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Martin Luther King Letter From Birmingham Jail Summary

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Martin Luther King Jr. maybe one of the most notable Americans to ever live. He stood up against the racial injustices of his time to become the greatest and most influential civil rights activist. In his “A Letter From a Birmingham Jail”, King writes to the clergymen of Alabama explaining his stance against segregation and the importance of civil disobedience to fulfill a more just society. In his letter, King expresses many philosophical ideas to support his stance on equality. King’s philosophic beliefs include the moral values of Christianity, Socratic ideas, and the beliefs of multiple theologians and writers. King states that he comes from a distinct Christian background with both his father and grandfather being pastors of the Christian Church. King is also the …show more content…

One of king’s arguments to the clergymen is that he is bringing justice everywhere because “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”. An idea arrived from Apostle Paul about spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ everywhere. He further explains how everyone is connected with one another in society. So whatever affects one, affects society as a whole. He uses the term “tied in a single garment of destiny” to represent his idea. Also, king’s Christian viewpoints influence on how he approaches protest. In his protesting campaigns, king teaches the members of protest to act in a nonviolent manner, especially when faced by the violent actions of others. King believes everyman is given rights by god, and shares beliefs with theologian Thomas Aquinas about natural law. King makes it a point that God’s law is more substantiated than human law. For instance, if human law is not validated by the law of god, then the human law is an unjust law. King quotes St. Augustine is his letter saying,” an unjust law is no law at all.” And in such case of an unjust law, it is the publics duty to openly and lovingly break the law. By breaking an unjust law, King

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