"The modern man is . . . certain about his essential virtue . . . [and since] he does not see that he has a freedom of spirit which transcends both nature and reason . . . [he] is unable to understand the real pathos of his defiance of nature's and reason's laws. He always imagines himself betrayed into this defiance either by some accidental corruption in his past history or by some sloth of reason. Hence he hopes for redemption, either through a program of social reorganization or by some scheme of education."
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Academics from the United StatesNon-fiction authors from the United StatesProtestants from the United StatesChristian existentialistsTheologians from Missouri
Original Language: English
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Reinhold Niebuhr
1892 β 1971
US-amerikanischer Theologe, Philosoph und Politologe
60 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Reinhold Niebuhr β
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