Martin Luther King Day 2011 Quotes

"In the terrible midnight of war men have knocked on the door of the church to ask for the bread of peace, but the church has often disappointed them. What more pathetically reveals the irrelevancy of the church in present-day world affairs than its witness regarding war? In a world gone mad with arms buildups, chauvinistic passions, and imperialistic explorations, the church has either endorsed these activities or remained appallingly silent. During the last two world wars, national churches even functioned as the ready lackeys of the state, sprinkling holy water upon the battleships and joining the mighty armies in singing, "Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition." A weary world, pleading desperately for peace, has often found the church morally sanctioning war." - The Strength to Love (1963)

"Violence brings only temporary victories; violence, by creating many more social problems than it solves, never bring permanent peace. … A voice, echoing through the corridors of time, says to every intemperate Peter, "Put up thy sword." History is cluttered with the wreckage of nations that failed to follow Christ's command" - The Strength to Love (1963)

"During recent months I have come to see more and more the need for the method of nonviolence in international relations. …more and more I have come to the conclusion that the potential destructiveness of modern weapons of war totally rules out the possibility of war ever serving again as a negative good. If we assume that mankind has a right to survive then we must find an alternative to war and destruction. …The choice today is no longer between violence and nonviolence. It is either nonviolence or nonexistence. …I am convinced that the church cannot remain silent while mankind faces the threat of being plunged into the abyss of nuclear annihilation. If the church is true to its mission it must call for an end to the arms race." - Pilgrimage to Nonviolence (1960)

- Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

"We ain't goin' study war no more." - Dr. King

"When I first took a stand against the war in Vietnam, the critics took me on and they had their say in the most negative and sometimes most vicious way. One day a newsman came to me and said, 'Dr. King, don’t you think you’re going to have to stop, now, opposing the war and move more in line with the administration’s policy? As I understand it, it has hurt the budget of your organization, and people who once respected you have lost respect for you. Don’t you feel that you’ve really got to change your position?' I looked at him and I had to say, '...I’m not a consensus leader. I do not determine what is right and wrong by looking at the budget of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference...' Ultimately a genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus, but a molder of consensus... There comes a time when one must take the position that is neither safe nor politic nor popular, but he must do it because conscience tells him it is right. I believe today that there is a need for all people of goodwill to come with a massive act of conscience and say in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "We ain’t goin’ study war no more."

- Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. - From "Remaining Awake Through A Great Revolution " (Sermon) March 31, 1968