“Change what cannot be accepted and accept what cannot be changed.”
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Reinhold Niebuhr65
American protestant theologian 1892–1971Related quotes
“God, grant me strength to accept those things I cannot change.”
Dan Brown book Angels & Demons
Source: Angels & Demons
“Accept what you can not change-change that which is unacceptable.”
Jennifer Fallon (1959) author
Source: Warlord
“We cannot change anything unless we accept it. Condemnation does not liberate; it oppresses.”
C.G. Jung book Modern Man in Search of a Soul
Variant: We cannot change anything unless we accept it.
Source: Modern Man in Search of a Soul
Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971) American protestant theologian
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.
Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971) American protestant theologian
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.
Enoch Powell (1912–1998) British politician
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.”
John Shelby Spong (1931) American bishop
Source: Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism (1991), p. 24