Background on Martin Luther King Jr.

What does it mean to claim that (mature) human beings always have interpreted experiences, whether what happens to us confirms our previous worldview or challenges it (i.e., in contrast experiences)?

once you’re an adult things happen to us and we interpret them in some way to make sense in a story, ie. Volf is making sense of what happened to him according to the christian story, mlk jr uses crucifixion of jesus to understanding what is happening to him and others during the civil rights movement

What are the four elements of the foundational Christian story, as presented in class? (csss)

1. god created world as good (creation)

2. people have messed up the world (sin)

3. somehow Jesus saves us from sin and death (salvation)

4. we are living now in the distinction between now and the second coming (second coming)

Different Christian theologians have emphasized different elements of Jesus’s story to explain his role as savior. What are the four discussed in class and what do they mean? (irtc)

1. iraneus and athanasius: focus on the incarnation (God becoming human)

2. focus on the resurrection: God’s refusal to allow injustice

3. focus on jesus: moral teacher

4. focus on the crucifixion: the redemptive death of jesus and what mlk jr. focused on

What was Martin Luther King Jr.’s family and educational background?

King came from a middle-class Black Baptist minister’s family in Atlanta; he studied at Morehouse College, earned a divinity degree at Crozer, and a PhD in theology at Boston University

What important changes in life did King experience at the age of eighteen?

He decided to enter Christian ministry, had a renewed personal faith, and began to see religion as a force for social transformation rather than just personal salvation

What role did King play in the Montgomery Bus Boycott and how did this change his life?

King became the public leader and spokesperson of the boycott; the success of the movement turned him into a national civil-rights figure, drawing attention and opposition that shaped his future activism

What was the SCLC and how was it related to the Birmingham Campaign?

southern christian leadership conference, mlk jr and others found to deal with things after the Montgomery boycott, campaign in birmingham calls in national to provide money and publicity

What were the historical circumstances behind King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”?

He wrote the letter while imprisoned in 1963 for participating in nonviolent protests against segregation in Birmingham, responding to white clergy who criticized his demonstrations as “untimely”

Who are King’s targeted audiences in the “Letter”? How does he use shared story to appeal to those audiences?

His main audience is moderate white Christian and broader American public; he appeals to shared Christian and American stories (prophets, founding ideals, Scripture) to show a common moral foundation for justice

How does King appeal to the story of Jesus to make sense of the experiences of those involved in the Civil Rights Movement?

He presents suffering and nonviolent sacrifice as Christ-like, portraying activists as following the example of Jesus, whose redemptive suffering confronts injustice and reveals God’s justice