Founding Father of Nonviolence

I have just finished reading Strength to Love, by Martin Luther King, Jr., and I feel a need to share my reflections on it with you.  This is the first book I have ever read by MLK, Jr and I feel that it provides a good summary of his journey in the development of his belief in the effectiveness and necessity of a nonviolent approach to conflict.  In other words, I highly recommend you read it!  It is one of the best books I've ever read!


MLK, Jr hit on key ideas in this book that challenged me; like how to love your enemy and forgiveness.  These are not natural human traits.  What stood out to me in reading this book was not in how eloquently he stated his ideals, but the fact that he LIVED OUT his ideals.  His challenge to his audience to find the strength to love their enemies despite obstacles was not something he wrote because it sounded good or it would help him win popularity contests; he fought the battle against violence with integrity despite the fact that he recieved death threats, had his house burned down and broken into, and was imprisoned!  Wow! Does that ever make me feel like I need to quit complaining about my trivial trials!

Now I know ya'll don't need a history lesson on MLK, Jr so I'll end my little rant, but he was pretty awesome!

So  here are some key things I pulled out of reading this book:

Hope:
This was the overwhelming theme of his book and his life.  He extended hope to the readers by giving examples of how to live out the principles of forgiveness and providing examples, including himself, of people who did live them out.

I love how he hit things head on and was not oblivious or inattentive to the obstacles people face when trying to live out nonviolence. He did not avoid them, or put on a facade to the reality of pain, suffering, or evil.  He forthrightly and unashamedly addressed the issues of fear, doubt, hatred, suffering, and the origin of evil and extended hope.  I appreciated that he did not deny that he himself at times felt afraid, or had shattered dreams and wanted to give up hope.  He acknowledged that and his writing style did not allude to any self-righteousness or holier-than-thou attitude.  He was honest about his personal struggles with these emotions and despite all of them he still extended hope.

We live in a fallen and depraved world and it is difficult to face pain and suffering everyday. I wonder often why it has to be this way, but it is possible to not be discouraged.

A better understanding of who he was:  
The last chapter described how MLK's personal experiences led to his belief in and development of the nonviolent approach.  His influences stemmed primarily from personal childhood experiences of racial segregation and his study of theological theories.  (Since I didn't know what he was talking about, I had to refer to Google quite often). He mentioned his studies of liberalism, neo-orthodoxy, and existentialism. I will not attempt to explain these theories since I am not qualified to do so, but they will be interesting for further study.  If anyone wants to discuss these theories some time or attempt to explain them, I would love it!!

Two books, in addition to the Bible, also influenced him: Christianity and the Social Crisis by Walter Rauschenbusch and the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi.


His unashamed commitment to the truths of Christ:
Preach it brother! Amen, hallelujah, and thank you Jesus!! 'Nuff said.



I am truly inspired by this man's ability to face fear with courage, doubt with hope, and hate with love.  My next book will be Where do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? by MLK, Jr.. I am  also interested in further studying the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi.

I need to include some quotes: that will come next! Time for me to go to bed.

Introduction

Hi Everyone!

This is a blog I am starting to see what is happening in my local city (Ann Arbor, MI) to help my neighbors in need. These issues can cover a whole range, but I am going to try to focus on issues of particular interest to me: substance abuse, physical abuse, homelessness, poverty, and juvenile delinquents.   For the next four months I am going to identify local agencies who are offer public/civic/religious services to help my neighbors deal with their "issues."

I am going to include interviews with local neighbors who are familiar with local services and discuss with them various issues such as: ease of access to services, qualifications for access to services, how much the service helped with their personal issue, and how open communication was between the service and the interviewee.

Concurrently, I am going to be taking a class on Social Problems.  By the end of this blog I hope to:

•  help the reader (and myself) have a better understanding of the systemic issues surrounding social injustice, social inequities

• Identify effective strategies used by grass-roots programs for meeting the needs of the community and alleviating the effects of those needs.

This blog can really go anywhere and I am really excited to begin this journey with you!  Please feel free at any point to contact me and post comments. I'd love to hear your ideas!