The Christian doctrine of sin in its classical form offends both rationalists and moralists by maintaining the seemingly absurd position that man sins inevitably and by a fateful necessity but that he is nevertheless to be held responsible for actions which are prompted by an ineluctable [inescapable] fate.
Reinhold Niebuhr
Related Each person is responsible only for his or her own sins. Even the Christian doctrine of 'origina... DAVID NOVAK I like to open for a band as it brings on sort of a challenge and it makes things more interesting. ... KELLY JONES For, though every man has sin in him seminally, yet there are some sins which by nature he is more i... CHRISTOPHER LOVE Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope. Not... PHILIP YANCEY A day of grace is yet held out to us. Both North and South have been guilty before God; and the Chri... HARRIET BEECHER STOWE Only that thing is free which exists by the necessities of its own nature, and is determined in its ... BARUCH SPINOZA Only that thing is free which exists by the necessities of its own nature, and is determined in its ... BARUCH (_BENEDICT DE) SPINOZA Man is mortal. This is his fate. Man pretends not to be mortal. That is his sin. Man is a creature o... SYLVAN BARNET For the Orthodox tradition, then, Adam's original sin affects the human race in its entirety, and it... KALLISTOS WARE I consider trial by jury as the only anchor yet imagined by man by which a government can be held t... THOMAS JEFFERSON I consider trial by jury as the only anchor ever yet imagined by man, by which a government can be h... THOMAS JEFFERSON Feast of Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers, Teacher, 367 Commemoration of Kentigern (Mungo), Missionary Bi... ST. AUGUSTINE Defence was an afterthought, prompted by necessity; and its introduction as a State function, though... BENJAMIN TUCKER The doctrine that future happiness depends upon belief is monstrous. It is the infamy of infamies. T... ROBERT G. INGERSOLL A man's actions are determined by necessity, external and internal. ALBERT EINSTEIN ...that this monster, who is only one in form, has a heart so humane that he should not be persecute... GABRIELLE SUZANNE BARBOT DE VILLENEUVE Commemoration of Ignatius of Loyola, Founder of the Society of Jesus, 1556 Sin is not only manife... MORTIMER J. ADLER Defence was an afterthought, prompted by necessity; and its introduction as a State function, though... BENJAMIN TUCKER It is certain, that, in every religion, however sublime the verbal definition which it gives of its ... CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS People who hold important positions in society are commonly labelled "somebodies," and their inverse... ALAIN DE BOTTON This doctrine of total inability which declares that men are dead in sin does not mean that all men ... LORAINE BOETTNER One is punished by the very things by which he sins. SOLOMON IBN GABIROL Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all ... BIBLE Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather must recognize that it is... VIKTOR E. FRANKL Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather must
recognize that it is... VIKTOR FRANKL But even in the Christian religion, much of its real meaning is hidden by words that are misleading ... ERNEST HOLMES This Bible is for the government of the people, by the people and for the people. JOHN WYCLIFFE In any society that is governed by the rule of law, some form of morality is always imposed. It'... KIRK CAMERON One of Paul's most important teachings... is the doctrine of what we call "justification by faith". ... J. B. PHILLIPS Progress and reaction have both turned out to be swindles. Seemingly, there is nothing left but quie... GEORGE ORWELL Three conditions are necessary for Penance: contrition, which is sorrow for sin, together with a pur... THOMAS AQUINAS Its one thing to forsake sin and quiet another to be forsaken by sin because to abstain from sin whe... STEPHEN .R. ANYAEGBU For whatever be the knowledge which we are able to obtain of God, either by perception or reflection... ORIGEN The position of modern science, as far as an ignorant man of letters can understand it, seems not a ... ALBERT J. NOCK L. Ram Saran Das was a member of the revolutionary party which was held responsible for many a viole... BHAGAT SINGH A wise man will see to it that his acts always seem voluntary and not done by compulsion, however mu... NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI This is the real Church of the Lord Jesus Christ -- not merely organisation, but a group of people, ... FRANCIS A. SCHAEFFER Exercise is the technique by which one imposes on the body tasks that are both repetitive and differ... MICHEL FOUCAULT prompted by a growing concern, deeply held, about the future of the country's national security. PHYLLIS OAKLEY 34. Sexual contact between a boy and a girl is a progressive thing. In other words, the amount of to... JAMES C. DOBSON Good critical writing is measured by the perception and evaluation of the subject; bad critical writ... RAYMOND CHANDLER The central dogma of the New Testament is that Jesus died as a scapegoat