Liberal or Conservative? Yes.

Happy Birthday Martin Luther King Jr.!  Tomorrow most of us will have the day off as we celebrate MLK day.  However, Martin was born today in 1929.  I know this well because he and I share the same birthday.

As a boy I grew up fascinated by him because I shared the same day with someone famous.  One of the first books I remember getting (picture shown above) was a small children’s book about his life and movement.  He is a fascinating man with an unbelievable story.  He is a modern picture of what nonviolent resistance looks like.  One of the misconceptions of pacifism is that it is a sign of weakness. True pacifism isn’t backing down or shying away.  When you look at Martin Luther king Jr. you know that.  King’s unbelievable strength and discipline to not fight back defined his mission.

One of the books that I am currently reading is The Autobiography Of Martin Luther King Jr. I really resonate with some of King’s experiences in seminary.  He grew up in a conservative fundamentalist family as I did.  Dr. King shares some of his experiences at Crozer Seminary:

“I engaged in the exciting reading of various theological theories.  Having been raised in a rather strict fundamentalist tradition, I was occasionally shocked when my intellectual journey carried me through new and sometimes complex doctrinal lands, but the pilgrimage was always stimulating… When I came to Crozer, I could accept the liberal interpretation of Christianity with relative ease.  Liberalism provided me with an intellectual satisfaction that I had never found in fundamentalism.”

King continues,

“My former leaning may root back to certain experience that I had in the South, with its vicious race problem, that made it very difficult for me to believe in the essential goodness of man.  The more I observed the tragedies of history and man’s shameful inclination to choose the low road, the more I came to see the depths and strength of sin.  Liberalism’s superficial optimism concerning human nature caused it to overlook the fact that reason is darkened by sin.”

King’s background shaped his theology.  When he left the South for a time he was able to see the goodness of men and the hope of integration.

I often find “liberal” thoughts refreshing when I am around others who are legalistic, traditional and stifling.  At least, many of my views are considered liberal in their eyes.  On the flip side, I often revert back to more basic, conservative thoughts when I am around those who question morality, the Bible or God.  What I am trying to say is, it all depends on the political and cultural climate that I am in.  Do you find this to be true of you?