Speaker compares King, Christ

By LINDA M. LINONIS

linonis@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

The message of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in some ways paralleled the message of Jesus Christ, according to the Rev. Dr. Hak Joon Lee.

Lee spoke on the topic, “Can Cosmopolitanism Be Locally Rooted? The Case of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” in a Schaff Lecture he presented Tuesday at First Presbyterian Church, 201 Wick Ave., before about 35 clergy and lay leaders.

The associate professor of theology and ethics at New Brunswick Theological Seminary in New Jersey said that the civil-rights leader struck a chord with people of all races because what he said about love, justice, equality and non-violence appealed to not just African-Americans but everyone who was ever oppressed in any way.

Cosmopolitanism is defined as the ideology that all human ethnic groups belong to a single community based on a shared morality.

Lee said King’s message paralleled Christ’s message in that “people have an obligation to care for one another” and that especially includes the disenfranchised, outcasts and poor. “We must stand up for the rights of oppressed people,” Lee said

Lee said King took his black Baptist heritage and “made that wisdom available to everyone.”

Lee noted that King took “local moral concerns” and applied a global outlook to them. “King learned from multiple intellectual sources and transferred those ideas into a coherent moral philosophy,” he said.

Lee said King promoted the idea of “self love," noting that one had to have a healthy self-love before one could love another. He continued that a “healthy group identification is the prerequisite for integration.” The group ID promotes a healthy self-image. Lee said having a healthy group ID allows the group to "pool community resources to achieve justice.” But, he cautioned, a group ID is not to be confused with group isolation or exclusivity.

“A harmonious world is not possible without people who appreciate their cultures,” he said.

King turned his Christian theological integrity into a public theology. His public theology, Lee said, translated religious doctrines and symbols to the social movement by focusing on values shared by the broad society.

King was able to take local issues and give them global appeal.

King referred to the “great world house” and how it could be attained through “redemptive good will toward others.”

Lee gave another public lecture Tuesday night; the topic was “Is America Still a City on a Hill? E Pluribus Unum and a Global Vision of the U.S.”