Reinhold Niebuhr
Introduction
“O GOD, GIVE US SERENITY TO ACCEPT
WHAT CANNOT BE CHANGED, COURAGE TO CHANGE WHAT SHOULD BE CHANGED, AND WISDOM TO
DISTINGUISH THE ONE FROM THE OTHER[1].” - Reinhold Niebuhr
The Serenity Prayer and Christian
Realism have become a part of American culture, but not many people are aware
that the origin of these ideas is Reinhold Niebuhr, one of the most prominent
religious reformers in America. He set
forth new religious thought in the realms of Christianity, politics, and social
causes. He was involved in humanitarian
and social causes, aligning him with the blighted, impoverished, and down
trodden. He chastised the capitalists
who he felt had become wealthy by exploiting the masses. A self-proclaimed political left wing and
religious right wing, Niebuhr was a Socialist and a Fundamentalist. He felt that Christ sacrificial love should
become the norm for people’s everyday life[2]. If everyone would strive to fulfill the
agape love that Christ inspired, Niebuhr felt that people would be spiritually
free[3].
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