King’s Speech: A Lecture by Professor Sunggu Yang

By Marlee Baker

Photography from georgefox.edu

On Feb. 20, Dr. Sunggu Yang, an assistant professor of Christian Ministries, gave a lecture on the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.’s theology on racial reconciliation, social justice, and peace. In the beginning of the lecture, Yang posed the question: why was King so hated among the other Christian leaders of his day if he preached the Gospel? To answer this question, Yang focused on identifying the three ways in which King’s theology directly contradicted that of his contemporaries, or the moderate white Christian majority.

Firstly, King understood eschatology – the notion of God’s Kingdom come – differently. To many Christians, the phrase, “Already, but not yet,” was used to reflect the notion that God’s Kingdom was growing here on Earth but was yet to be perfectly established. However, while many Christians chose to focus on the “not yet”-ness of the phrase, King emphasized the concept of “already,” orienting his theology towards a more realized, reversed eschatology. Yang identifies this distinction as a key reason why King was so hated: while many warned King to be passive to God’s will, King responded with a resounding call to action, saying “Not yet, but already.”

Secondly, King’s theology emphasized the possibility of cosmic reconciliation between oppressors and the oppressed. King believed that when society divides people into groups who are inherently “good” and “bad,” there will never be true reconciliation. Instead, King argued we must approach reconciliation in a new way. We must view the oppressors as fellow victims of a cosmic evil, people who are beings also made in the image of the divine God and deserving of love.

This leads us to Yang’s final point: that many believed King’s theology was unrealistic, provocative, and impossible. However, as Yang pointed out, Jesus was considered an extremist in his day too. Yang then posits King as a Jesus archetype, who was persecuted because of how he embodied unapologetic truth, radical love, and cosmic reconciliation.

Overall, I appreciated Yang’s analysis of King’s theology. However, I think Yang overlooked an obvious reason as to why so many of the moderate white Christians hated King: racism. The moderate white Christians leaders held the power in society and were uncomfortable with the Civil Rights Movement dismantling their long-held privileges. Therefore, they chose to be silent in the face of injustice rather than pick up their crosses and follow King’s prophetic message. Though racism was not the topic of Yang’s analysis, I would have appreciated him to at least have briefly acknowledged its implicit influence.

To read more about Yang’s analysis of Dr. King’s theology, be sure to check out his recent book, “King’s Speech: Preaching Reconciliation in a World of Violence and Chasm.”

George Fox Cresent