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Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Bible-believing Christian

One of the most revered heroes of modern society is Martin Luther King, Jr. All over the nation there are schools, roads, museums, and even a holiday named after him. His memory is invoked in all the classrooms of America and children’s libraries are filled with biographies and stories recounting his life.

Of course, it’s rarely mentioned that King believed in God. We teach the little ones that he “had a dream,” but we don’t mention what motivated him, what strengthened him, and what gave him so much courage and wisdom, even though there’s no doubt that his faith inspired him.

Atheists, such as Christopher Hitchens, have a difficult time fitting King into their argument that “religion poisons everything.” They even try to rationalize that he wasn’t a “real” Christian.
Yet King was a passionate follower of Jesus Christ. His arguments often came from the Scriptures or from theologians such as Reinhold Niebuhr, Paul Tillich, or St. Augustine. For example, King explained in his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” that much of his understanding on civil disobedience came straight from the Bible:


Unfortunately for Hitchens, he cannot claim the civil rights activist as his own when words such as this flowed from King’s pen, trying to explain why he no longer minded being called an extremist:


Followers of Jesus are still usually cast as “extremists” today, but they share the same biblical heritage as Martin Luther King, Jr. and can proudly and honestly claim him as their brother in Christ.


  • DustofTheEarth 3 years ago

    Admiring Jesus, and outstanding social work does not make a person a "bible believing Christian." No, ML King, Jr. was not an atheist, but, according to those who knew his religious views best, he was closer to being a Unitarian than (any kind) of bible believing Christian. King, in his college and seminary papers denied the virgin birth, the bodily resurrection of Christ, and Jesus' unique divinity. Don't believe me, check here: This is a well researched AND POSITIVE article about King's beliefs. No, I'm not trying to slur King, as indeed, he was a great man who accomplished great things for racial justice and reconciliation for America, and indeed the world. Another great man, in my opinion, was Thomas Jefferson--yet no one who knows anything about Jefferson will claim he was a "bible believing Christian" since he openly denied the deity of Jesus Christ. Jefferson also, unfortunately, kept slaves.... Do these faults destroy all the good that Jefferson and his ideas on freedom gave America and the world? No. Same is true for ML King, Jr. Just because someone isn't a "bible believing Christian" does NOT mean they can't be a great blessing to the world.