essential to construct a new world.
The book is a history of Universalism, which may tie into Theodore Parker's Unitarian career. At any rate, the wording does seem to precede Niebuhr, but lacking a solid citation, I'll leave it with him.
God, give us the grace to accept with serenity the things which cannot be changed, courage to change the things which should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.
¶ Sermon (1943)
Later adopted as "The Serenity Prayer" by AA; Source: http://www.bartleby.com/63/38/4238.html
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