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 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as a Theologian

Dr. Clayborne Carson, a Professor of American History at Stanford University, Director of the King Research and Education Institute, and Editor of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers.  

Martin Luther King was a civil rights leader and peace advocate, but he was also a preacher and theologian.  Dr. Carson, who is intimately familiar with the “real” Martin Luther King after many years of reading the King papers, describes King as a theologian of the “social gospel,” a minister who believed that God was a caring God, a God that intervenes in life, and an “able” God who wants justice.  

He says that King, who was himself inspired by the great Protestant theologian of the 20th century, Reinhold Niebuhr, in turn inspired liberation theologians in Latin America, and countless others across the globe.  His outreach was such that one can listen to his sermons and not feel like an outsider.  King had a way of making Christianity inclusive, even for those not Christian.  King was a leader of interfaith relations before its time.  

Dr. Carson shares King’s deep humanity, his doubts about himself and his ability to lead the civil rights struggle.  And he talks about a little-known story when King says he heard God speaking to him directly.

Dr. Carson also says that, if King were alive today, he would not likely lead a “megachurch” congregation, because the gospel he embraced was not easy, comfortable or popular.   Carson mused out loud that King might not be invited to some “King celebrations” today, even perhaps the funeral of Coretta Scott King, where people are wary of controversial or antiwar statements.      

The 6th volume of the Martin Luther King, Jr. papers was just published (University of California Press), and it deals with the religious development of Dr. King.

Embezzlements in the Catholic Church

Joe Feuerherd, journalist with the National Catholic Reporter (an independent weekly)

A headline in the recent edition of the National Catholic Reporter said that 85 % of Catholic dioceses in the United States recently reported embezzlements.  The minimum amount of money involved is $4.3 million.

Joe Feuerherd, who broke the story, discusses the types of embezzlement involved, and the lack of either external or internal controls on church finances.  

The Council on American Islamic Relations: Setting the Record Straight

Corey Saylor, Government Affairs Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)

Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) recently withdrew an award from Basim El-Karra of CAIR-California because of allegations, made on the Web by bloggers, that CAIR supports  terrorist organizations.  To set the record straight, John Parman talked to Corey Saylor of CAIR-National, who pointed out, among other things, that CAIR works with the FBI to combat terrorism in any form.  

The conversation included a discussion of Islamophobia, and the reasons that some Americans are susceptible to those who make unfounded charges about Muslim organizations.

Darfur: New Outreach to Muslims in the Middle East as the Crisis Worsens

Ann Louise Colgan, Director of Policy Analysis and Communications for Africa Action, and

Rebecca Abou-Chedid, the Director of Governmental Relations for the Arab-American Institute

Darfur is an issue that has engaged those of all faith traditions, from the most conservative to the most progressive, for years.

This interview begins with Ann Louise Colgan’s excellent summary of the history of the recent violence in Darfur in the western Sudan, where the genocidal crisis is worsening by the day.  

Rebecca Abou-Chedid described new TV ads that the Arab-American Institute is running on El Arabia and other outlets in Arabic.  It depicts Darfurians telling their own stories of horror and displacement, much as similar ads do in the United States.  The purpose of the ads is to inform and engage the Muslim public of the Middle East.   

Both guests expressed the view that much more pressure is needed for the UN to be able to send in the peacekeeping force, which was approved by the UN Security Council late last year.