Is the Church the Hope of the World?
by Martin Luther King Jr.
by Martin Luther King Jr.
It is a common saying in religious circles that the church
is the hope of the world. This question inevitably leads the objective mind to
a bit of doubt. He immediately asks, "How can the church be the hope of
the world when it is the most reactionary institution in society?" In
other words, the church is suppose to be the most radical opposer of the status
quo in society, yet, in many instances, it is the greatest preserver of the
status quo. So it was easy for slavery to receive a religious sanction. The church
is one of the chief exponents of racial bigotry. Monopoly capitalism has always
received the sanction of the church.
Since this is the case, we must admit that the church is far
from Christ. What has happened is this: The church, while flowing through the
stream of history has picked up the evils of little tributaries, and these
tributaries have been so powerful that they have been able to overwhelm the
main stream. In other words, the church has picked up a lot of historical
vices. This is the tragedy of the church, for it has confused the vices of the
church with the virtues of Christ. The church has been nothing but the slave of
society. Whenever the mores call for evil practices, society runs to the church
to get its sanction.
Therefore, I conclude that the church, in its present state,
is not the hope of the world. I believe that nothing has so persistently and
effectively blocked the way of salvation as the church. On the other hand, the
church can be the hope of the world, but only when it returns to Christ. If we
take Christ to the world, we will turn it upside down, but the tragedy is that
we too often take Christianity. It is our job as minister to bring the church
back to the center of the human race. But we can only bring the church back to
the center of the human race when we bring Christ back to the center of the
church.
Source: http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/primarydocuments/Vol6/14Sept1948-15Feb1950IstheChurchtheHopeoftheWorld.pdf , February 27, 2015, AHDS CSKC Sermon file, folder 36, “Sermon Notes”.
Source: http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/primarydocuments/Vol6/14Sept1948-15Feb1950IstheChurchtheHopeoftheWorld.pdf , February 27, 2015, AHDS CSKC Sermon file, folder 36, “Sermon Notes”.
