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From: [email protected]
Category: Category 1
Date: 13 Apr 2001
Time: 21:56:34
Remote Name: ool-18b93772.dyn.optonline.net
The Lord's Prayer is taken from the New Testament Bible, definately defining it as a prayer of a particular relious belief, Christianity. Contrary to what some believe, The Serenity Prayer is not from the any bible, it does not mention Jesus in it's long form, and it was not written by Jesus.
There is no shortage of theories as to who wrote the Serenity Prayer. Records from Alcoholics Anonymous show that Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr, of the Union Theological Seminary, NYC, composed it in 1932 as the ending to a longer prayer. In 1934, Dr. Howard Robbins, the doctor’s friend & neighbor, requested permission to use that portion of the longer prayer in a compilation he was building at the time. It was published that year in Dr. Robbins’ book of prayers. In 1939, it came to the attention of an early A.A. member who liked it so much, he brought it to Bill W., the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. Bill & the staff read the prayer & felt that it particularly suited the needs of AA. Cards were printed & passed around. Thus the simple little prayer became an integral part of the AA movement.
Another popular theory states that Reinhold Niebuhr actually accredited Friedrich Oetinger, an 18th century theologian, for writing the Serenity Prayer. This theory suggests that in 1947, Niebuhr read the prayer in an obituary notice in the New York Tribune & was so taken by it that he shared it with Bill Wilson
Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr was America's leading public theologian and political theorist. Though often forgotten in recent years, Niebuhr (1892-1971) was recognized by Life magazine (special issue, Fall 1990) as one of "The 100 Most Important Americans of the 20th Century."
He was not primarily a pastor or a preacher. He was not primarily an advisor to public figures. He was not primarily an author of immense productivity. He was first and foremost a professor of Protestant social ethics in the context of Protestant theological education