Religion is so frequently a source of confusion in political life, and so frequently dangerous to democracy, precisely because it introduces absolutes into the realm of relative values.
Reinhold NiebuhrRead
Man has always been his own most vexing problem.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Human beings often struggle with their own thoughts and nature, making themselves their own greatest challenge.
The quote suggests that individuals are frequently their own worst enemies, grappling with internal conflicts, doubts, and complexities of the human condition. This introspection can lead to personal struggles that hinder growth and understanding, implying that self-awareness and acceptance are essential to overcoming one's own issues.
Themes
SelfStruggleProblemHumanityIntrospection
In practice
Example use cases
In a self-help seminar, one could cite this quote to emphasize the importance of understanding one's inner challenges.
More from Reinhold Niebuhr
All quotes βThe tendency to claim God as an ally for our partisan value and ends is the source of all religious fanaticism.
Reinhold NiebuhrRead
The mastery of nature is vainly believed to be an adequate substitute for self mastery.
Reinhold NiebuhrRead
All you earnest young men out to save the world. . . please, have a laugh.
Reinhold NiebuhrRead
Forgiveness is the final form of love.
Reinhold NiebuhrRead
God, give me grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed.
Reinhold NiebuhrRead
Similar quotes
There's no way to approach anything in an objective way. We're completely subjective; our view of the world is completely controlled by who we are as human beings, as men or women, by our age, our history, our profession, by the state of the world.
Charlie KaufmanRead
Beauty in things exists in the mind which contemplates them.
David HumeRead
Treating an age group as a demographic requires coming up with something that's common to every single one of them. Right?... So it's reductionist in that it reduces an entire segment of civilization down to one person with one habit.
Douglas RushkoffRead
The world to me was a secret, which I desired to discover; to her it was a vacancy, which she sought to people with imaginations of her own.
Mary Wollstonecraft ShelleyRead
What I wonder most about the Anthropocene is not when did it start - but when, and how, will it end? Will it end? Or is it possible that our own growing awareness of our role on Earth can itself play a pivotal role in shaping the outcome toward one that we would desire?
David GrinspoonRead
So the unwanting soul sees what's hidden, and the ever-wanting soul sees only what it wants.
LaoziRead