Martin Luther King Research Paper

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Unethical Methods: The truth behind Martin Luther King Jr
“The end of life is not to be happy, nor to achieve pleasure and avoid pain, but to do the will of God, come what may.”(Raushenbush)
Christian faith gave Martin Luther King Jr. the language and spiritual strength to fuel and sustain his extraordinary efforts in justice, peace and freedom. (Raushenbush) Martin Luther King's religious faith made him one of the greatest American Civil Rights leaders of the 1960s, however he was not the Christian man people believed him to be. Despite his tremendous flaws, King’s faith impacted his leadership and actions during the Civil Rights movement.
Christianity was the root of King’s life, as most of his activism was derived from his religious beliefs. Christianity, to King, is “a spirit of brotherhood made manifest in social ethics.” (Safi) The bible says seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. ( Matthew 6:33) The bible also states, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” ( Matthew 22:37) King was committed to the Lord and to these bible verses through his work as a reverend preaching to others. In 1954 King became a pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. ( Nobel Media) As a reverend, King had become a great speaker while sharing his testimony. King preached his words very powerfully and wisely. This helped King with his strong speeches and talking in front of a large crowds. For example, his “I Have a Dream” speech proclaimed to 250,000 people, was one of the most dominant speeches given of all time. (James Melvin Washington) Clearly, Martin Luther King Jr was a man who was heavil...

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...urthermore, King disputed that Jesus had, or ever would be resurrected.” (Safi) How is it that King would deny some of the most fundamental components of historic Christianity. He speaks frequently about God, but he does not appear to reflect much on Jesus. This looks to be almost impossible that a Baptist Preacher would have different beliefs on the Bible or that Jesus and God were one. “Many preachers would not join up with him and they were made fun of, verbally abused and called cowards.” (Jesus Is Lord.) During the Civil Rights era, King convinced Americans to join his movement, but if he had convinced people to become disciples of God in addition, what a change he could have made in our world.
If Martin Luther King would have been judged more on his faith and character than on his Civil Rights activism, he would have had a different position in our history.

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