[lit-ideas] Re: MLK on extremism
- From: JimKandJulieB@xxxxxxx
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2007 05:53:01 EST
Having finally, and most obtusely, noted Brian's pov, I might humbly
suggest, Brian, that you would like well Simone Weil's "Gravity and Grace" (a
book
I've mentioned frequently on this list).
Julie Krueger
========Original Message======== Subj: [lit-ideas] Re: MLK on extremism
Date: 1/15/2007 9:35:39 P.M. Central Standard Time From:
_john.mccreery@xxxxxxxxxx (mailto:john.mccreery@xxxxxxxxx) To:
_lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
(mailto:lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx) Sent on:
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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