There is quite a mystery surrounding the Serenity Prayer and the many iterations of which that have been discovered over the years. By "years" I mean documented instances of the prayer in 1937 (Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr), the 18th century (Friedrich Otenger) - or as early as the 14th century "General's Prayer" (author unknown). The front page of The New York Times even became involved in the controversy over authorship - twice. While there are at least six distinctly documented (though not always verifiable) renditions of the prayer, there are almost innumerable variations if one keeps looking - and most of them were authored during wartime.
What gives?
Susan Cheever favors the origin story as told by Reinhold Niebuhr's daughter Elisabeth Sifton, who authored the 2003 book The Serenity Prayer about the prayer's history - and Cheever does a thorough job summarizing it at The Fix. However, five years after that book was released, Laurie Goodstein made the front page of The New York Times by boldly putting Nieburh's authorship in question. This came about when a law librarian discovered that many (notably female) authors cited this prayer a full seven years before Sifton's earliest recollection of her father's use circa 1943.
Later, and a year after Niebuhr's authorship was challenged, Goodstein ceded that Niebuhr may have well indeed been the author due to Duke University's Stephen Goranson's uncovering of a Christian student newsletter attributing the prayer to Niebuhr as early as 1937, and The New York Times ended up retracting on the front page in November of 2009. This left Niebuhr as the most likely author, but even A.A. (which has long been associated with a shorter modified version of the prayer) has documented several other possibilities.
Other iterations have been associated with the likes of Russell Dicks (1947 Hospital Chaplain), Friedrich Otenger (an 18th-century priest), as well as a mysterious card dated as early as the 14th Century that has a telling title: the "General's Prayer". All of which A.A. acknowledges in GSO historical literature of two types: a longer academic paper (which even includes a humorist adaptation by famed writer Erma Bombeck) as well as a brief version that keeps it simple.
The prayer came to A.A. by way of an obituary with a modified short portion of the prayer that was shared with Bill W. who began using it in his home during meetings (with permission obtained from Niebuhr himself). A.A. also changed its own version of the Serenity Prayer - twice. Within the issues of Grapevine (A.A.'s beloved periodical) between 1948 and 1952 it went from adding the word "the" after "Accept" and "Change", but before "Wisdom". In 1952 it reverted back to it's 1941 version without them, and it has remained so since (Grapevine wasn't in print until 1947 and didn't include the Serenity Prayer until 1948). Interestingly, in practice, when this prayer is spoken aloud in meetings in my midwestern region the "the's" are most decidedly still said by many.
The most interesting thing about the all of these variants - from the the oldest 14th Century version all the way to the most contemporary (Niebuhr) - is that were constructed during a period of war and atrocities. The 14th Century version was known as a "General's Prayer" indicating battle, and Dr. Niebuhr's was penned during, and about, the atrocities committed during World War II. This is one reason the original contained the weighty phrase "should be changed", while Bill used the more open "can be". For me, it has not gone unnoticed that these prayers were developed during great hardship and misery which is likely why the prayer resonates so deeply with alcoholics. After all, to survive alcoholism is to survive pain. Due to being on the frontlines with those afflicted with the (often terminal) disease of alcoholism, Dr. Silkworth knew with certainty that frothy emotional appeal seldom suffices.
Personally, and just like my sponsor, I have always preferred the long-modified form of the Serenity Prayer due to it's depth and extended message. Others prefer the short modified form, which is far more simple, timeless, as well as arguably more secular (which is a good thing, as we believe in a God of our own understanding).
For all practical purposes Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr is the most likely author of the version we know today, and appeared to have quite a good attitude about the usage of his prayer. Remarkably, while the portion of the prayer that A.A. used was different from the original, in a pleasant surprise recorded in a 1959 Grapevine article Dr. Niebuhr generously stated he liked A.A.'s version better.
* All known (to me) versions of the Serenity Prayer - along with their respective authors - will be in the next blog post.
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