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, could 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 own standpoint;
therefore, we must be saved by the final form of love,
which is forgiveness.

—Reinhold Niebuhr, 1952

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