Niebuhr and Obama

I read something recently regarding a reporter interviewing Barack Obama. He asked Obama about various influences on this thinking. According to Obama Reinhold Niebuhr was at the top. Depending on the decade Niebuhr was labelled
a liberal, a progressive, a conservative as he and his brother, Richard, railed
against the gospel of cheap grace and accepted the pervasiveness of violence and
injustice.

One of my favorite Niebuhr quotes is: “Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.” He also rejected the notion of making the world safe for demcracy
and suggested we needed to make democracy safe for the world.

I am pleased to hear of Obama’s high regard for Niebuhr. It increases my
regard for Obama.