The power of unearned suffering: the roots and implications of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s theodicy

by Edmondson, Mika

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Title Statements

Full title :The power of unearned suffering : the roots and implications of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s theodicy / Mika Edmondson.

Summary

This book explores the roots and relevance of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s approach to black suffering. King's conviction that "unearned suffering is redemptive" reflects a nearly 250-year-old tradition in the black church going back to the earliest Negro spirituals. From the bellies of slave ships, the foot of the lynching tree, and the back of segregated buses, black Christians have always maintained the hope that God could "make a way out of no way" and somehow bring good from the evils inflicted on them. As a product of the black church tradition, King inherited this widespread belief, developed it using Protestant liberal concepts, and deployed it throughout the Civil Rights Movement of the 50's and 60's as a central pillar of the whole non-violent movement. Recently, critics have maintained that King's doctrine of redemptive suffering creates a martyr mentality which makes victims passive in the face of their suffering; this book argues against that critique. King's concept offers real answers to important challenges, and it offers practical hope and guidance for how beleaguered black citizens can faithfully engage their suffering today. (Publisher).

Edition Statements

Publication Date:2017

Publication Statements

Publisher(s):Lexington Books
Place of Publication:Lanham
Language:eng
Publication Date:2017

The Physical Object

Description:xix, 229 pages ; : 24 cm.

Edition Identifiers

ISBN:9781498537322, 1498537324, 9781498537346, 1498537340
oclc:ocn961001922
LC Classification:BX6455.K56
Dewey Decimal:231/.8092

Roots and development of King's theodicy -- Family and cultural roots -- Black church roots -- Early engagement with Protestant liberalism -- Later engagement with Protestant liberalism -- Critics and contemporary relevance of King's theodicy -- The Black humanists -- The womanists -- Contemporary relevance.