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Reinhold Niebuhr

Reinhold Niebuhr Quotes

Theologian

Reinhold Niebuhr was a prominent American theologian whose work on Christian ethics and social ethics had a profound impact on the 20th century. He was a key figure in theological discourse, particularly for his exploration of the nature of sin and the church's role in society. Niebuhr's theological thought has influenced various Christian denominations and has had a lasting effect on political and social thought.

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All Men Ifs Knows Justice Religious Humans People Thinking Church Democracy Form Social Accepting Christian Giving Groups Nations Political Problem Reason

Famous Reinhold Niebuhr Quotes

“The individual or the group which organizes any society, however social its intentions or pretensions, arrogates an inordinate portion of social privilege to itself.”

Individual Social Groups Intention Privilege Portions Organize Pretension

Author:Reinhold Niebuhr

“Our dreams of bringing the whole of human history under the control of the human will are ironically refuted by the fact that no group of idealists can easily move the pattern of history toward the desired goal of peace and justice. The recalcitrant forces in the historical drama have a power and persistence beyond our reckoning.”

Source: Reinhold Niebuhr: Major Works on Religion and Politics: (Library of America #263)

“[There is] an increasing tendency among modern men to imagine themselves ethical because they have delegated their vices to larger and larger groups.”

Men Imagine Groups Modern Vices Tendencies Ethical Modern Man

Author:Reinhold Niebuhr

“We don't properly discriminate. We never discriminate properly when we're dealing with another group and one of the big problems about religion is that religious people don't know that they are probably as flagrant in these misjudgments as irreligious people.”

People Knows Problem Bigs Religious Groups Big Problems

Author:Reinhold Niebuhr

“Whenever a church does anything for its own group, it has that right.”

Doe Church Groups

Author:Reinhold Niebuhr

“When a church reaches up beyond its group and tries to enforce its standards upon a society that doesn't accept these standards, and perhaps for good reason, perhaps for bad reason, but anyway this is the problem we face in pluralistic society, that not necessarily every standard that every church tries to enforce upon the society is from the society's standpoint a good standard.”

Trying Reason Problem Faces Church Accepting Groups Standards Standpoint

Author:Reinhold Niebuhr

“As racial, economic and national groups, they take for themselves, whatever their power can command.”

Groups Economic Command

Book:Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study in Ethics and Politics

Source: Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study in Ethics and Politics

“All social cooperation on a larger scale than the most intimate social group requires a measure of coercion.”

Social Groups Scales Intimate Cooperation Coercion Social Groups

Book:Reinhold Niebuhr: Major Works on Religion and Politics: (Library of America #263)

Source: Reinhold Niebuhr: Major Works on Religion and Politics: (Library of America #263)

“Since inequalities of privilege are greater than could possibly be defended rationally, the intelligence of privileged groups is usually applied to the task of inventing specious proofs for the theory that universal values spring from, and that general interests are served by, the special privileges which they hold.”

Values Interest Greater Groups Special Theory Spring Tasks Universal Privilege Libertarian Proof Inequality Privileged Inventing

Book:Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study in Ethics and Politics

Source: Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study in Ethics and Politics