The essence of man is his freedom. Sin is committed in that freedom. Sin can therefore not be attributed to a defect in his essence. It can only be understood as a self-contradiction, made possible by the fact of his freedom but not following necessarily from it.
Reinhold NiebuhrThe tendency to claim God as an ally for our partisan value and ends is the source of all religious fanaticism.
Reinhold NiebuhrI think that when we believe that something is right, there's a serious ambivalence about it. On one hand, you say, because it's right, it must be victorious. On the other hand, you say, it's right whether it's victorious or not. And this is what I believe about a free society.
Reinhold NiebuhrIt's always wise to seek the truth in our opponents' error, and the error in our own truth.
Reinhold Niebuhr