26 quotes
American Protestant theologian (1892–1971)
“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."
on Faith
"Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore we are saved by love."
on Love
"If we survive danger it steels our courage more than anything else."
on Courage
"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."
"The tendency to claim God as an ally for our partisan value and ends is the source of all religious fanaticism."
"The final wisdom of life requires not the annulment of incongruity but the achievement of serenity within and above it."
on Life
"Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history therefore we must be saved by faith."
"Family life is too intimate to be preserved by the spirit of justice. It can be sustained by a spirit of love which goes beyond justice."
"The mastery of nature is vainly believed to be an adequate substitute for self mastery."
on Self Awareness
"Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in a lifetime therefore we must be saved by hope."
"Ultimately evil is done not so much by evil people, but by good people who do not know themselves and who do not probe deeply."
"The sad duty of politics is to establish justice in a sinful world."
on Justice
"The mastery of nature is vainly believed to be an adequate substitute for self-mastery."
on Philosophy
"Man's capacity for evil makes democracy necessary and man's capacity for good makes democracy possible."
"Forgiveness is the final form of love."
"Faith is the final triumph over incongruity the final assertion of the meaningfulness of existence."
"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference."
"Frantic orthodoxy is never rooted in faith but in doubt. It is when we are unsure that we are doubly sure."
"Humor is a prelude to faith, and laughter is the beginning of prayer."
on Humor