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I wouldn't judge a man by the presuppositions of his life, but only by the fruits of his life. And the fruits - the relevant fruits - are, I'd say, a sense of charity, a sense of proportion, a sense of justice.
Reinhold Niebuhr
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Reinhold Niebuhr
Age: 78 †
Born: 1892
Born: June 21
Died: 1971
Died: June 1
Ethicist
Philosopher
Political Scientist
Theologian
University Teacher
Wright City
Missouri
Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr
Fruit
Judging
Wouldn
Presuppositions
Justice
Fruits
Sense
Relevant
Men
Proportion
Life
Judge
Charity
More quotes by Reinhold Niebuhr
You can't say that religion or irreligion will give us a particular answer to the nuclear dilemma.
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The sad duty of politics is to establish justice in a sinful world.
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Every experience proves that the real problem of our existence lies in the fact that we ought to love one another, but do not.
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Humour is, in fact, a prelude to faith and laughter is the beginning of prayer … Laughter is swallowed up in prayer and humour is fulfilled by faith.
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Politics deals with a common-sense approach to the imponderables of history, that I think are obscured by a certain kind of rationalism.
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It is significant that it is as difficult to get charity out of piety as to get reasonableness out of rationalism.
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The cross symbolizes a cosmic as well as historic truth. Love conquers the world, but its victory is not an easy one.
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Perhaps the most significant moral characteristic of a nation is its hypocrisy.
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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.
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I'm not afraid of too many things, and I got that invincible kind of attitude from my father.
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Nationalism: One of the effective ways in which the modern man escapes life's ethical problems.
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The significance of the law of love is precisely that it is not just another law, but a law which transcends all law.
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Rationalism belongs to the cool observer. But because of the stupidity of the average person, they follow not reason, but faith. This naïve faith, requires necessary illusions and emotionally potent oversimplifications, which are provided by the myth maker to keep the ordinary person on course.
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All men who live with any degree of serenity live by some assurance of grace.
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I think there ought to be a club in which preachers and journalists could come together and have the sentimentalism of the one matched with the cynicism of the other. That ought to bring them pretty close to the truth.
Reinhold Niebuhr
We have previously suggested that philanthropy combines genuine pity with the display of power and that the latter element explains why the powerful are more inclined to be generous than to grant social justice.
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Reason tends to check selfish impulses and to grant the satisfaction of legitimate impulses in others.
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Better not read books in which you make acquaintance of the devil.
Reinhold Niebuhr
I think that the achievements of Catholicism on race are very, very impressive.
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I think there is and ultimate answer in a true religious faith, but it doesn't give you any immediate answers, it doesn't.
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