What is the truth about Martin Luther King, Jr.? | virgil walker (2023)

All arguments lead toObergefell contra Hodges- the case which concluded that same-sex couples could marry - were based on the idea that same-sex couples deserved the same rights and benefits of marriage. However, proponents of same-sex marriage did not advocate equality; Every citizen already had the same right as anyone else to marry a person of the opposite sex. Proponents of same-sex marriage called for special rights: the freedom to apply the definition of marriage and its benefits to its new meaning.

In his rejection of the court's decision, Justice Clarence ThomasI wrote,

Freedom was understood long before 1787 as freedom from state action, not as a right to state benefits. In order to preserve this understanding of freedom, the authors created our constitution. Most, however, invoke our Constitution in the name of a "freedom" that the constitution's drafters would not have recognized, to the detriment of the freedom they sought to protect. In doing so, he rejects the idea enshrined in our Declaration of Independence that human dignity is innate, proposing instead that it comes from government.

Judge Thomas emphasizes the importance of the idea that human dignity is inherent, which implies that our Creator has given us certain inalienable rights. However thatNovoThe civil rights movement proposes that government, not God, is responsible for providing these rights. Therefore, the government is obliged to enforce them by any means necessary.

isNovoThe civil rights movement stands on the shoulders of its ancestor, theothercivil rights movement. It now includes advocating the transition of gender dysphoric children through gender-affirming care, drag queen story lessons in elementary schools, and promoting various ever-changing LGBTQIA+ activities.

Author, activist and historian of LGBTQ politics Eric Cervinihe writes, "Every element of what we know as Pride and Gay Rights ... was borrowed from the Black Freedom Movement."

To the dismay of some Black people, LGBTQIA+ advocates have embraced the civil rights movement as a model for their advocacy agenda. Many civil rights activists from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. saw the two civil rights campaigns (otherjNovo) as connected. In 1985, Andrew Young, who was associated with Dr. King, proclaimed the firstPride Week. In numerous interviewsReverend Jesse JacksonHe compared the fight for same-sex marriage to the fight for civil rights. Congressman John Lewis, who fought alongside King, was an early proponent of same-sex marriage. In a Boston Globe editorial, LewisI wrote, “I have heard the reasons for refusing civil marriage of same-sex couples. Remove the distractions and they reek of the same fear, hate and bigotry I know in racism and bigotry.”

The civil rights movement and Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy include support for issues such as:Marriage Respect Lawjgender-affirming care? Are these modern challenges far removed from the Judeo-Christian worldview of Martin Luther King Jr.? Are the beliefs of those running for office on the king's behalf today at odds with his gospel? After all, how were the methods of the King movement used to achieve such rapid success for the LGBTQIA+ agenda?

To answer the above questions, we must examine Martin Luther King Jr.'s theology, ideology, and methodology.

This article is the second in a four-part series examining the civil rights movement and its impact on the black community. Himinitial installationwas a historical review of the civil rights movement. Here we look at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., leader of the civil rights movement.

The denial of Christ's divinity, the virgin birth and the resurrection

Martin Luther King Jr. Michael King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia to Michael and Alberta King. King Sr. later changed his and his son's name to Martin Luther after a trip that included a visit to Reformers' historic sites in 1934.

After graduating from Morehouse College at the age of 19, Martin completed his schooling and entered seminary to follow in his father's footsteps. While at Crozer Theological Seminary and Boston University, King began and devoted himself to his doctoral studies in systematic theologyliberal theology, who take various heterodox positions on Christianity.

In his article on the humanity and divinity of Jesus, KingI wrote,

The orthodox attempt to explain the divinity of Jesus in terms of an inherent metaphysical substance seems to me wholly inadequate. To say that Christ... is divine in an ontological sense is actually harmful and harmful... In my opinion, the orthodox view of Christ's divinity is easy to deny.

At the heart of the Christian faith is the deity of Christ. One falls out of orthodoxy when one disagrees with this basic teaching. Since King denied the deity of Christ, it makes sense that he would also deny the resurrection.

Of the bodily resurrection of Christ, Kinghe writes,

This doctrine (the resurrection), on which the Easter faith is based, symbolizes the ultimate Christian belief: that Christ conquered death. From a literary, historical and philosophical point of view, this doctrine raises many questions. In fact, external evidence for the authenticity of this teaching is lacking.

King did not believe in Christ's divinity or that he rose from the dead. In addition, he also rejected the teachings ofvirgin birth, asecond adventof Christ and the existence of ahell literally.

One has to wonder how King viewed the apostle Paul's admonition when, in a letter to the church at Corinth, Paul writes:

Now if it is said that Christ rose from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.

1 Corinthians 15:12-14

Since so few of King's beliefs reflect orthodox Christian beliefs, how did he become a minister in the black church?

Booker T. Washington, a former slave-turned-author, teacher, and influencer, saw a striking pattern in the black community after the days of slavery. Washington noted that the first blacks to receive an education would become teachers or preachers. Washington said there are honest, hardworking, religious people in every job. However, some people have resorted to itsermonmaking a living didn't always fit into those categories. In his autobiographyover slaverywashington wrote,

The ministry has been the profession that has suffered most - and still suffers, though there have been great improvements - because not only ignorant, but in many cases immoral men claimed to be "called to preach." In the early days of liberty, almost every colored man who learned to read received a "call to preach" within days of beginning to read.

