Martin Luther King Jr: His Beliefs on His Day

January 15 is the birth anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr. It is commemorated in the US, as Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, one of the four federal holidays on the third Monday of the month. Dr. King was the leading figure who initiated the non-violent struggle against racial segregation in the federal and state law during the civil rights movement.

Beliefs of Martin Luther King Dr.

Born on January 15, 1929, the clergyman turned activist to protest against the violation of the human rights of African-Americans. Here are some of his core beliefs:

• God created blacks and whites equally. That made all men equal and negated the very foundation of unfair treatment to people of a particular race.
• Even after he was stabbed, his house was bombed and his family members received threats, he did not respond violently. He maintained firm belief in the Christian ideals of conquering hatred by forgiveness and love.
• Everybody, as a human, is created in the likeness of God, which entitles him or her to dignity. Since this reflection of God on human beings apples to every person, differentiation on the basis of race is a sin that does not respect God and the Bible.
• People are accountable to God for the lives they live. Doing evil acts in this life would be taken into account when one has to be present before God administers justice.
• True Christianity teaches tolerance, humanitarianism, egalitarianism and impartiality, as opposed to the distorted Christian message propagated by America’s far-right elements. These people misinterpreted the Gospel and teachings of Christ to fit their racist and neo-Nazi beliefs into them. It was not the race, creed, color or nationality of a person, but the sort of person he/she was inside that mattered.

Two Christian churches recognize Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as a martyr. In 1964, he became the youngest awardee of the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end racial discrimination through means such as civil disobedience. In the last years of his life, he had expanded the area of his work to empowering the poor and opposing the Vietnam War. Both these activities were carried out from a religious perspective. On April 4, 1968, he was assassinated in Tennessee. Even today, his beliefs remain relevant wherever one needs to uphold the ideal of fairness.