As much as the United States celebrates and reveres Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., many people have never heard or read the entirety of his speeches or writings. This is a tragedy because that means they do not fully appreciate his work as a Civil Rights activist and thinker who used Scripture and Biblical values to fight for justice.
So this year, I invite you to spend some time reading and reflecting on one of his most famous and impassioned works: “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.”
I believe that this letter is especially relevant for Christians as it was written to fellow clergymen who disagreed with his activism and marches in segregated Alabama. As the title of the essay suggests, King wrote this letter from a jail cell in Birmingham, where he had been arrested for protesting racial injustice in that city.
But it was not the response of the local police that inspired King to pen these words. Instead, it was the reaction of local religious leaders, who had published their own letter — “A Call to Unity” — in the city newspaper, distancing themselves from King and his methods.
Below is an excerpt from Dr. King’s famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” which I hope will whet your appetite for reading the entire letter.
In addition, here are two links where you can read the letter in its entirety.
- Here is a link to an annotated version created by Justin Taylor that was published at The Gospel Coalition. He has added useful context and headings for the reader
- Here is a link to the letter with no annotations.
- Bonus: Here is a link where you can listen to Dr. King as he reads the letter.
We pray that his words will continue to challenge us as we fight for justice for and through the Gospel.
From: “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”
But though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label.
Was not Jesus an extremist for love: “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”
Was not Amos an extremist for justice: “Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream.”
Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel: “I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.”
Was not Martin Luther an extremist: “Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, so help me God.”
And John Bunyan: “I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience.”
And Abraham Lincoln: “This nation cannot survive half slave and half free.”
And Thomas Jefferson: “We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal…”
So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be.
Will we be extremists for hate or for love?
Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice?