Celebrating Dr. King The Moral Authority of Law

Celebrating Dr. King
The Moral Authority of Law
January 17, 2010 Chuck Colson
It was with these very words, in his memorable Letter from the
Birmingham Jail, that Martin Luther King, Jr., threw down the gauntlet
in his great Civil Rights crusade. King refused to obey what he regarded
as an immoral law that did not square with the law of God.
All across America today, millions of people are celebrating the
birthday of this courageous man, and deservedly so. He was a fearless
battler for truth, and all of us are in his debt because he remedied
past wrongs and brought millions of Americans into the full riches of
citizenship.
In schools and on courthouse steps, people will be quoting his "I Have a
Dream" speech today. It is an elegant and powerful classic. But I would
suggest that one of Dr. King's greatest accomplishments, one which will
be little mentioned today because it has suddenly become "politically
incorrect," is his advocacy of the true moral foundations of law.
King defended the transcendent source of the law's authority. In doing
so he took a conservative Christian view of law. In fact, he was perhaps
the most eloquent advocate of this viewpoint in his time, as,
interestingly, Justice Clarence Thomas is today.
Writing from a jail cell, King declared that the code of justice is not
man's law: It is God's law. Imagine a politician saying that today! We
all remember the controversy that erupted when George W. Bush made
reference to his Christian faith in a televised national debate.
But King built his whole case on the argument, that "An unjust law is no
law at all," exactly as argued by St. Augustine and Thomas Aquinas. To
be just, King argued, our laws must always reflect God's Law.
This is the great issue today in the public square: Is the law rooted in
truth? Is it transcendent, immutable, and morally binding? Or is it, as
liberal interpreters have suggested, simply whatever the court says it
is?
Ever since Dr. King's day, the United States Supreme Court has been
moving us step-by-step away from the positions this great Civil Rights
leader espoused. To continue in this direction, as I have written, can
only lead to the loss of self-governing democracy.
So I would challenge each of us today to use this occasion to reflect
not just on his great crusade for Civil Rights but also on Martin Luther
King's wisdom in bringing law back to its moral foundations.
Many think of King as some kind of a liberal firebrand. But when it
comes to the law, he was a great conservative who stood on the shoulders
of Thomas Aquinas and St. Augustine, striving without apology to restore
our heritage of justice.
This is a story I tell in my book, How Now Shall We Live?: a great
moment in history when a courageous man applied the law of God to the
unjust laws of our time, and made a difference. And that is the lesson
we should teach our kids on this holiday. This isn't just another day
off from school or a day to go to the mall.
In fact, I have a suggestion. Take this day to sit down with your kids
and read them King's Letter from a Birmingham Jail-maybe the most
important civics lesson they'll ever get.
http://www.breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries/entry/13/16206
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Abortion - Black Genocide?
'My People Are Dying'
January 14, 2010 Chuck Colson
Last fall, I had the privilege to listen to a speech by Walter Hoy, one
of the great African-American leaders of our era. His life and ministry
offer some amazing parallels to the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Like King, Walter Hoy of Oakland, California, is a minister who focuses
on the plight of African-Americans. Last year, Hoy went to jail for his
non-violent action on behalf of the smallest of humans--unborn children.
He violated a "bubble zone" ordinance in an abortion facility, where he
was quietly offering choices to abortion-minded women.
Hoy, the founder of the Issues for Life Foundation, is deeply concerned
about what he calls "black genocide"--the horrific rates of abortion
within the black community. That's why Hoy is working on what appears
to be an impossible goal: passing a human life amendment in liberal
California.
When Dr. King wrote his letter,
From a Birmingham Jail,
he addressed those who thought his civil rights activities unwise and
untimely. In his speeches, Hoy also addresses those who say that his
cause is worthy and just but that he should just wait. "I can't wait."
Hoy says. "You see, my people are dying."
Since 1973, he notes, over 14.5 million black babies have been killed by
abortion. Every, single day, 1,200 black babies are put to death in
abortion facilities, making abortion the leading cause of death among
African Americans! Nearly half of all black babies concieved die in
abortion chambers today. Hoy says this means that a black child is safer
on the streets of the worst neighborhoods in American than in his
mother's womb.
Hoy notes that between 1882 and 1968, 3,446 blacks were lynched by the
Ku Klux Klan. Today, abortion kills more black Americans in less than
three days than the Klan killed in 86 years! Think of it.
American blacks make up twelve percent of the U.S. population, yet
thirty-seven percent of all abortions are performed on black women. This
is because eugenic-minded pro-abortion forces target American blacks by
putting abortion clinics in black neighborhoods, according to Hoy.
He's also turned his rhetorical guns on America's first black president.
Quoting Elvita King, niece of Dr. King, he says that "those of us who
care about the civil rights of all Americans-born and unborn--oppose
Obamacare because we oppose the expansion of the most racist industry in
America--the abortion industry."
The high black abortion rate has ominous implications down the road.
According to the 2006 U.S. Census, the black fertility rate is 1.9--well
below the replacement rate of 2.1. "Within a few decades," Hoy warns,
"African Americans may well be an endangered species." This is why he
calls abortion the "Darfur of the black community."
Walter Hoy provides a worldview lesson to those who desperately need it.
Liberal elites teach women to view abortion as a simple procedure that
will enhance their lives. Uh, no. Hoy reveals the ugly truth: those who
promote abortion in the black community are racists of the worst
kind--and that each abortion of a black child is one more step towards
black genocide. And this is why Hoy cannot wait for the right time to
try and outlaw abortion in California. His people are dying by the
millions.
http://www.breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries/entry/13/16195