FAITH OF THE FOUNDERS: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr on the Bible’s Immense Influence on the Founders
(QUICK READ) — Martin Luther King Jr. was not around during the Revolutionary War era, of course, but he was instrumental in helping move the nation to greater fulfillment of the Declaration of Independence’s second paragraph about those inalienable rights from our creator.
In a sermon delivered on July 4, 1965, at his Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, King described the intimate relationship linking the founders’ understanding of liberty with Christianity:
“You see, the founding fathers were really influenced by the Bible. The whole concept of the imago Dei, as it is expressed in Latin, the ‘image of God,’ is the idea that all men have something within them that God injected. Not that they have substantial unity with God, but that every man has a capacity to have fellowship with God. And this gives him a uniqueness, it gives him worth, it gives him dignity.
“And we must never forget this as a nation: there are no gradations in the image of God. Every man from a treble white to a bass black is significant on God’s keyboard, precisely because every man is made in the image of God. One day we will learn that. We will know one day that God made us to live together as brothers and to respect the dignity and worth of every man.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s sermon delivered at Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia, on 4 July 1965.
Christian Life and Character of the Civil Institutions of the United States of America.
Many of the quotes reprinted in HillFaith’s “The Faith of The Founders” weekly series of posts are compiled from Benjamin F. Morris’ classic work, “The Christian Life and Character of the Civil Institutions of the United States.” Morris, an historian and pastor, published the first edition more than a century ago.
Quotations are also compiled from Mark Strand, author of the Daily Inspirations email he shares on request here and that HillFaith highly recommends to all congressional aides, be they working on Capitol Hill or in a state or district office back home.
Mark Strand was for 16 years President of the Congressional Institute, and he is a former fellow of the Harvard Institute of Politics. He was also a 24-year veteran congressional staffer, including four years as Chief of Staff to Sen. James Talent (R-Missouri).