In Celebrating MLK, Jr., You Can’t Ignore His Faith

For too many Americans, Martin Luther King, Jr. day yields not much more than an “Awesome! No work today.” First of all, I’m at work today, and second of all, it frightens me that we can become so numb to the legacy of someone who gave so much of himself, and ultimately his life, to fight for basic human rights.

Paul Raushenbush, religion editor for the Huffington Post, published a great piece today about whether or not the same kind of progress is possible today, and the importance of not ignoring King’s Christian faith when celebrating his great work. And I quote:

“Celebrating MLK day without acknowledging religion is as it is like admiring the exterior of the car without understanding the fuel and engine that makes it go. King was a Christian minister who had faith that God cared not only about the souls of the people but also cared about their bodies and the conditions in which they lived. King said: “The gospel at its best deals with the whole man. Not only his soul but his body, not only his spiritual well being but his material well-being. Any religion that professes to be concerned about the souls of men and is not concerned about the slums that damn them, the economic conditions that strangle them and the social conditions that cripple them is a spiritually moribund religion awaiting burial.”"

This is a man who had his heart in the right place, for all the right reasons. Please take some time today to read about his life and honor him by helping someone else.

Take a minute to read through – even if you’re not a Christian, it still puts King’s movement and the way he changed the world in perspective.