MLK’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” Makes a Powerful Biblical Case for Disobeying an Unjust Law.
Monday, January 18, 2021, was our country’s annual celebration of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The Gospel Coalition published an annotated version (by Justin Taylor) of his heart-rending Letter from a Birmingham Jail.
You can read Justin’s post here: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/evangelical-history/an-annotated-guide-to-martin-luther-kings-letter-from-birmingham-jail/
MLK was a Christian First.
Martin Luther King Jr. was above all things a Christian. People who are hostile to Gospel are quick to call him “Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” but go to great lengths to omit his title of Reverend. Nevertheless, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference was instrumental in the success of the Civil Rights movement in this country.
This success was all made possible, in my opinion, because they were not at all confused about the source of their claim to justice.
The Religious Reason for MLK’s Actions.
Below are the 8th and 9th paragraphs of the letter, along with the annotation shown in bold italics (emphasis in the original article):
“[Religious reason]
But more basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here.
Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C. left their villages and carried their “thus saith the Lord” far beyond the boundaries of their home towns, and just as the Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco Roman world, so am I compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town. Like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid.”
Conclusion.
I am keeping this post brief so you can more quickly go read the (very long!) annotated Letter.
Thank you!
Michael Oswald
Michael Oswald is a follower of Jesus who lives in Boise, Idaho. Unless otherwise specified, the opinions expressed in this article are his own.
© 2021 Michael S. Oswald
“Reasons for the Faith, aka Apologetics” 