The Importance Of Religion In Martin Luther King Jr.

1. The reason King was in Birmingham is because he was invited there as the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and it was his duty to protest injustice and spread freedom through a nonviolent program. As King was invited by one of his affiliates at an official organization, he is not an outside, but more akin to an important guest. Even if the invitation had not occurred, it was still his duty, as the prophet of the “gospel of freedom” just as it was Paul’s duty to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. (History) He was an activist, a fighter for civil rights, and was destined to a life of serving God as a pastor. His father and grandfather were pastors. He later followed in their footsteps and became the pastor of his father. Along with being involved in the church community he became a non-violent activist for human rights and the black communities during the times of segregation. Because he had graduated from high school, received his Bachelor’s Degree from Morehouse College, and then went on to get his doctorate in systematic theology from Boston University proved that he was a well-educated black man. His education and strong beliefs for his race landed him as a chairman in the NAACP and in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference as president. King sought

King made several references to Christian Biblical stories, especially from the Gospels, in "Letter From Birmingham Jail". King's letter takes on a religious, almost-grandiose proportion with King likening his quest for racial equality to a Christian mission: "I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. Just as the eighth-century prophets left their little villages...I too am compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my particular hometown" (1).

King is weary of his primary audience as well as the secondary one. He writes the letter specifically as an answer to Birmingham’s clergymen. When writing it is important to

King continues to say that some of the preachers of God have understood the need for justice, but some have suppressed the blacks themselves. He believes that the preachers have to break the traditional, unjustified rules of the society to allow for the freedom of the children of God. The true meaning of the Bible lies in justice and co-existence. He wants moral justice to overcome the traditional norms which were unjust in nature. He conveys this message well in his letter. He further writes: “One day the South will know that when these disinherited children of God sat down at lunch counters, they were in reality standing up for what is best in the American dream and for the most sacred values in our Judaeo-Christian heritage” (King 6).

King’s analytical language is very effective in his letter. He refers back to biblical references to analyze those events and compare them to his present. In his third paragraph, he tells his readers that he is where he is at because of “injustice”, and refers to a story about Paul, a disciple of Jesus Christ, and says, “Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco Roman world, and so am I compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my home town” (para. 3). Why does King repeatedly refer back to his biblical references? WE know that he was a preacher, so he can relate to these

In Dr. Martin Luther King's "Letter From a Birmingham Jail," King uses both logical and ethical appeals in order to create common ground with the clergymen. His extensive knowledge of religion and background as a clergy himself, allows King to directly relate to his audience and discuss the matters at hand.

King combines the use of ethos and pathos as he compares himself and the rights of men to religious backgrounds. His first comparison is with the Apostle Paul, where Paul had “carried the gospel of Jesus Christ,” as to Kings carrying of “the gospel of freedom.” King addresses this similarity to show why he felt committed to go to Birmingham, because like Paul, he needed to respond as an aid to his people. Towards the end of Kings letter; he exemplifies courageousness in the Negro demonstrations by relating them to the actions of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego when they refused to follow what they believed to be unjust laws. Saying that if they are supposed heroes by going against unjust laws, why shouldn't the people see Negro demonstrators the same way? They are also God's children and by those disobedience’s, they were really showing the grace of God. These connections to religion supports their fighting against unjust laws as a divine cause.

The public has labeled Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in many different ways over the years: a minister, a dreamer, and a leader. In Birmingham, April 1963, he could have been said to be a law-breaking extremist by many of the community’s members. Dr. King previously, before being thrown in jail, was the leader of the non-violent protests happening in the Birmingham area. A group of clergymen scorned his actions and those of his followers in a local newspaper. His rebuttal was not hateful, but rather insightful to the reasonings behind his actions and why they were necessary. Dr. King uses religious allusions and references which helps deliver this message and makes it so it is easily comprehensible. He has to put on a large aura of knowledge and

Both, in a way, touch on religion in such a way to respond to a particular religious organization. King’s letter is written in response to a group of mostly Christian clergymen who published “A Call to Unity”, a statement made in the newspaper which criticized King and his methods of causing trouble.

Expressing disappointment towards the church leaders, he states that they should do more, to help the minority stand on their two feet, and not feel discriminated against. This is because following the teachings of God, every human being is equal. Therefore, the church must help structure society closest to how The Bible shows. King fought for this same equality. However, being verbally reprimanded and going to jail for voicing his rights, he shows what happens when you go against the norm of society. The church is there to break those norms, and construct new ideals in accordance with the word of God.

University of Basal, in 1522 he began to preach the ideas of a reformation and attacked the custom of fasting during the lent, a time of penitence 6 weeks before Easter Sunday which I presume was for repentance of sins to show that they where ready to be saved before Easter where Christ died for their sins. Huldrych Zwingli also spoke out against the corruption of the church. In 1523 he published his 67 Article’s which where similar to Martin Luther’s 95 Theses, the 67 Article’s where received with resistance within Switzerland and was called to defend him self. The 67 Article’s where taken up by many reformed priests and played a key roll in the reformation of Switzerland.

Shortly after King graduated with a Doctorates in Theology at the University of Boston, he was instantly involved in the attempts to improve black peoples rights in predominantly the South of America. King was the harbinger of Civil rights and ‘hit the ground running’ with his policies and ways of protests. His non violent strategies - inspired by Ghandi - were the source of his actions and they proved to be very popular.

Throughout history our society has chose to recognize and remember certain individuals that have had a dramatic influence on our lives. Some of these individuals were of an evil nature, such as Hitler, but I would like to believe that the majority of the people we remember were the ones that had a positive influence on history, such as Jesus Christ and Martin Luther King Jr. I would like to reflect on the men who served a higher power that they called abba, father, or as we would recognize today, God.

The first concern expressed in the clergymen’s letter is why King was in Birmingham in the first place since Birmingham, Alabama isn’t his hometown. King responds to this by pointing out the fact that he was invited to Birmingham because he