To celebrate MLK day, I’m posting the audio from an old Said At Southern Podcast (from my old blog – now retired). It contains a recording of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speaking at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary on April 19, 1961. The speech is more remarkable considering the context. Southern Baptists were not unified in their posture toward the Civil Rights movement and in 1961 the outcome was far from certain.
In this speech, you will hear Dr. King cast his vision for the church’s role in racial reconciliation. While it has become fashionable to find fault with his personal life and theological positions, there is much to appreciate in King’s prophetic voice.
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- Read about the Civil Rights Movement
- Read about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at Nobel Prize and Wikipedia
- Read about King’s visit from the SBTS Archives HT
- Read Matthew Hall’s background information about this speech.
I personally think that we need to stop it with the personal slander regarding Dr. King. Okay, so we have found some sin issues in his life. Those things were wrong. But, to use that to discount the man completely and ignore his message shows how much we wish that he would have just been quiet. From childhood being raised in the South, all I knew about Dr. King was that he was a liberal, a communist, an adulterer, and that he was a rabble rousing trouble maker who stirred up the blacks. They were happy before he showed up… Read more »
Amen. And it can be seen today in the attitude toward Barak Obama by the SBC. Very little has changed.
@ RA: I’m up in Indiana, so it may be different in the Southern – Southern Baptist Churches, but as a whole our people don’t show those attitudes toward King or Obama. While we are definitely down on Obama’s abortion positions, the same was true for Bill Clinton or any other national leader.
Alan,
Do we not still look at King David’s sin issues, while we appreciate the things he did?
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You seemed to have a much different experience with the man than what I had. All I heard, at first, was his affairs, but it was never in a way that tried to discredit the great things that he did. I never heard anything negative about him until I many years after I knew of the civil rights movement. I think we would be foolish to forget the mans sin, as we would be foolish to forget King David’s.
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Very little has changed? That must be a joke. I am from Arkansas and I never heard someone discredit MLK because of his sin issues. I don’t know what Southern Baptists you know, but I have not met the ones you speak of…
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I’m from Texas and maybe we are little more racist here although I doubt seriously that we have Arkansas or Indiana beat by much. There has been a great deal of judgment regarding Barack Obama and much of it is based on race although no one will ever admit to it. He is not a real Christian and is a Muslim. He will lead to the end of the world. Much of this comes from the Baptist church, including a pastor from Dallas preaching it in the pulpit. I have seen posts on Southern Baptists blogs which call him evil.… Read more »
I think you are wrong about why Southern baptists do not like Obama. I am one who has ripped Evangelical supporters of Obama. To asy it is because of race is ridiculous. It is about abortion, period. I do not care about his race, gender, etc.. I care about the lives of innocent unborns and with Obamas atrocious record on abortion Southern Baptists ought to dislike Obama. We pray for his success, but we also pray that he has minimal influence on the abortion issue. You have no ground to say SBC’ers dont like him because he is black. We(I)… Read more »
I am not naive to think racism doesnt still exist. But it is ridiculous to generalize Southern Baptist the way you have. You make it seem as though Southern Baptist hold White Supremacist rallies. Are there SBC’er who are racist, of course there are a few. But your generalizations are without ground.
Matt Svobodas last blog post..Russell Moore on “Why I Hate Sanctity of Human Life Sunday”
Matt, that is total nonsense. I’ll call someone to testify. Use your favorite browser to find the Associated Baptist Press article: Baptists, Bigotry and Barack Obama by Benjamin Cole.
Pay special attention to: “The silliest and most offensive of them, I should add, came from Baptist pastors.”
God hates pride of grace, race and face.
RA,
Your assertion that SouthernBaptists hate Obama because of race is what is nonsense. It is a matter of abortion.
Dr. Foltz,
I agree.
Matt Svobodas last blog post..Russell Moore on “Why I Hate Sanctity of Human Life Sunday”
I wouldn’t expect any other response. I made an effort to visit Baptists blogs on election day knowing what I would probably find. I did it again today. I have to say that although I expected the worst, I was quite surprised at how bad it was. I have never known a prejudiced person to recognize the prejudice in themselves. Even during the civil rights struggle, whites said it had nothing to do with racial prejudice. When a man professes to be Christian and his profession is dismissed with the assertion that he is really Muslim, what other reason could… Read more »
Matt: I believe racism does exist among some Southern Baptists. And RA is correct in that there was a racial incident at Baylor and other things he has mentioned. To say that none of it exists in the Southern Baptist atmosphere would be naive and wrong. We’ve come a long way but we have a long way to go.
