A few days ago, Martin Luther King Jr. Day was celebrated which is his birthday. More often, he is regarded as a hero of civil rights and his assassination on April 4, 1968. The reason behind the assassinations may not be as clear as we think. Some people made him a hero and his birthday became a holiday for the civil rights movement. His speech “I Have a Dream” is still regarded as one of the best speeches. However, while he did contribute some good, he shouldn’t be regarded as a hero of biblical Christianity which I will explain in this blog post.
King was openly an agent of the Vatican
As a former Catholic, I find this to be rather disturbing. I used to admire him after I received Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. It ‘s just like I used to watch the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) after I got saved. I used to listen to the Billy Graham Crusades and heard the message of salvation also from one of its preachers on the same channel. King was regarded as a peacemaker in some way. However, he wasn’t a biblical peacemaker as he was making unequal yokes with light and darkness.
Whether Catholic fake defenders want to admit it or not–the Jesuits actually honored King as a great man. In fact, this transcript alone could show how King, a Baptist pastor, is openly an ally of the Vatican:
January 19, 2015 — On a sweltering September day in 1965, a gathering of over 500 students, faculty members, administrators and members of the press assembled in Dinneen Auditorium at Saint Peter’s College (now University) in Jersey City, New Jersey, to hear a Baptist minister from Georgia talk about his vision for America’s future. He was working toward dismantling legislation and an ideology he viewed as evil, one which prevented black Americans from being equal to their white brothers and sisters. His Christian faith was the impetus for his non-violent fight for social justice through civil disobedience. This man was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Dr. King was invited to speak at Saint Peter’s Michaelmas Convocation by the board of trustees, with the main push coming from Jesuit Father Victor Yanitelli, the president at the time. Held at the beginning of the school year, the Michaelmas Convocation is an annual celebration honoring student and faculty with awards as well as featuring a guest speaker.
The story of how Dr. King arrived on the Saint Peter’s campus began long before that warm September morning. Saint Peter’s had invited Dr. King to speak two years earlier, but due to his busy schedule, he was unable to speak at the college until 1965. By the time that Dr. King was finally able to speak, much had happened. He had delivered his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech during the 1963 March on Washington, which resonated with millions of Americans working toward equality. In 1964, he had become the youngest person to receive a Nobel Prize for his work in the American Civil Rights Movement. And earlier in 1965 he led a march in Alabama from Selma to Montgomery in support of African-American voting rights.
Saint Peter’s awarded Dr. King with an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws and Letters. After receiving the honorary degree, Dr. King spoke on the evils of inequality and how segregation was in opposition of democracy. Additionally, he talked about how all men were created equally by God but were still not treated as such. While legislative changes were an important component for civil rights, they could not change people’s minds about race. Despite this, he was hopeful for the future. “Although some will be scarred, lose jobs and be called bad names, our problems will be solved. We shall overcome,” Dr. King said. He underscored his speech by reaffirming the need to combat these social evils through non-violent measures.
Saint Peter’s was the only Jesuit school to award Dr. King an honorary doctorate. Today, people know how history unfolded and how Dr. King’s contributions shaped America. At the time this was not the case. “There is a line from the documentary ‘Citizen King’ that captures this well: ‘It’s easier to build a monument than a movement,’” said Anna Brown, associate professor and chair of political science and director of the social justice program at Saint Peter’s University. “Although today we have a national holiday … at the time he was kind of a controversial figure.”
The Jesuits of Saint Peter’s recognized the significance of what Dr. King was doing and wanted to stand with him in support of his cause. Jesuit Father Edmund G. Ryan, academic dean at Saint Peter’s College, wrote a letter in which he praised Dr. King’s spiritual principles. In his conclusion he stated, “I have taken a position in this case and am quite proud of it and believe that it is according to the best traditions of Saint Peter’s College, the Jesuit Order, and the Roman Catholic Church.”
Jerome Gillen, a history professor at Saint Peter’s University, was a senior at Saint Peter’s College when Dr. King came to speak at the Michaelmas Convocation. Gillen recalled how in 1965 the student body was mostly Catholic white men who were the first in their family to attend college. “Today it’s still mostly first generation college students, but with 64 different countries represented. We have great ethnic diversity now,” said Gillen.
Today, Saint Peter’s serves its student population by caring for and nourishing their unique gifts and abilities. A variety of programs help students in need, including The Center for Undocumented Students as well as tutoring and outreach programs for different groups. But a part of caring for a person is teaching them that they have to give back and care for others as well. “Saint Peter’s, faculty, staff, and administration are all committed to the work of social justice,” said Brown.
Fifty years ago, Saint Peter’s honored Dr. King, whose faith had moved him to do great things. The administration recognized his achievements and instilled in its students a desire to take a stance for justice. Today, Saint Peter’s continues this philosophy and educates students to serve as men and women for others.
King was already disqualified as a pastor by his lifestyle
1 Timothy 3:1-7 tells us of these qualifications to be a pastor or overseer:
The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. 2 Therefore an overseer[a] must be above reproach, the husband of one wife,[b] sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, 5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.
However, King had already disqualified himself as he was far from blameless. Did you know King had actually had affairs with multiple women? The Times reveal that FBI tapes reveal that King had an affair with 40 women! How is that supposed to be lifestyle of someone who is saved by grace? That’s very loose evidence of regeneration and higher evidence of degeneration. Those affairs should’ve been more than enough to kick him out of his office. Yet, his popularity among the crowd may have been a long-standing element why he wasn’t removed. Until now he is so honored in spite of the leakage of all his well-documented scandals. For some, it could be as shocking as the late Alberto Rivera’s real story and the late Jack Hyles’ scandals. Rivera and Hyles were also habitual adulterers too. Rivera was would molest his female students and Hyles had a longstanding affair with his deacon’s wife.
As said, King should no longer be honored as a man of God. This isn’t to dismiss any good that he did. Unfortunately, to honor him as such as to call good evil and evil good. This should be a wake-up call to churches who still regard him as a hero of Christianity.
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