for the sin of Adam and the... RICHARD DAWKINS What is life but the angle of vision? A man is measured by the angle at which he looks at objects. W... RALPH WALDO EMERSON Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacl... BOOKER T. WASHINGTON As each situation in life represents a challenge to man and presents a problem for him to solve, the... VIKTOR E. FRANKL Truth is irrelevant. What is relevant is whether or not they believe it." The logic in th... SARAH MACLEAN Want LESS! Need LESS! Live MORE! TANYA MASSE Suffrage, noun. Expression of opinion by means of a ballot. The right of suffrage (which is held to ... AMBROSE BIERCE God has left sin in the world in order that there may be forgiveness: not only the secret forgivenes... THOMAS MERTON The maxims are, first, that the individual is not accountable to society for his actions, in so far ... JOHN STUART MILL The people's government, made for the people, made by the people, and answerable to the people. DANIEL WEBSTER The distinction between liberty and licentiousness is a repetition of the Protean doctrine of implic... JAMES MADISON It is not a movement prompted by an animus against Jews or the Jewish community. But the unintended ... ABRAHAM FOXMAN And it came to pass, when he reigned, that he smote all the house of Jeroboam; he left not to Jerobo... BIBLE Her joke of a name aside, her general unprettiness aside, she was, in terms of permanently memorable... J.D. SALINGER I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in li... BOOKER T. WASHINGTON Oh yes, I am frequently driven to an enraged frenzy by the blatantly crass actions of others. But to... CRAIG D. LOUNSBROUGH But in all His dealings with His creatures God has maintained the principles of righteousness by rev... ELLEN G. WHITE I will be guided by the Christian ethic and an awareness that human action is by nature transient. HORST KOEHLER A desire is a tether and a few crumbs of pleasure are the lure by which nature keeps human cattle in... DR HITESH C SHETH Each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to lif... VIKTOR FRANKL Each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to lif... VIKTOR E. FRANKL It is only by maintaining the current law and making it the norm that adoption takes place by marrie... ANN WIDDECOMBE Commemoration of Richard Rolle of Hampole, Writer, Hermit, Mystic, 1349 We may suffer the sins of ... DIETRICH BONHOEFFER Feast of Bartholomew the Apostle We may suffer the sins of our brother; we do not need to judge.... DIETRICH BONHOEFFER We are not won by arguments that we can analyze, but by tone and temper; by the manner, which is the... SAMUEL BUTLER We are not won by arguments that we can analyze, but by tone and temper; by the manner, which is the... LOUIS D. BRANDEIS We are not won by arguments that we can analyse but by tone and temper, by the manner which is the m... SAMUEL BUTLER We are not won by arguments that we can analyze but by tone and temper, by the manner which is the m... SAMUEL BUTLER A new public opinion must be created privately and unobtrusively. The existing one is maintained by ... ALBERT SCHWEITZER The beauty of the internal nature cannot be so far concealed by its accidental vesture, but that the... PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY They're both very competitive individuals. It's an individual sport that seldom comes together as a ... JIM SCHERR There must be no majority decisions, but only responsible persons, and the word 'council' must be re... ADOLF HITLER Suffrage, noun. Expression of opinion by means of a ballot. The right of suffrage (which is held to ... AMBROSE BIERCE You cannot make a man by standing a sheep on its hind legs. But by standing a flock of sheep in that... MAX BEERBOHM The beginning of civilization is marked by an intense legality; that legality is the very condition ... WALTER BAGEHOT We ought instead of retreating should follow up the enemy and take Richmond. And in full view of all... PHILIP KEARNY We believe that it is possible for scientific work to gain some knowledge about the reality of the w... SIGMUND FREUD The two men had a conversation. Brief, cryptic, to the point. As though they had exchanged numbers a... ARUNDHATI ROY The notion that faith in Christ is to be rewarded by an eternity of bliss, while a dependence upon r... ROBERT GREEN INGERSOLL Modem science, then, maintains on the one hand that nature, both organic and inorganic, strives towa... RUDOLF ARNHEIM Lamentably, it is a historical fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntari... MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. There is no worse discriminator than envy. No worse traitor than envy. Even those who are seemingly ... C. JOYBELL C. The demand for certainty is one which is natural to man, but is nevertheless an intellectual vice. .... BERTRAND RUSSELL Man is manacled only by himself; thought and action are the jailers of Fate. JAMES ALLEN Unemployment, with its injustice for the man who seeks and