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I have never said none of it exists in the Southern Baptist atmosphere.
RA,
Your logic is still awful… SBC’ers dont like Obama although he professes Christianity, but we all know Rev. Wright. We must be racist for not liking him.
Matt Svobodas last blog post..Russell Moore on “Why I Hate Sanctity of Human Life Sunday”
I would say yes, that is true. I know there is a great dislike for Wright as well. I also know that most of those that hate him have never heard him speak outside of his soundbite. I have listened to Rev. Wright’s infamous sermon and I did not find much of it that was not Christian.
Rev. Wright has also done a lot of good in this world. He has accomplished much more than most pastors who will condemn him. He is someone that actually goes out and does God’s work instead of just talking about it.
I would disagree with your assessment of Rev. Wright RA.
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I will judge Rev. Wright on the fact that he has been a minister for 41 years. That he left the medical profession to pursue the ministry and started with just 87 members. That he has a prison ministry, that he has a food share ministry, that he has a senior citizens home. That he goes out and makes an effort to connect young black men with successful black businessmen so that they can have mentors and become a success. He simply said that America reaped what it has sown. In many ways it is true and it is something… Read more »
While I certainly will not say that there are not Southern Baptists who dislike Obama simply because of his race I can say that the vast majority of people I know are opposed to him because of his stance on abortion. For anyone to suggest that opposing Obama makes one a racist is pure, politically motivated, liberal drivel. The fact that he has said he will sign the Freedom of Choice Act as one of his first items on his To-Do list should have been enough for Christians to not vote for him. Period. Joe Blackmons last blog post..Book Review:… Read more »
No one has said that opposing Obama makes someone a racist. Just that a good many Baptists dislike him or distrust him because of his race and name. And that view is held by many Baptists. There was geniune fear by many after the election. It was not about abortion.
Thank you for your opinion , RA. I’m sure everyone here will give it all the consideration it deserves.
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RA,
I am not sure you can say that Wright has done more than most pastors that condemn him. Well, you can say that, but that doesn’t make it true. Wright has said many atrocious things from the pulpit. One who is a true pastor/preacher teaches Scripture in faithfulness. I do not think you can call Black Liberation Theology being faithful to Scripture.
MATT.
Right on. Black Liberation Theology is as scripural as is Little Red
Riding Hood.
Self-righteousness is one of the Baptists’ greatest qualities. I don’t honestly think you know anything of what he has said in the pulpit although I am sure that you have your assumptions. If he preaches self-independence for his congregation, I see nothing wrong with it. I will judge the man by his deeds. As I have noted, that includes a prison ministry, a food share ministry, a senior citizens home and an outreach program for young black men. I will accept him as a Christian and see his good works and tip my hat to anyone who can claim to… Read more »
RA,
Questions the Iraq was is the least of his problems. By what you are saying I doubt that you have ever listened to some of the things this man has said from the pulpit.
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I’ve listened to some of his sermons and listend to what he had to say in some interviews. I don’t find anything particularly unChristian about what he says although he does say some things that would upset a white man. I don’t find anything particularly wrong. What exactly is it that you object to specifically?
I guess you didnt here the excerpt on EVERY news channel where he blamed the American Government for HIV/AIDS. He said the government started HIV to wipe out the ‘black folk.’ More importantly it is his black liberation theology overall. Maybe you need to do a study of Black Liberation ATheology before you approve this man as a faithful gospel minister. It does not matter what would ‘upset a white man.’ What matters is what Scripture says because that is all a faithful gospel minister ought to be preaching.
