Home
/
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
/
MLK and the Natural Law
MLK and the Natural Law
Feb 11, 2026 10:21 AM

Martin Luther King, Jr. was fond of saying that the “arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” This was no thin, pragmatic account of rights-based egalitarian liberalism, says Derek Rishmawy, but rather a philosophically and theologically thick appeal to a divinely ordered and sustained cosmos.

As Rishmawy notes, it is simply impossible to separate King’s denunciation of racism and segregation from his Christian confession and theological convictions about the nature of the universe:

For King, segregation is not only sociologically suicidal but morally sinful. It violates our created nature and the eternal law of God. But where there is no law, there is no sin.

Despite the best efforts of secular admirers (see Christopher Hitchens), it is simply impossible to separate King’s denunciation of racism and segregation from his Christian confession and theological convictions about the nature of the universe. Absent a creator God who ordered the moral universe, the “arc” is no more than a sort of elevated survival instinct, our inevitably shifting social conscience, or some Platonic abstract ideal (a toothless law without a lawgiver).

mon grace some people will be motivated by these alternate principles, at least for a time. Eventually philosophical incoherence catches up. Then these moral foundations simply cannot sustain the needed, long-term struggle for justice that King and his associates engaged in. For peaceful, passionate, and determined protest, we need to be persuaded that we are tapping into moral bedrock of reality—one subject to the vindication and redemption of its Creator.

Read more . . .

Comments
Welcome to mreligion comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
Churches face ‘transfer of ownership’ by socialist government: Bishop
A new chapter of the state’s oppression of religion in the Balkans began last December, when the socialist government of Montenegro passed a law allowing the government to strip a longstanding, recognized church of its property and potentially transfer it to another sect under more amenable leadership. In the wee hours of the morning shortly after Christmas, politicians in Montenegro passed the Law on Religious Freedom. The Balkans have known no shortage of religious repression – collectively under Communism, and...
Acton Line podcast: How should Christians engage the world? In conversation with Abraham Kuyper
Central to the mission of the Acton Institute is educating people of faith about the connections that exist between religious life and economic thinking. Abraham Kuyper helped lay the groundwork for this mission by establishing why it’s important for Christians to be involved in the public square. Kuyper was a Dutch politician and a Reformed theologian during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. During his career, he wrote many books about theology, culture, business, and so much more, and...
‘American Factory’ manufactures a lemon
(Feb. 12, 2020) Update: American Factory wins an Oscar for best feature documentary. In accepting the award, co-director Julia Reichert told attendees at the awards ceremony, “We believe that things will get better when workers of the world unite.” Where have we heard that before? Meanwhile, things are not getting better for the UAW. The Flint Journal reported yesterday that, “Former Flint UAW boss used bribes to buy homes, relative’s plastic surgery, feds say.” The newspaper cited a federal sentencing...
Argentina is spiraling into economic chaos
It’s hardly news to say that Argentina is in deep economic trouble. With only a few exceptions, that has been a given for decades. But recent developments underscore just how much it is the responsibility of Argentine populist politicians and, to be blunt, those who persist in voting for them. This dynamic was recently well-summarized by Fergus Hodgson writing in the Epoch Times. He begins by outlining the dire economic challenges facing the country: Argentina enters 2020 with $332 billion...
What Joaquin Phoenix got right at the Oscars
Joaquin Phoenix has been rightly lambasted for his acceptance speech at the 2020 Academy Awards, in which he lent the weight of his celebrity to stamping out the grave evil of domesticating cattle. However, Phoenix made a vital, if less noticed, point that deserves our appreciation. It’s worth noting at the outset that this is not to say that the condemnation of Phoenix, who accepted an Oscar for his leading role in Joker, came undeserved. After rehearsing the usual bromides,...
Acton Line podcast: Responding to the pope’s call for wealth redistribution
On February 5, Pope Francis addressed a crowd of economists and finance ministers that had gathered together for a seminar on “New Forms of Solidarity Towards Fraternal Inclusion, Integration and Innovation.” During his speech, the pope addressed the economy, sin, and finance, and he also called for wealth distribution in order to alleviate poverty. “The world is rich, and yet the poor increase around us,” he said. “If extreme poverty exists in the midst of wealth (also extreme), it is...
Fast facts: President Trump’s proposed budget for FY2021
On Monday, President Donald Trump released his proposed budget for fiscal year 2021. The proposal touches on every area of economic activity, from taxes to spending, to regulation and the value of work. While the budget is a e step toward reduced spending, lower regulation, and a growth-oriented dynamic economy, bolder reforms are needed to establish fiscal solvency and restore the government to its constitutional prerogatives. Here are the facts you need to know. Total spending and the national deficit:...
A concise natural law reading list
One of the occupational hazards of being a librarian is that people are always asking you for book mendations. The truth is that mending books is more difficult than it seems. mendations are as much about the reader as the books themselves. Even the best book on a given subject is useless to the wrong reader. The first and best filter for mendations is reader interest. Even the most voracious mitted readers struggle to finish great works which simply bore...
Boris Johnson: ‘Free trade needs a global champion’
In the immediate aftermath of the historic vote for Brexit, many cheered Britain’s decision to leave the European Union, hailing it as a win for freedom, democracy, and subsidiarity. Yet others were quick to claim the move was driven only by populist fear and an inward-looking protectionism. In the years since, however, it has became readily apparent that possibilities for freer trade do, indeed, abound, with many of the country’s pro-Brexit leaders continuing to champion free and open global exchange....
Acton Commentary: Flexible wages are one path to a more humane market
In an increasingly polarized political environment, where purity of intention substitutes for successful results, some mentators have gone so far as to say that questioning the efficacy of raising the minimum wage to $15 a hour mocks God Himself. But this week’s Acton Commentary notes that those faithful to Catholic social teaching should accept wage flexibility, which reduces unemployment. In “Flexible wages are one path to a more humane market,” Michael Szpindor Watson, an assistant professor of economics at Belmont...
Related Classification
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.mreligion.com All Rights Reserved