Here at PubTheo we have more than a warm place in our heart for the teachings of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. So as we roll ever closer to this year’s presidential election — now only 14 days away — it is worth pondering and discussing the quote featured in the illustration above.
The Church must be reminded it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state, and never its tool.
If the Church does not recapture its prophetic zeal, it will become an irrelevant social club without moral or spiritual authority.
The words are from a speech Dr. King gave on June 11, 1967 at Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Cincinnati. He had originally written the text in 1963, titled “A Knock at Midnight,” and version delivered four years later was reproduced and distributed as a record album and included in collections of his speeches and sermons. He would be assassinated less than a year after delivering this sermon.
We’re going to talk about both parts of this quote from Dr. King. First, what does it mean for the Church to be the conscience of the state? To be a guide and critic? Do you think the Church has become a tool of the state, or is in danger of so becoming? How have we seen the Church live up to, or fail to live up to, its role in this regard?
Second, what do you think King means by “prophetic zeal”? And has his warning come true, has the Church become nothing more than an irrelevant social club, lacking in moral authority.
Join us this week for our virtual conversation beginning online at tomorrow evening at 7 pm. Read below for instructions about how to join the discussion.
St. Mary’s In-The-Hills is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Pub Theology
Time: Oct 20, 2020 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
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Meeting ID: 941 8459 2459
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