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The Influence Of Martin Luther King Jr.

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Martin Luther King Jr. was an African-American civil rights activist who lived from 1929 to 1968. He was mostly known for his peaceful protest movements across America, and for his speech ‘I Have a Dream’. Martin Luther King Jr. was also known for his connection to Christianity, and how he used the influence of Jesus Christ throughout his life to lead the people of the activist movement through times of trial and revolution, while relating many of his teachings to the Bible. He made very significant contributions because of his belief, although he did encounter many difficulties. He was inspired by Jesus Christ from a very early age and continued to use that influence to do great and significant changes to the society of the middle 1900’s …show more content…

Since being inspired by Christ, Jesus’ actions has influenced King as well. Martin Luther King Jr.’s faith in Jesus Christ influenced his actions, values, and beliefs in multiple ways including King leading peaceful protests, his belief of being kind and fair to everyone, and values including determination and persistence. King believed that peaceful protests were the ideal revolution, inspired by Mahatma Gandhi. While Gandhi was not a Christian, rather a Hindu, Martin Luther King Jr. believed that many of Gandhi's principles related to Christianity, "Gandhi was probably the first person in history to lift the love ethic of Jesus above mere interaction between individuals to a powerful and effective social force on a large scale. Christ furnished the spirit and motivation, and Gandhi furnished the method." (MLK). King concluded Christ was the basis of Mahatma Gandhi’s teachings and used his example in his actions. Martin Luther also believed that throughout all the chaos in the upheaval of traditions, you should always remain kind and fair towards those on your side, or the opponent. This belief was heavily influenced by Jesus Christ and his teachings to love your enemy and to be kind towards everyone, shown in multiple situations in the Bible, shown in Paragraph 4. King showed this example throughout his authoritative positions, communicating to his followers that Christ and

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