Attached to Paper Session
Meeting Preference
The second paper will consider how King's nonviolent philosophy builds on the Social Gospel movement and 19th-century philosophy. King adopts Walter Rauschenbusch's approach to transforming social injustices (namely, the three evils of society) through religion and Hegel's dialogical approach to consider creative responses to tensions between faith and suffering. The deplorable and tragic injustices affecting the Black community and marginalized persons around the globe led King to re-orient his nonviolent philosophy as both a tactic of civil disobedience and 'a way of life.' In "Nonviolence and Radical Justice" (1957), King examines the existential crises beleaguering disinherited communities and how the three evils of society have caused them to become disheartened. The article conjoins love and redemption as alternatives for violence. In the paper, I plan to consider three questions: Can Kingian nonviolence effectively construct a love ethic strong enough to overcome the three systemic evils found in the world? How does nonviolence leverage Christian tenets to transform suffering and hate? How can a nonviolent philosophy redress the evils of the past?
Abstract for Online Program Book (maximum 150 words)
"Kinginan Nonviolence and Prophetic Christianity" will examine the religious contours of King's nonviolence philosophy in light of the various commitments to social change and transformation found in Walter Rauschenbusch's "Social Gospel" and the Black Intellectual tradition. The religious language and sentiments undergirding King's nonviolence philosophy signifies his continous grappling with the existential crises affecting the Black American community, a concern for the Protestant faith tradition, and a commitment to outlining a love ethic rooted in justice.