Injustice, Luther and Luther King

Want to challenge injustice? There is much to learn from Martin Luther and Martin Luther King, say the organisers of a new event exploring the theologies and prophetic contributions of the two revolutionaries

Luther led the Protestant Reformation, which took place 500 years ago, while Luther King, a Baptist minister, was a key figure in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s.
 
While they were two very different men from different ages, both challenged injustice. The movements they spearheaded had a ‘significant impact on the Church and its place in the public square,’ explained Wale Hudson Roberts, Justice Enabler at the Baptist Union.
 
‘Both Martins inspired their movements to transform Christian dogma and praxis.

'They encouraged the restoration of an internal order, a new sense of community, one in which the flourishing of the ‘other’, regardless of difference, is protected, appreciated and respected as normative. Theological and social liberation were central to the revolutions they led.
 
‘It is important these life changing movements are not locked in the histories past, but influence and inform the future.’
 
The Justification and Justice Symposium will investigate the histories of both Martins and apply them to our churches. It will also explore the Baptist Union Apology for Slavery 10 years on, and aims to provide tools to equip Baptist leaders and churches to build a justice-centred church.

It takes place at Spurgeon’s College on 8 April. Speakers include Devon Dick (President of the Jamaica Baptist Union), Lynn Green (General Secretary of the Baptist Union of Great Britain) and David Muir (Tutor at Roehampton University).
 
‘Justice - morally right behaviour and treatment of people - is massively important to God,’ said Mr Hudson-Roberts. ‘How the church can live justly and speak truth to power are consistent themes throughout the Bible.  
 
‘The Symposium will challenge the 21st Century Church not to relegate following Christ to the private realm, but to be the justice conscience of our society - by building just churches that speak and act like Christ.’