Was Martin Luther King Junior a Christian?

17 Responses to “Was Martin Luther King Junior a Christian?”

1. art123 Says:
   July 4th, 2007 at 3:07 pm

   Well, I believe that this should be a lesson to the world, that you should serve Christ and NOT MAN.

2. DL Foster Says:
   July 5th, 2007 at 8:53 am

   MLK, Jr according to his beliefs, was not a Christian. There are some things –essentials of the faith– that you simply cannot deny or obfuscate. Jesus’ divinity via the virgin birth is a BIG ONE! (1 John 4:3) Perhaps King could be termed a “social Christian”, but that would only be an associative term which would have no bearing on lifestyle or relationship with God.

   Was MLK, Jr a “good man” who did “good works”? I would say yes. Do good men do bad things? Yes again. But that has never been the **primary** Biblical criteria for following Christ
   OR entrance into heaven. Good doesnt not automatically equate to God.

   I believe it was God who used MLK Jr for his purposes. But God also used a donkey, a rooster and several evil rulers in the Bible to accomplish his purpose. Of course he can do that because He is sovereign. Being used by God, does not mean it is imputed as faithful righteousness. That only happened with Abraham. After or while God was using him, it was MLK Jr’s responsiblity to live a life in accordance to God’s will.

   I have heard (I cant remember where or confirm it, but MLK Jr had a woman come to see him while he was in Memphis. It wasnt for prayer either. Maybe that was Abernathy’s wife that said that in her book. He had a documented history of sexual immorality/adultery. The Klan exposed that when they sent Coretta a letter detailing all his adulterous affairs. I think King’s private life[style]really set the example for the moral corruptness of the old guard civil rights industry.

   IC, this is a good one. As Art pointed out we deify men and humanize God. All that gets us is what the golden calg got Isreal: a really angry God and a really bad punishment.

3. IndependentConservative Says:
   July 5th, 2007 at 11:18 am

   No matter what a man does in deeds without faith in Christ in his heart, to God it’s nothing but filthy rags, Isaiah 64:4-6. We can’t “work” our way into pleasing Him. Which is why Jesus had to come and be the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. Works can’t save a man, only faith in Jesus Christ and the man with faith will perform works for Him. John 14:6, John 3:16, Romans 3:28, James 2:20-26. Works is only a manifestation of faith in Jesus Christ with a Christian, but works without Jesus does not save a man. Because works for the sake of men cannot save your soul. A just reward for all men would be hell if not for Jesus Christ. Belief on Him is what saves. We Christians work for Him, not for secular humanism.

   I dare say, it’s possible that MLK, Jr. focused so much on the physical condition of some, that he could have missed seeing what really was already won in the spiritual realm. Used by God, but possibly not called to be with God. What good is it for us to sing “Free At Last” if we don’t have Jesus?

   I have also heard about a woman seeing MLK, Jr. in Memphis not long before he was murdered. Not to mention the women who saw him in other places. Much of that was exposed by the FBI and J. Edger Hoover. It was not just “the Klan” but the US Government that was involved. And here’s the KICKER, former Attorney General Bobby Kennedy approved it, while JFK was President and it carried on during Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration too! Even the administrations that supposedly were in love with Blacks were back stabbing when nobody was looking.

   King’s infidelity did not set the standard. Believe it or not, King was only following in the footsteps of others before him in that regard. If you ever catch a second with Andy Young, ask him why MLK, Jr. was picked to head the SCLC. It was because he was so young he was the only guy without any dirt, but he like others unfortunately made some.

   We are all mortal men, but we must recognize that Jesus truly is Lord and our only means to salvation or we will end up in hell.

4. FritzE1946 Says:
   July 14th, 2007 at 5:57 am

   I have been surfing the net recently asking if Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Christian. I have found that it is simple to answer the question by reading what Dr. King wrote and said. These reflect what he believed. Ro 10:9 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”(KJV)
   I sincerely believe that in order to be a follower of the Christ, a Christian, one must believe that Jesus was the truely the Son of God and the Messiah. A Christian must believe and state the fact that Jesus was resurrected and all mankind, good and evil, will also be resurrected from the dead. From Dr. King’s writing and speeches, he has made it quite clean that he did not believe these things. Mt 15:18 “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.” (KJV)
   I believe that Dr. King was basically of good man that, as all good men do, did some bad things. But if he truely believed what he wrote and said, then the answer to the question “Was Martin Luther King, Jr. a Christian?” is no.

