>Don Boys, a former member of the Indiana House of Representatives and the author of 13 books, has written an exposé of Martin Luther King’s views on the Bible and Christ.

Boys did a study of King’s seminary papers preserved in King’s archives and kept by the King family. What he discovered was that, in many places, King’s view of the Bible and Christian doctrines departs from what could be considered orthodox Christianity.

Below are a few excerpts from Boys’ article. All the quotations are the words of Martin Luther King, taken verbatim from his seminary papers.

King’s views on the Old Testament:

“If we accept the Old Testament as being `true’ we will find it full of errors, contradictions, and obvious impossibilities-as that the Pentateuch was written by Moses.”

“To my mind, many of the works of this period were infinitely more valuable than those that received canonicity. The materials to justify such statements are found mainly in the Apocrypha and the Pseudepigrapha. These works, although presented pseudonymously, are of lasting significance to the Biblical student.”

King’s views on the person of Christ:

“But if we delve into the deeper meaning of these doctrines, [Christ’s deity, virgin birth, and physical resurrection] and somehow strip them of their literal interpretation, we will find that they are based on a profound foundation. Although we may be able to argue with all degrees of logic that these doctrines are historically and philolophically [sic] untenable.”

“It seems downright improbable and even impossible for anyone to be born without a human father.”

“First we must admit that the evidence for the tenability of this doctrine is to [sic] shallow to convince any objective thinker. To begin with, the earliest written documents in the New Testament make no mention of the virgin birth.”

“From a literary, historical, and philosophical point of view this doctrine [the resurrection] raises many questions. In fact the external evidence for the authenticity of this doctrine is found wanting.”

After reading Boys’ article, I have mixed feelings about his conclusions concerning Martin Luther King’s views on the Bible and Christ.

First, since I am unable to read King’s paper personally, it is difficult to know whether the quotes were taken out of context. A closer reading of how Boys uses King’s quotes seems to indicate that some of the quotes may be rhetorical statements of what other people believe about these doctrines. Frankly, based on these and the other quotes, it is hard to come to a definite conclusion about King’s doctrinal views because I have not read the original papers.

Second, it is clear that Boys writes from a very conservative perspective and it is possible that this conservative bent influenced the way he interpreted what King wrote. Again, only a review of the original statements can reveal whether Boys’ interpretation of what Martin Luther King wrote is correct.

I invite you to read Boys’ article. You can read the article here. After reading this article, you will have to make your own decision about Martin Luther King’s views on the Bible and Christian doctrines.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Bible, Christian Doctrines, Don Boys, Martin Luther King

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