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A review by perilous1
A Gift of Love: Sermons from Strength to Love and Other Preachings by Martin Luther King Jr.
5.0
"How often are our lives characterized by a high blood pressure of creeds and an anemia of deeds!"
I'm no theologian, and my grasp of apologetics is rudimentary... but those limitations didn't even remotely impede my appreciation for these sermons.
King is widely known for his impactful speeches and oratory prowess--but at his core, he was a Reverend. The product of a multi-generational legacy of faith. And that fact informed every aspect of his convictions, actions, perspective, and literary voice. Here in these writings, he can be seen most fully in his element.
"This strange dichotomy, this agonizing gulf between the ought and the is, represents the tragic theme of man’s earthly pilgrimage."
Nuanced and skillfully crafted, these messages are rife with stirring metaphors and poignant parallels. He neither truncates nor drags out the point. Rather he holds it up and eloquently requests you examine it from different, and perhaps new angels. And he does so consistently with his signature grace and stalwart warmth.
If you want to know the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. more fully, I highly recommend adding these works to your reading list. Because the spiritual is often overlooked in history class.
"They know not what they do,' said Jesus. Blindness was their trouble; enlightenment was their need. We must recognize that Jesus was nailed to the cross not simply by sin but also by blindness. The men who cried 'Crucify him," were not bad men but rather blind men. The jeering mob that lined the roadside which led to Calvary was composed not of evil people but of blind people. They knew not what they did..."
I'm no theologian, and my grasp of apologetics is rudimentary... but those limitations didn't even remotely impede my appreciation for these sermons.
King is widely known for his impactful speeches and oratory prowess--but at his core, he was a Reverend. The product of a multi-generational legacy of faith. And that fact informed every aspect of his convictions, actions, perspective, and literary voice. Here in these writings, he can be seen most fully in his element.
"This strange dichotomy, this agonizing gulf between the ought and the is, represents the tragic theme of man’s earthly pilgrimage."
Nuanced and skillfully crafted, these messages are rife with stirring metaphors and poignant parallels. He neither truncates nor drags out the point. Rather he holds it up and eloquently requests you examine it from different, and perhaps new angels. And he does so consistently with his signature grace and stalwart warmth.
If you want to know the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. more fully, I highly recommend adding these works to your reading list. Because the spiritual is often overlooked in history class.
"They know not what they do,' said Jesus. Blindness was their trouble; enlightenment was their need. We must recognize that Jesus was nailed to the cross not simply by sin but also by blindness. The men who cried 'Crucify him," were not bad men but rather blind men. The jeering mob that lined the roadside which led to Calvary was composed not of evil people but of blind people. They knew not what they did..."