letter to eight white clergy men
"An unjust law is no law at all," is a quote by St. Augustine that Martin Luther King, Jr., uses in his letter responding to the letter of the eight white clergymen. The quote is King's defense for his act of disobeying the law of segregation. King's letter explains why there is injustice in segregation and calls for justice from these laws. The letter effectively uses examples of the laws to justify his action, also examples of the church and God, as well as examples of common sense to convince the Christian group and the middle and educated class to follow his actions and faith. Responding to the accusations of the letter on breaking the laws, King gives facts and examples to justify his actions. He replies, the reason for him of disobeying the law of segregation is that he's simply obeyed the Supreme Court's decision of 1954 outlawing segregation in public school. However by obeying the court's decision, he is breaking the laws of segregations. Thus the two are in contradiction with each other. King then asks, how can people know which law is to obey and which is not to? He reveals that there are two types of laws: just and unjust. Using the words of St. Thomas Aquinas, King e
Throughout the letter, King uses examples St. Augustine, and the teachings of the Bible, to show the Christians that even their religions and also his, are against segregation. With the words of St. Augustine, "An unjust law is no law at all," he declares to these Christians that he owes it to himself and to his belief to fight segregation as how early Christians were rather die than to agree to the unjust laws of the Roman Empire. He gives example of how the early Christians traveled across the land to share the words of God because they believed in God even though many people had opposed and tried to stop them. However these Christians had succeeded because they believed their actions were righteous. Because segregation is unjust, then it is not a law and therefore it should be abolished. King shows that his beliefs and actions are righteous and like the early Christians he will continue to fight on for his beliefs until he succeeded. Using their beliefs and also his own, King shows the undeniably truth about the unjust of segregation and unarguably to these facts. He successfully defends his actions to people who has not realized or understood his actions. He demonstrates that his way is probably the only way to act for people who believe in God and follow the Christian way of life. For readers who he categorizes as "white moderates," King's passage that describes the every day
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Approximate Word count = 945
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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