thirsts for employment, who begs for lab... DAVID LLOYD GEORGE One of a parent’s most important tasks is teaching their children how to communicate effectively a... BY FAMOUS Every day may not be good, but there is something good in every day. BY ALEFLETCHER A man usually values that most for which he has labored; he uses that most frugally which he has toi... DOROTHEA DIX Autism is a severe neurodevelopmental disorder that is characterized by social withdrawal, by repeti... HARVEY V. FINEBERG A penitent man is rarely at fault for he knows he has done wrong, but those who show no remorse and ... /USER/TED/MY_QUOTES/1 In an age in which the media broadcast countless pieces of foolishness, the educated man is defined ... NICOLAS GOMEZ DAVILA Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life... as by the obst... BOOKER T. WASHINGTON War is a profession by which a man cannot live honorably; an employment by which the soldier, if he ... NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI For life is tendency, and the essence of a tendency is to develop in the form of a sheaf, creating, ... HENRI BERGSON The more a man is imbued with the ordered regularity of all events the firmer becomes his conviction... ALBERT EINSTEIN We sang the song as children of the mystery that we hoped to one day comprehend and now, at last, we... MISHI MCCOY The possession of wealth leads almost inevitably to its abuse. It is the chief, if not the only, cau... JULES VERNE In allowing the crucifixion to take place, God did the world an incalculable favor. Though infinitel... STEVEN PINKER Tolerance is held to be a condition of mind which is encouraged by, and is necessary for, civilizati... ARTHUR KEITH
More Reinhold Niebuhr
God give me the serenity to accept things which cannot be changed;Give me courage to change things w... REINHOLD NIEBUHR A wise architect observed that you could break the laws of architectural art provided you had master... REINHOLD NIEBUHR The dimension of depth in the consciousness of religion creates the tension between what is and what... REINHOLD NIEBUHR There is no cure for the pride of a virtuous nation but pure religion. REINHOLD NIEBUHR Man is both strong and weak, both free and bound, both blind and far-seeing. He stands at the junctu... REINHOLD NIEBUHR Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man's inclination to injustice makes democr... REINHOLD NIEBUHR If we survive danger it steels our courage more than anything else. REINHOLD NIEBUHR Life is a battle between faith and reason in which each feeds upon the other, drawing sustenance fro... REINHOLD NIEBUHR Our age knows nothing but reaction, and leaps from one extreme to another. REINHOLD NIEBUHR Family life is too intimate to be preserved by the spirit of justice. It can be sustained by a spiri... REINHOLD NIEBUHR Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; Therefore, we must be saved by hope.... REINHOLD NIEBUHR The sad duty of politics is to establish justice in a sinful world. REINHOLD NIEBUHR God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; ... REINHOLD NIEBUHR The finiteness, the dependency, and the insufficiency of man REINHOLD NIEBUHR The essence of man is his freedom. Sin is committed in that freedom. Sin can therefore not be attrib... REINHOLD NIEBUHR Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man's
inclination to injustice makes democ... REINHOLD NIEBUHR A republic properly understood is a sovereignty of justice, in
contradistinction to a sovereignty o... REINHOLD NIEBUHR God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I ... REINHOLD NIEBUHR There are historic situations in which refusal to defend the inheritance of a civilization, however ... REINHOLD NIEBUHR The mastery of nature is vainly believed to be an adequate substitute for self mastery. REINHOLD NIEBUHR God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I c... REINHOLD NIEBUHR Democracies are indeed slow to make war, but once embarked upon a martial venture are equally slow t... REINHOLD NIEBUHR I think there ought to be a club in which preachers and journalists could come together and have the... REINHOLD NIEBUHR Original sin is that thing about man which makes him capable of conceiving of his own perfection and... REINHOLD NIEBUHR Goodness, armed with power, is corrupted; and pure love without power is destroyed. REINHOLD NIEBUHR Evil is not to be traced back to the individual but to the collective behavior of humanity. REINHOLD NIEBUHR Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history;... REINHOLD NIEBUHR Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore we are saved by love. REINHOLD NIEBUHR All human sin seems so much worse in its consequences than in its intentions. REINHOLD NIEBUHR Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in a lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope. REINHOLD NIEBUHR If we can find God only as he is revealed in nature we have no moral God. REINHOLD NIEBUHR Democracy is finding proximate solutions to insoluble problems. REINHOLD NIEBUHR The tendency to claim God as an ally for our partisan value and ends is the source of all religious ... REINHOLD NIEBUHR Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man's inclination to injustice make... REINHOLD NIEBUHR The final wisdom of life requires not the annulment of incongruity but the achievement of serenity w... REINHOLD NIEBUHR God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the ... REINHOLD NIEBUHR God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the ... REINHOLD NIEBUHR The whole art of politics consists in directing rationally the irrationalities of men. REINHOLD NIEBUHR The tendency to claim God as an ally for our partisan values and ends is... the source of all religi... REINHOLD NIEBUHR God, give us the serenity to accept what cannot be changed; Give us courage to change what should ... REINHOLD NIEBUHR And the wisdom to distinguish one from the other. REINHOLD NIEBUHR Forgiveness is the final form of love. REINHOLD NIEBUHR Democracy means not 'I am as good as you are,' but 'You are as
