Reinhold Niebuhr

“Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.”

“The final wisdom of life requires not the annulment of incongruity but the achievement of serenity within and above it.”

“Original sin is that thing about man which makes him capable of conceiving of his own perfection and incapable of achieving it.”

“The sad duty of politics is to establish justice in a sinful world.”

“Forgiveness is the final form of love.”

“Humor is a prelude to faith and laughter is the beginning of prayer.”

“Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope.”

“The tendency to claim God as an ally for our partisan values and ends is the source of all religious fanaticism.”

“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”

“The whole art of politics consists in directing rationally the irrationalities of men.”

“Love is the motive, but justice is the instrument.”

“Democracy is a method of finding proximate solutions for insoluble problems.”

“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.”

“Comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable.”

“Goodness, armed with power, is corrupted; and pure love without power is destroyed.”

“Evil is not to be traced back to the individual but to the collective.”