A Niebuhrian hockey player tries to win the game, but does not assume victory renders him superior to his opponent and would admit that he may have won unfairly when he high-sticked and got away with it. A Niebuhrian wagering in Vegas plays the odds intelligently and tries to win, but always admits that perhaps luck or God’s grace, not his system, is why he won. A Niebuhrian will get into a fistfight if it’s absolutely necessary, but would be acutely conscious of the pain his blows are inflicting on his opponent and knows that the very fact the fight is happening is proof of the fallen nature of both himself and the person he is fighting. (And a proper Niebuhrian will have a sense of humor about all of these things, understanding the profound ironies involved in trying to act effectively in the world and trying to act morally at the same time.) And that’s why I love Reinhold Niebuhr.
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What is a Niebuhrian?
(via Obama’s Favorite Theologian? A Short Course on Reinhold Niebuhr - Pew Research Center )
