Date of Award

8-1-2014

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Organizational Unit

Joint Ph.D. Program in Study of Religion

First Advisor

Theodore M. Vial, Jr., Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Luis Leon

Third Advisor

Katherine Turpin

Fourth Advisor

Don Messer

Fifth Advisor

Carrie Doehring

Keywords

Martin Luther King, Jr., Practical theology, Soteriology

Abstract

This dissertation seeks to illuminate aspects of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s theological legacy that have thus far either gone unnoticed or have been inadequately addressed. In particular I am concerned to unearth King’s soteriological legacy for historically privileged groups, especially those claiming a Christian identity. This project explores the ways in which King’s theological method, doctrine of God, and theological anthropology informed his soteriology. Special attention is given to King’ social location as a fourth generation African American preacher reared in the racially hostile South, and the ways in which his early experiences shaped the questions, tasks, and aims of his theological program. From the early days of his teen years, King was acutely aware of the problem of evil, particularly in its social dimensions, and he began to explore what his role would be in its elimination. During his formal education at Morehouse College, Crozer Theological Seminary, and Boston University, King refined the theological conceptions that he had inherited from the Black Baptist tradition of his youth while forging his own unique perspective. Over the course of his involvement in the Civil Rights Movement, King’s praxis-oriented approach to doing theology provided ongoing clarity and epistemological certitude. King’s soteriology, in both its personal and social dimensions, still stands as a much needed complement and corrective for Christians in places of power and privilege today

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Rights Holder

Jacob W. Kines, Jr.

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

File Format

application/pdf

Language

en

File Size

226 p.

Discipline

Theology, Ethics, Regional studies

Download



Share

COinS