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He’s wrong about that. But I can understand where that belief comes from. The United States did experiment on black soldiers in the past and intentionally give them syphillis. That creates a certain paranoia in the black community. I don’t think you really know anything about the man other than the slanted political stuff you’ve been fed which is all anybody really knows. I’d recommend you view an interview he did with Bill Moyers (a Baptist minister) on PBS to find out what the guy is really about. If you feel like you are qualified to judge, then you can… Read more »
So you just ignore his Black Liberation Theology as you ingored it in my response? In my repsonse I even said that his theology was more importnat than his political crud and yet you only dicuss the politics…
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As far as I can tell, he is just telling his congregation to be independent and liberated from whites and the govt. What exactly do you have against it?
http://ericredmond.wordpress.com/2008/03/25/jeremiah-wrights-blt-pre-primer-on-albert-mohler-show/ That is a link written by an African American Minister on Black Liberation Theology. His name is Eric Redmond and I suggest you read it… Here are a couple of quotes: “I suggest that you will hear the themes of Black Liberation Theology throughout the sermons: empowerment, (social) deliverance, overcoming (White) oppression, God is for the poor (indiscriminant of their sins), God is for Black people, and even, God/Christ is Black. Or you will hear the voice of the close cousin of historic Black Liberation Theology: Black Word of Faith Health and Wealth (a)Theology (which could easily be termed… Read more »
Disliking someone because they are categorized as of the Black Liberation Theology is like not liking someone because they are Southern Baptist, Methodist, Catholic or Mormon.
You have a specific dislike for Rev. Wright and have said that I apparently haven’t listened to his sermons. I’ve said that I haven’t heard him preach anything that I would consider unchristian.
What I want to know is what specifically it is that Rev. Wright has preached that you are against. Not just the fact that is categorized as being of the Black Liberation movement. I’ve asked this 3 times now.
RA, Your logic is not good. You just compared a theological system to denominations. It is in no way the same thing. “What I want to know is what specifically it is that Rev. Wright has preached that you are against. Not just the fact that is categorized as being of the Black Liberation movement. I’ve asked this 3 times now.” I have told you three times. What I am specifically against that Wright preaches is his theology… His Black Liberation Theology. I am not sure what you are missing. And why didn’t you address the theology? Matt Svobodas last… Read more »
BLT is not just a ‘movement’ it is a theological system. Wouldn’t you not like a preacher if he preached heresies that were unscriptural?
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I have to say that this seems to me to simply be a stereotype you have of the man. More specifically, it is a black stereotype which is what this thread has been about. I don’t think you have heard the man preach other than the soundbite and apparently cannot point to anything specific. If you can, I’d be interested in what it is that you have objected to as unchristian.
That is why I referred you to the Bill Moyers interview. He explains what his beliefs actually are and addresses many of these stereotypes which you have fallen for.
RA,
What is interesting is that you keep dodging the theology I bring up. I even give you extensive quotes and you remain silent. It would serve you well to stop thinking, ‘this is a white man not understanding a black man’ and start addressing the theology.
This could go on forever so I am going to stop here.
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I’m not dodging it. I’m trying to take it on directly by having you state one example of what it is that you think Rev. Wright believes to determine if the man is guilty as charged and worthy of your judgment. But you can only fall back on BLT.
What else does one need except to point to an ENTIRE theological system that he believes!
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Did you even read what I quoted from Eric Redmond? There are very specific theological things stated in that quote. If you will read the quotes you will have your examples that you have been asking for. (Which I posted like 5 comments ago)
Yes, I looked at it. I’m really not interested in what Eric Redmond’s points of views and observations about the BLT are. I am specifically interested in your point of view about Rev. Wright. Just because Eric Redmond makes sweeping observations about BLT does not mean that those necessarily apply to Rev. Wright. Maybe some do. Maybe some don’t. To just dismiss him as being just another BLT preacher is just a stereotype which I thought is what you were arguing against as being prevalent in the SBC. You seem to be only re-enforcing it. Is it your position that… Read more »
Ra,
You are hopeless. I dislike his BLT preaching. Maybe not all of Redmonds observations dont apply to Wright, but some certainly do. So I dislike the ones that do… Clear?
I was arguing that racial hatred is not still prevalent in the SBC. I don’t know how you got racial hatred and Black Liberation Theology confused.
Matt Svobodas last blog post..the logical result of a trajectory hermeneutic…
Like which ones? It seems to me that someone that speaks of the atrocities that a man has spoken in the pulpit could at least name a few things. But then, if a person just assumes that those atrocities have been spoken, it makes sense that they wouldn’t be able to name any. Nevermind. You’ve already confirmed what I already knew. I never said anything about racial hatred in the SBC. You are getting a little carried away. But it is impossible to deny widespread bigotry when a Republican SBC pastor is so taken aback that he pens an article… Read more »
I agree that it is a sad case when that happens. But a few pastors does not represent the majority of the SBC, that is all I am saying.
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