Tuesday, April 18, 2017

3661 - Reinhold Niebuhr


I saw a PBS show on Reinhold Niebuhr the other day. I'd never heard of him but Claudia definitely had. It was an interesting one hour documentary. If you have the time go to the LINK. The page expires 9-30-17 so don't put it on a back burner for too long.

"In the decades after WWI and WWII, Reinhold Niebuhr became the voice of conscience to an America reaching the pinnacle of its economic/political power and has influenced leaders such as Martin Luther King, Jr, President Barack Obama, former President Jimmy Carter, and others. His broad appeal is proven by the popularity of his Serenity Prayer, adopted by Alcoholics Anonymous."

Here is a short clip of some of his quotes...



His 'know the difference' quote was shortened from maybe this - "Father, give us courage to change what must be altered, serenity to accept what cannot be helped, and the insight to know the one from the other." Or a different version in the documentary.

The documentary points out two books he wrote that are still considered must reading.
Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study of Ethics and Politics and The Nature and Destiny of Man: A Christian Interpretation.
The links take you to the free online google books.

You weren't doing anything for the next couple of weeks were you?


Side note about the PBS website. I've been having problems getting the PBS site to come up the first time. I get a 'check your internet connection' message. I hit 'try again' and then it will come up. Sometimes I have to hit 'try again' several times.


3 comments:

Margaret (Peggy or Peg too) said...

added to my folder of docs to view soon. Thanks!! I love documentaries and I have never heard of this man and it appears I should have.

Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer said...

He's a fascinating guy.

Cloudia said...

Thanks Mike