Religion is so frequently a source of confusion in political life, and so frequently dangerous to democracy, precisely because it introduces absolutes into the realm of relative values.
Reinhold NiebuhrRead
All you earnest young men out to save the world. . . please, have a laugh.
Interpretation
This quote suggests that while striving to make a difference is noble, it's equally important to maintain a sense of humor and joy.
Reinhold Niebuhr's quote reflects the idea that young individuals with strong ambitions to effect change in the world should not take themselves too seriously. It encourages a balance between earnest efforts for social change and the light-heartedness that comes from laughter, suggesting that humor can act as a vital counterbalance to the seriousness of social responsibility.
In practice
This quote is perfect for a motivational speech aimed at college students passionate about social justice.
Religion is so frequently a source of confusion in political life, and so frequently dangerous to democracy, precisely because it introduces absolutes into the realm of relative values.
The tendency to claim God as an ally for our partisan value and ends is the source of all religious fanaticism.
The mastery of nature is vainly believed to be an adequate substitute for self mastery.
Forgiveness is the final form of love.
God, give me grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed.
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.
Genius is always allowed some leeway, once the hammer has been pried from its hands and the blood has been cleaned up.
Young men, listen to an old man to whom old men listened when he was young.
I am learning to understand rather than immediately judge or to be judged. I cannot blindly follow the crowd and accept their approach. I will not allow myself to indulge in the usual manipulating game of role creation. Fortunately for me, my self-knowled
We learn from here the humility of the Holy One, Blessed is He. Since man is in the likeness of the angels, and they would be jealous of him, for this reason, He consulted them.
I have not much patience with a certain class of Christians nowadays who will hear anybody preach so long as they can say, 'He is very clever, a fine preacher, a man of genius, a born orator.' Is cleverness to make false doctrine palatable? Why, sirs, to me the ability of a man who preaches error is my sorrow rather than my admiration.
When I was fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have him around. When I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years. See what happens when you "know it all", at any stage of life? Farther down the track you may see clearly how certain personal opinions, held onto too tightly, could be fogging up the view, and providing incorrect insight. Prosperity is the best protector of principle.
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