good as I am.' REINHOLD NIEBUHR Commemoration of Pandita Mary Ramabai, Translator of the Scriptures, 1922 Ultimate confidence i... REINHOLD NIEBUHR There are historic situations in which refusal to defend the inheritance of a civilization, however ... REINHOLD NIEBUHR Change is the essence of life.Be willing to surrender what you are for what you could become. REINHOLD NIEBUHR How things look on the outside of us depends on how things are on the inside of us. REINHOLD NIEBUHR One reason God created time was so that there would be a place to bury the failures of the past. REINHOLD NIEBUHR Serenity is not freedom from the storm, but peace amid the storm REINHOLD NIEBUHR I wonder if anyone who needs a snappy song service can really appreciate the meaning of the cross. REINHOLD NIEBUHR If we survive danger it steels our courage more than anything else REINHOLD NIEBUHR The whole art of politics consists in directing rationally the irrationalities of men REINHOLD NIEBUHR Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man's inclination to injustice makes democr... REINHOLD NIEBUHR The tendency to claim God as an ally for our partisan value and ends is the source of all religious ... REINHOLD NIEBUHR The final test of religious faith is whether it will enable men to endure insecurity without complac... REINHOLD NIEBUHR Original sin is that thing about man which makes him capable of conceiving of his own perfection and... REINHOLD NIEBUHR All human sin seems so much worse in its consequences than in its intentions REINHOLD NIEBUHR Nothing worth doing is completed in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing true o... REINHOLD NIEBUHR If we can find God only as he is revealed in nature we have no moral God REINHOLD NIEBUHR Goodness, armed with power, is corrupted; and pure love without power is destroyed REINHOLD NIEBUHR God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the ... REINHOLD NIEBUHR God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the ... REINHOLD NIEBUHR You've changed so much. I guess that's what happens. I wish you knew how much you changed me. I wond... REINHOLD NIEBUHR Religion is so frequently a source of confusion in political life, and so frequently dangerous to de... REINHOLD NIEBUHR It is my strong conviction that a realist conception of human nature should be made a servant of an ... REINHOLD NIEBUHR Lord, grant me the strength to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the thi... REINHOLD NIEBUHR Change is not a process for the impatient. BARBARA REINHOLD I do this for myself because I am my own fatherland, and my handkerchief is my flag. REINHOLD MESSNER put his brother’s boot on the table REINHOLD MESSNER Over time, our only chance at safety will depend on not turning the mountains into Disneyland. REINHOLD MESSNER We attract tourists to these regions where we can't guarantee their security, REINHOLD MESSNER Today nobody (is) using leather shoes. Only in this expedition we used this shoe. REINHOLD MESSNER I couldn't believe it. One minute I am reading this in the Tribune and the next minute I get a phone... BOB NIEBUHR Somebody is going to see (a bluebird) some place and somebody will see one a few days later somewher... BOB NIEBUHR I just got an e-mail from a woman in Red Deer, Alberta reporting that she saw one up there. We have ... BOB NIEBUHR The interesting thing is we have fledged 173,000-plus bluebirds in the last 10 years. It took a long... BOB NIEBUHR It is better to create than to be learned, creating is the true essence of life BARTHOLD GEORG NIEBUHR It is better to create than to be learned, creating is the true essence of life. BARTHOLD GEORG NIEBUHR We must face the recognition that what the early Christians saw in Jesus Christ, and what we must ac... H. RICHARD NIEBUHR Commemoration of Lanfranc, Prior of Le Bec, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1089 The denominations, chu... H. RICHARD NIEBUHR The power and attraction Jesus Christ exercises over men never comes from him alone, but from him as... H. RICHARD NIEBUHR Institutions can never conserve without betraying the movements from which they proceed. The institu... H. RICHARD NIEBUHR Feast of Barnabas the Apostle The disorder of secularism is perhaps nowhere more apparent in our ... H. RICHARD NIEBUHR Everyone has some kind of philosophy, some general worldview, which to men of other views will seem ... H. RICHARD NIEBUHR