“Change what cannot be accepted and accept what cannot be changed.”
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Reinhold Niebuhr 65
American protestant theologian 1892–1971Related quotes
“God, grant me strength to accept those things I cannot change.”
Source: Angels & Demons
“Accept what you can not change-change that which is unacceptable.”
Source: Warlord
“We cannot change anything unless we accept it. Condemnation does not liberate; it oppresses.”
Variant: We cannot change anything unless we accept it.
Source: Modern Man in Search of a Soul
One of the most commonly quoted forms.
The Serenity Prayer (c. 1942)
Variant: Lord, grant me the strength to accept the things I cannot change,
he courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.
Niebuhr's preferred form, as declared by his widow
The Serenity Prayer (c. 1942)
Variant: 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.
On the BBC Radio 4 series Politics in the Seventies (10 June 1973), quoted in The Times (11 June 1973), p. 3
1970s
“What the mind cannot accept, the heart can finally never adore.”
Source: Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism (1991), p. 24