5. IndependentConservative Says:
   July 14th, 2007 at 11:21 am

   FritzE1946, I have no debate with your assessment of MLK, Jr. based on what we know of him. But you said something I want to question you further on. You said:

   A Christian must believe and state the fact that Jesus was resurrected and all mankind, good and evil, will also be resurrected from the dead.

   While certainly Jesus resurrected and made it clear He would rise in 3 days as He did, it is NOT TRUE that all mankind both good and evil will be resurrected. The good will join the Lord and the evil will not. Jesus made this clear himself.
   Matthew 25:31-46 (New King James Version)

   31) “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.

   32) All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.

   33) And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.

   34) Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

   35) for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;

   36) I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’

   37) “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?

   38) When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?

   39) Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’

   40) And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

   41) “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:

   42) for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink;

   43) I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’

   44) “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’

   45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’

   46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

   You are correct to note that one must have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ Romans 10:9 to be “saved” and those who are saved of course will strive to do as the Lord commands. Doing what might be viewed as “good” without true belief in the Lord cannot save anyone, because salvation comes by faith.

   Given this, only those who have faith will be saved and do good for the Lord. All others who are not saved will not inherit eternal life. All unsaved go to everlasting punishment. Do you agree with this? If not, you need to know that the doctrine of Universalism is false.

6. FritzE1946 Says:
   July 14th, 2007 at 9:57 pm

   The Apostle Paul said to the govenor in Caesarea “and I have the same hope in God as these men, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.” Acts 24:15. I am not concerned with the eventual circumstances of the wicked dead, but the hope of salvation for all who will come to Christ. I have the same hope of the resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked as did the Apostle Paul.

7. IndependentConservative Says:
   July 14th, 2007 at 11:41 pm

   A most excellent answer to my question. Thank you.

   Please understand, I’ve had some encounters with followers of Universalism recently and was hoping not to have encountered yet another.

   I typically don’t mention “resurrection” for the wicked, but you are correct, although sadly for them they will rise to face judgment at the Great White Throne and without their names listed in the Book of Life they’ll face the lake of fire, Revelation 20:11-15. We know only faith in Jesus and sanctification through Him brings eternal life, as Paul mentioned in some of his later trial testimony. About when Jesus told him how he would be used in Acts 26:17-18.

   I’m not sure how King and others could refute the truth in scripture, but those who are called by the Lord hear His voice and I guess others just can’t make sense of it.

8. art123 Says:
   July 15th, 2007 at 3:50 pm

   I have also learned that MLK had communist ties and the FBI files are sealed until 2027. See http://www.martinlutherking. org/the beast.html

9. IndependentConservative Says:
   July 15th, 2007 at 7:51 pm

   Art123, that site (Martinlutherking. org) is not to be trusted AT ALL. Which is why I’ve edited your comment for it not to be a functioning hyperlink. If you saw the bottom of that page it mentions

   Hosted by Stormfront

   Stormfront is a 100% White Supremest group. You can read about them on Wikipedia:

   The Stormfront White Nationalist Community is a white pride Internet forum and has the motto “White Pride World Wide”. The site owner refers to Stormfront strictly as a white nationalist website. Critics and the media often describe it as a Neo-Nazi organization and accuse it of promoting racism and hate speech and of serving as a forum for the advocacy of violence.
   …

   Don’t worry that you didn’t know. I’ve been tracking them for years. They are VERY crafty in working to get their hate out to as many people as possible. They also at times work with friends of theirs in the media to spread their message of pure racial hatred, but this is not the time to get into all of that.

   Just the same, MLK, Jr. had communist ties. A. Philip Randolph and others who were tight with MLK, Jr. and even helped plan the “March on Washington” were big time communists. Which is why it was always focused on “workers” and “the poor” seeking a government based solution. The honest goal for some of them was socialism or pure communism is what some wanted. Some of the top brass in the Civil Rights Movement really were communists and were in some ways played to do the work of America’s enemies (like Russia). Sadly, America’s own bigotry helped make that possible. And if you look at groups like the original Black Panther Party (not to be confused with today’s NOI nuts), they were selling Chairman Mao’s Little Red Book! And even after Huey P. Newton read the book, to actually see in full what it was he was selling, he only grew more into desiring pure communism. Keep in mind the man was a law student, so nobody can claim he was ignorant and somehow fooled into being a commie.

   Yes the old Civil Rights Movement had some very ugly stuff underneath that nobody talks about nearly as much as should be talked about. Oh, but we know the founding fathers owned slaves, nobody minds bringing that up!

