And sadly, the evidence is—as illustrated by his personal lifestyle—that M.L. King rejected the good news of Jesus Christ. In seminary it’s clear he rejected the virgin birth and the divinity of Christ. King became a Baptist minister instead of a Unitarian, not due to evangelical conviction—but mainly because he knew he would have much greater acceptance and leadership in the black community—to lead them into social justice.
According to his closest associates, the night before he was murdered—he had sexual relations with 3 different women, none his wife (a pattern repeated and routine during his travels)...and it is also proven he plagiarized his doctoral thesis. The content of Rev. King’s (personal) character needs to be acknowledged, was sorely lacking. Yes, he did great things for civil rights—but we must not make him a saint, when he certainly was not.
No Christianity is possible without the Virgin Birth and the divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Coretta was Hillary before the Clintons emerged to charm the American people.
By the standards of adultery, then even the great Psalmist himself, King David, (who also committed murder) could not stand before judgment.
Martin Luther of Germany held grotesquely anti-Semitic views.
John Calvin’s life is full of controversy also.
You can appreciate great men of God like Billy Graham, and yet not identify as a Baptist/Evangelical or Arminian.
Seminary, University is a time of deep introspection and questioning in general. I speak not only for my friends who attended seminary and aspire to be church leaders, but even for myself as a layman. The Christian I am today, intellectually speaking, has evolved. And I do not fall neatly into any one fixed box.
And neither do God’s chosen people. Salvation is ultimately not based on a multiple choice doctrine test.
While I hold to strong Calvinist views on matters of sin and the means of salvation, I worship at a Catholic Church and my daily prayers and praise are inextricably tied to the liturgy and the sacraments.
While living in Russia, I appreciated the prism into Christ and the ancient treasures of faith Eastern Orthodoxy opened my soul to. I experienced a dimension of the Holy Spirit that I have not in Western churches.
I do believe MLK died a man who acknowledged his sinful nature, accepted the Gospel and Christ as His Savior.
And I believe God used his intellectual journey with wll its complexities and questions, to mold him for “such a time as this” at that crucial juncture in our country’s history.