Truth Telling in a State of Moral Crisis: The Homiletical Tradition of Martin Luther King, Jr.

This panels explores the homiletical tradition that shaped the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. In so doing, the panel reads and interprets the life of King through the lens of his radical Black Baptist roots. The panelists therefore explore themes of justice, freedom, and social critique, as they come alive in the preaching of King. To this end, various intersections such as race, class, gender, poverty, and economics, provide categories of inquiry for exploring the homiletical life of King, including the ways in which such a tradition provides resources for thinking about the role of the gospel as a mean of social analysis. The panel offers new ways for thinking with King and preaching in a state of moral crisis.