Whenever A Church Does Anything For Its

We Take, And Must Continue To Take, Morally Hazardous Actions To Preserve Our Civilization. We Must Exercise Our Power. But We Ought Neither To Believe That A Nation Is Capable Of Perfect Disinterestedness In Its Exercise, Nor Become Complacent About A Particular Degree Of Interest And Passion Which Corrupt The Justice By Which The Exercise Of Power Is Legitimatized.

Now We're Living In A Nuclear Age, And The Science That Was Supposed To Be Automatically For Human Welfare Has Become A Nuclear - A Science That Gives Us Nuclear Weapons. This Is The Ironic Character Of Human History, And Of Human Existence, Which I Can Only Explain, If I Say So, In Biblical Terms. Now I Don't Mean By This Reason That I Will Accept Every Interpretation Of Christianity That's Derived From The Bible As Many People Wouldn't Accept My Interpretation. But That's What It Means For Me.

I Wouldn't Judge A Man By The Presuppositions Of His Life, But Only By The Fruits Of His Life. And The Fruits - The Relevant Fruits - Are, I'd Say, A Sense Of Charity, A Sense Of Proportion, A Sense Of Justice.

It Is My Strong Conviction That A Realist Conception Of Human Nature Should Be Made A Servant Of An Ethic Of Progressive Justice And Should Not Be Made Into A Bastion Of Conservatism, Particularly A Conservatism Which Defends Unjust Privileges.

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.