A Prophetic Truth

Writing from a Jail cell in 1963 Martin Luther King penned these words in response to Clergymen who were critical of his activities to bring freedom to America. While I want to post the letter as a whole, I prefer to write on a specific part of that letter that I believe to be coming true at this moment in time. To read the letter in its entirety go to
http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html

Here is part of what he wrote....

There was a time when the church was very powerful--in the time when the early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society. Whenever the early Christians entered a town, the people in power became disturbed and immediately sought to convict the Christians for being "disturbers of the peace" and "outside agitators."' But the Christians pressed on, in the conviction that they were "a colony of heaven," called to obey God rather than man. Small in number, they were big in commitment. They were too God-intoxicated to be "astronomically intimidated." By their effort and example they brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide and gladiatorial contests. Things are different now. So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often it is an arch defender of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church's silent--and often even vocal--sanction of things as they are.


But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If today's church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century. Every day I meet young people whose disappointment with the church has turned into outright disgust.

Martin Luther King ~ From a Jail cell in Birmingham Alabama 16 April 1963


I wrote much in response to this truth then erased it. I'm tired of the use of meaningless words in the face of such honest ones. Blog them if you want, Face book them if you want, I choose to do something about it.