10. IndependentConservative Says:
    July 15th, 2007 at 8:10 pm

    Just so nothing is being concealed, here’s the list of undesirables that many would avoid being close with, but all had close ties with Martin Luther King Junior. Close as in they were people he corresponded with and considered to be his friends.:
    - Pro Communists
    - Pro Abortionists (Even when many were against it, MLK, Jr. was very much in favor of Blacks using birth control. He never spoke on the abortion, because it was not a hot political issue during his time, but he was good friends with Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger. She even gave him an award, that CS King accepted on his behalf and gave a speech lauding Sanger’s work.)
    - Pro Homosexuals (Adam Clayton Powell once threatened to expose that MLK, Jr. had a gay relationship with Bayard Rustin. Rustin was openly gay, one of King’s closets advisors and worked alone with King often. No other minister would touch Rustin with a 100 foot pole because all knew he was flaming, but King took him in and made him part of his team. Rustin was not at all a Christian either, didn’t try to pretend to be one.)

    So there you have it.

11. art123 Says:
    July 15th, 2007 at 10:40 pm

    To IC

    Communism seems to be one red silent, but powerful party which influenced the Civil Rights Movement and the Black Panther Party.I have also learned, just a while back, it influenced labor unions.I am starting to wonder if black social changes such as desegregation a result of communist ties.

12. stacey Says:
    October 5th, 2007 at 10:32 am

    There is a site that has a pretty good article written about this subject, not sure if you have seen it. Here is the link: http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Wolves/king_jr-imposter.htm

13. IndependentConservative Says:
    October 5th, 2007 at 11:53 am

    I’ve seen it, but there’s a lot I take issue with at that site. Including the fact they have works with much of the same words but different people claim to be the author. For example, the page you referenced contains many of the same words as this other page on their site:
    http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Wolves/mlk_jr-exposed.htm
    But that page claims a different author. It’s as if they made up a page where the author is claimed to be a Black woman and another where someone else takes credit. Makes me think it’s all the same guy behind it. And some of the additional information on the page I linked above I can’t confirm via any other source. Which makes me feel very suspect about them, on top of other issues I have with that site. I don’t have time to get into it all now, nor do I care to initiate a war of words with them.

    So I don’t reference them.

14. LaVrai.COM Says:
    April 25th, 2008 at 1:13 am

    Of course the founding fathers had slaves! …But MLK Jr. had to be a full-fledged man of GOD (whatever that means). Just listen to how he spoke and the things he said…

    –That was just my knee-jerk reaction.

    It’s a very good question, and even if he did not die a Christian, I am still glad GOD used him to help make this country a better place for black folk.

    But I don’t know… I feel like one could not have accomplished what he had done unless he was somehow called to make the sacrifice. But, yes, that thought is based on my feelings…not on any proof I’ve actually examined.

15. IndependentConservative Says:
    April 25th, 2008 at 9:09 am

    If you review the “Mountaintop” speech that King gave, the very last speech he gave, the night before he was shot. You’ll see it’s very much a speech of Universalism. He even plays up Greek philosophers, Mt. Olympus and so on. It’s not a speech really rooted on Jesus Christ being the ONLY means of hope and salvation. Even his “I have a dream” speech asserts people who are of theological views that deny Christ (and of varied cults) will be singing “free at last” and he makes no mention of them accepting Christ. It is clear although I didn’t want to just flat out assert it before, but it’s clear he was not a Christian, but very much into Universalism and all his statements and legacy prove that out. That is why he was into some of the Hindu practices of Gandhi.

16. SteelGator Says:
    April 25th, 2008 at 12:53 pm

    Oh my goodness…..I can not believe this came up again. Great timing. I got called a racist the other night because I raised the question that MLK,Jr was not a Christian. I am glad I got some black Christian brothers and sisters that agree. If the white man says it, we are racist….It a black person says it, you are making a unique point in a discussion.

17. IndependentConservative Says:
    April 25th, 2008 at 1:19 pm

    SG, I was deemed an Uncle Tom a long time ago . (And I worked hard to win that award I might add .)

    And a blog devoted to “Black” matters, that does not feel I’m any kind of “sellout” is upset I stand on Jesus as the ONLY means for salvation.

    So don’t go thinking I can walk into a room presenting my case and masses of folks concerned about “Blackness” consider it a scholarly statement . Given many put race above faith, it’s pretty much sacrilegious to say what I say in most circles, regardless of the race of the person saying it.

    So I just say I often say what “needs to be said” put the slogan at the top of a blog and say it here .

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.