You’ve likely heard the Serenity Prayer − but not its backstory

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“Over the years, the prayer has often been attributed to other Christian writers, including Thomas Aquinas, Augustine and Francis of Assisi. Many people might be surprised to discover that, far from being penned in an ancient European monastery, the Serenity Prayer was written less than a century ago in a cottage in western Massachusetts.” - RNS

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Reinhold Niebuhr: The Ideal Christian Realist

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“There does exist a general definition of his Christian realism. It’s a political theory based on three Christian ideas: that we are basically sinful, that we are free because made in the image of God, and that we are called to love God and our neighbor.” - Acton

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James Comey: The fall of a Niebuhrian

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“As Comey came under the microscope of national attention, we learned that he had written his undergraduate thesis on [Reinhold] Niebuhr.” RNS

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