This is not to say that Martin Luther King Jr. entered the ministry for financial gain. Those who followed King, such as Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, used King's legacy for this purpose. However, it is easy to see how King, a gifted speaker trying to advance a cause within the black community, viewed the pulpit as a place for it and avoided the most basic orthodox teachings of Christianity.

What is clear is that Martin Luther King Jr. was not a Christian simply because of his denial of the divinity of Christ. The question to be asked is "What did King believe?" Answering the above question requires an examination of King's ideological framework for promoting civil rights.

the social gospel

In a letter to his future wife, Coretta Scott King, Martin explained the gospel he wanted to preach to the world when he wrote:

Let us continue to hope, work and pray that in the future we will see a world without war, a better distribution of wealth and a brotherhood that transcends race or color. This is the gospel I will preach to the world

It should be noted that the gospel of King is not the gospel preached by the apostle Paul in his letter to the church at Corinth, where he writes:

For I delivered to you first what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he rose again on the third day, according to the Scriptures.

(1 Corinthians 15:3-4)

There is no mention of the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. Why this omission? Walter Rauschenbusch's social gospel influenced King, and it was this "gospel" that he used in his civil rights work.

Walter Rauschenbusch was a German-American Shepherd Dog living in Hell's Kitchen, New York in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He witnessed the plight of immigrants, the poor, and people of color, and felt that these people needed a "gospel" or "theology" to rescue them from their current temporary problems. Known as the "father of the social gospel," Rauschenbusch posited that Jesus came not simply to save sinners but to save society, and that any gospel that saves sinners isolated from society is no gospel.

in your bookChristianity and social crisis, intoxicating shrubhe writes, "In a few years all our restless and angry hearts will be silent in death, but those who come after us will live in the world that our sins ruined or that our love of righteousness redeemed."

Rauschenbusch thought his gospel changes would have an impact on society for a long time. And King was really hurt by that gospel.To write:

I spent a lot of time reading the works of the great social philosophers. I got to Walter Rauschenbusch early.Christianity and the social crisis, which left an indelible mark on my thinking and gave me a theological basis for the social concern that had already grown within me through my early experiences.

King was influenced by the ideas of men of different religions such as HinduMahatma Gandhiand the zen buddhist monkThich Nhat Hanh. However, none of these men had a greater influence in shaping King's ideas than Walter Rauschchenbusch.

The methods of a movement

The Montgomery bus boycott of 1955 sparked the civil rights movement. Though Rosa Parks has taken her place in the annals of history, she wasn't the first to refuse to comply with the South's Jim Crow segregation laws. In fact, nine months ago,Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old college student, was arrested for refusing to go to the back of the bus and give up her seat to a white person. Claudette was arrested and taken to prison.

According to Colvin, black organizations like the NAACP did not support her because they felt she was too young and did not fit the profile of someone considered civilly and socially acceptable. Colvin was banished from the community, as it later turned out she waspregnantillegitimate at 15.

However, Colvin's story is crucial as his case made it to court. His name, not Parks', is listed as one of the four individuals mentioned in Browder v. Gayle, leading to the Supreme Court's decision to desegregate buses. Stories of heroic bravery like that of the young Claudette Colvin are remarkable. But the civil rights plans were much bigger than just scrapping the tough Jim Crow laws. Unlike the Civil Rights Act, theBrowsers against GayleThe case was a test of the Constitution, which was upheld. This test of the constitution showed how our system of government should work. In contrast, the 1964 Civil Rights Act would result in a second constitution designed to create justice (outcomes) rather than equality.

In your bookThe Age of Rights: America since the 1960s, author and journalist Christopher Caldwell writes,

At its core, civil rights were not just an important new element in the constitution. They were a rival constitution with which the original was often inconsistent ... and which would worsen as the civil rights regime built. Much of what we've called "polarization" or "lack of civility" in recent years is something more serious: it's the disagreement over which of the two constitutions will prevail: the de jure constitution of 1788 with all the traditional forms of jurisprudence, legitimacy, and centuries of American culture behind them; or the de facto constitution of 1964, which lacks this traditional legitimacy but has almost unanimous support.

You can learn more about how the civil rights movement worked in Caldwell's book. If the civil rights focus had remained on integration and disintegration, more Americans would have joined the cause. Before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed, the Constitution finally ended Jim Crow in court. equality has been achieved. However, much more was laid down with the passage of the Civil Rights Act.

In addition to enforcing constitutional amendments for equal protection, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 went further by establishing the Civil Rights Commission (Title V), catching up with corporations receiving government funds (Title VI), contracting practices for corporations over 15 (Affirmative Action ), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and more. All of this was done to create much more than equality. Instead of equality, civil rights organizations contributed to ongoing efforts to achieve thisEquity capitalabout outcomes for minorities, and that is what we are fighting for today.

Whether it's the Black Lives Matter movement or those campaigning for equal rights for the LGBTQIA+ community, all strive for "equal justice". However, equal treatment is not desirable. These groups use the methods of the civil rights movement to do certain things as they see fit (justice). The tactics they employ only work to make the public feel guilty about a historical past they had nothing to do with.

Needless to say, King's legacy would span the entire transhuman and LGBTQIA+ affirmation agenda. Additionally, he and other civil rights activists like him have paved the way for more significant victories in the days to come.

So, as you celebrate Martin Luther King Day, also honor same-sex marriage, gender-neutral pronouns, and so-called “gender-affirming care” for girls. That, too, is the legacy of the movement. In the next article, I will address the civil rights movement and how it affected the black church.

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