%0 Journal Article
%T Martin Luther King Jr.¡¯s white moderates and moderate Baptists: Moderateness as betrayal of the gospel
%A Kate Hanch
%J Review & Expositor
%@ 2052-9449
%D 2019
%R 10.1177/0034637319856336
%X In his 1963 ¡°Letter from a Birmingham Jail,¡± Martin Luther King Jr. criticizes ¡°the white moderate,¡± identifying them as empathizing with the Civil Rights Movement, but not acting upon it. King¡¯s ¡°white moderate¡± compares to contemporary white Baptists who embody King¡¯s definition. Putting ¡°white moderate¡± in conversation with ¡°moderate Baptists¡± demonstrates how moderate actions betray the Gospel. Exploring the identity of the clergy whom King addresses in his letter aids in drawing out a fuller definition of ¡°moderate.¡± This article applies three aspects of King¡¯s critique to contemporary Baptist concerns, such as women in ministry and inclusion of LGBTQIA persons in all areas of ministry: (1) an avoidance of tension through silence, what King calls ¡°negative peace;¡± (2) a sympathetic view without sustained change in social structure or policy, identified by King as ¡°lukewarm acceptance;¡± and (3) using generalized statements to avoid speaking of ¡°hot-topic¡± issues, which King phrases as ¡°sanctimonious trivialities.¡± White Baptists can fight against the trend of ¡°moderateness¡± through being transformed by and participating in what King calls ¡°direct action.¡± In doing so, Baptists may become, to use King¡¯s term, ¡°extremists for love.
%K Baptists
%K civil rights
%K justice
%K Martin Luther King Jr.
%K moderate
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0034637319856336