For Reinhold Niebuhr, heir to a school of thought reaching back at least to Augustine, the “root sin” is “pride,” hubris, to use the Greek term. Hubris is self-centeredness. It names the primal self-concern that flows inevitably out of our nature as finite creatures who are also aware of our finitude and vulnerability. The result is we become anxious, very early in life, and in this state of primal anxiety become self-centered.
