[lit-ideas] Re: MLK on extremism
- From: "John McCreery" <john.mccreery@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2007 12:34:54 +0900
Brian,
Doesn't it strike you as just a wee bit ironical that you cite MLK who
quotes Jesus, "Love your enemies,bless them that curse you, pray for
them that despitefully use you" Long way between this and extremism in
either a Militant Islamic or John Birch sense.
John
On 1/16/07, Brian <cabrian@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
But as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a bit
of satisfaction being considered an extremist. Was not Jesus an
extremist for love -- "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you,
pray for them that despitefully use you." Was not Amos an extremist
for justice -- "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness
like a mighty stream." Was not Paul an extremist for the gospel of
Jesus Christ -- "I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus." Was
not Martin Luther an extremist -- "Here I stand; I can do none other
so help me God." Was not John Bunyan an extremist -- "I will stay in
jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my
conscience." Was not Abraham Lincoln an extremist -- "This nation
cannot survive half slave and half free." Was not Thomas Jefferson an
extremist -- "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men
are created equal." So the question is not whether we will be
extremist but what kind of extremist will we be. Will we be
extremists for hate or will we be extremists for love? Will we be
extremists for the preservation of injustice--or will we be
extremists for the cause of justice? In that dramatic scene on
Calvary's hill, three men were crucified. We must not forget that all
three were crucified for the same crime--the crime of extremism. Two
were extremists for immorality, and thusly fell below their
environment. The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love,
truth and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment. So, after
all, maybe the South, the nation and the world are in dire need of
creative extremists.
Letter From The Birmingham Jail, pg. 22-23
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John McCreery
The Word Works, Ltd., Yokohama, JAPAN
Tel. +81-45-314-9324
http://www.wordworks.jp/
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