Life Has No Meaning Except In Terms

Our Dreams Of Bringing The Whole Of Human History Under The Control Of The Human Will Are Ironically Refuted By The Fact That No Group Of Idealists Can Easily Move The Pattern Of History Toward The Desired Goal Of Peace And Justice. The Recalcitrant Forces In The Historical Drama Have A Power And Persistence Beyond Our Reckoning.

For Man As An Historical Creature Has Desires Of Indeterminate Dimensions.

God, Give Us Grace To Accept With Serenity The Things That Cannot Be Changed, Courage To Change The Things Which Should Be Changed, And The Wisdom To Distinguish The One From The Other. This Prayer Was First Printed In A Monthly Bulletin Of The Federal Council Of Churches And Has Become Enormously Popular. It Has Been Circulated In Millions Of Copies.

Man Is Endowed By Nature With Organic Relations To His Fellow Men; And Natural Impulse Prompts Him To Consider The Needs Of Others Even When They Compete With His Own.

Nothing That Is Worth Doing Can Be Achieved In Our Lifetime; Therefore We Must Be Saved By Hope. Nothing Which Is True Or Beautiful Or Good Makes Complete Sense In Any Immediate Context Of History; Therefore We Must Be Saved By Faith. Nothing We Do, However Virtuous, Can Be Accomplished Alone; Therefore We Must Be Saved By Love. No Virtuous Act Is Quite As Virtuous From The Standpoint Of Our Friend Or Foe As It Is From Our Standpoint. Therefore We Must Be Saved By The Final Form Of Love Which Is Forgiveness.