PHILLIPS THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY SYLLABUS DISCLAIMER

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1 PHILLIPS THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY SYLLABUS DISCLAIMER The following syllabus is the teaching and learning guide for the last time this course was taught. It will give you a good idea of the descriptions of the course, how it was taught, the reading, the papers and other assignments, the intended outcomes, and the workload. By examining this syllabus and others, you will be able to form an impression of what graduate theological education at Phillips Theological Seminary requires of students. Due to periodic curriculum revisions, course names and/or numbers may be different on this syllabus than what the name and/or number of the current offered course may be. This syllabus is provided for your information only. The faculty reserves the right to revise the curriculum, and each professor reserves the right to decide how best to meet the learning goals of the curriculum. Therefore, the following syllabus is an historical artifact rather than a promise of how the course will be taught in the future, or that the course will be taught again. By Phillips Theological Seminary copyright policy, the syllabus is the intellectual property of the individual faculty member, with usage rights granted to PTS. Please contact the copyright owner if you seek to use the syllabus, for other than your personal enrichment.

2 The Theology and Ethics of Martin Luther King, Jr. TH 750 Phillips Theological Seminary Spring :30 am Ray A. Owens, Ph.D rayowens@metropolitanbc.org Course Description: This course is an examination of the salient themes in the theology and ethics of Martin Luther King, Jr. Through careful reading of sermons, speeches, essays and books, students will identify and assess King s theological and ethical understanding of concepts such as freedom, justice, love, human dignity and nonviolent protest, to name only a few. Particular attention will be given to King s important leadership role in the Civil Rights movement and the ways this movement shaped and was shaped by his theology and ethics. Course Format: The structure of this course is primarily a seminar format. Hence students are expected to come prepared to engage critically the weekly reading material. Students will be responsible for leading discussions and raising questions related to the readings. Occasionally, there will be lectures given by the instructor as well. As an added instructional tool, selected segments of the film series, Eyes on the Prize, will be viewed in class. Course Objectives: 1. To introduce students to the major themes in the theological and ethical thought of Martin Luther King, Jr. 2. To assist students in understanding and critically assessing the theology and ethics of Martin Luther King, Jr. 3. To explore the ways in which King s thought and practice can be a contemporary resource for Christian ministry and theological scholarship.

3 Requirements: 1. Regular attendance and class participation 2. Careful reading of required texts 3. One brief seminar paper 4. A final term paper (Due December 15) Grading Structure: 1. Attendance and Participation 5% 2. Seminar Paper 25% 3. Take-home final exam 70% Reading Schedule/Course Outline: January 30 Course Introduction and Introductory Lecture Review syllabus and Course requirements Film: Eyes on the Prize, Awakenings February 6 King s Cultural and Religious Context Lecture: The black Christian Tradition and the making of a King for the Movement Group Discussions around Eyes on the Prize presentation February 13 The Divine/Human Relationship Lecture: King s Theological Anthropology Film: Eyes on the Prize@, Fighting Back Required Reading: (Student Presentation Material, 1) King, Stride Toward Freedom, chs. 7&8.

4 22. The Ethical Demands of Integration 24. Facing the Challenge of a New Age 41. Where do We Go From Here 42. A Christmas Sermon on Peace 54. The Strength to Love February 20 King s Cultural and Religious Context Lecture: The Religious Foundation of the Civil Rights Movement Film: Eyes on the Prize, Ain t Scared of Your Jails Required Reading Vincent Harding, Hope and History, Introduction; chs. 1-5 Lewis Baldwin, There is a Balm in Gilead, ch. 3 David Garrow, The Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Women Who Started It, chs. 1&2. February 27 Love, Hope and Power as Foundational Principles Lecture: King s conception of Love and the Beloved Community Film: Eyes on the Prize, No Easy Walk Paris, Black Religious Leaders, ch. 3, pp (Student Presentation Material, 2) Required Reading (Student Presentation Material 3): 2. The Most Durable Power 4. An Experiment in Love 24. Facing the Challenge of a New Age 36. I Have a Dream 37. Eulogy for the Martyred Children 39. Our God is Marching On 45. I See the Promised Land 48. A Testament of Hope Ivory, Toward a Theology of Radical Involvement, pp ; (Student Presentation Material 4)

5 March 6 Freedom, Justice and Forgiveness as Foundational Principles Film: Eyes on the Prize, Mississippi: Is This America? Required Reading (Student Presentation Material, 5) 1. Nonviolence and Racial Justice 2. The Power of Nonviolence 6. My Trip to the Land of Gandhi 7. The Social Organization of Nonviolence 8. Pilgrimage to Nonviolence 11. Nonviolence: The Only Road to Freedom 43. The Drum Major Instinct 19. An Address Before the National Press Club 57. The Trumpet of Conscience, Conscience and the Vietnam War (ch. 2; pp ) Stanley Hauerwas, Remembering Martin Luther King, Jr. Remembering: A Response to Christopher Beem, in the Journal of Religious Ethics, 23/1, Spring 1995, pp * (Student Presentation Material, 6) April 3 King as a Public Theologian Lecture: King and the Analogical Imagination King Sermon tapes Film: Eyes on the Prize, Bridge to Freedom April 10 Evil and Redemption

6 Required Reading (Student Presentation Material, 7) 55. Why We Can t Wait, pp Showdown for Nonviolence 18. The Burning Truth in the South King, The Strength To Love, The Death of Evil on the Seashore and the Answer to a Perplexing Question * (Student Presentation Material, 8 April 17 Church/State Relationships Film: Eyes on the Prize, The Time Has Come Required Reading: (Student Presentation Material 9) 10. Love, Law, and Civil Disobedience 19. An Address Before the National Press Club 26. Equality Now: The President Has the Power 29. Hammer on Civil Rights 40. A Time to Break Silence 46. Letter from a Birmingham City Jail 50. Playboy Interview: Martin Luther King, Jr. King, Strength To Love, Paul s Letter to American Christians * April 24 Theological and Moral Virtues Film: Eyes on the Prize, Two Societies Required Reading (Student Presentation Material 10): 22. The Ethical Demands for Integration 26. Equality Now: The President Has the Power

7 33. Give us the Ballot: We Will Transform the South 34. The American Dream 35. I Have a Dream 38. Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech 41. A Christmas Sermon on Peace May 1 King, Black Power and Black Theology Film: Eyes on the Prize, Power! Film: Eyes on the Prize, The Promised Land Required Reading: (Student Presentation Material 11) King, Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? Chs. 2 & Black Power Defined May 8 King And Womanist Theology Required Reading: Cone, Martin and Malcolm and America chs. 3, 4, 5, 6(Student Presentation Material 12) Ross, Witnessing and Testifying, chs. 3, 5 & 6 Cannon, Black Womanist Ethics, ch. 6 May 15 Critical Assessments of King s Legacy Film: Ain t Gonna Shuffle No More Required Reading:

8 Dyson, I May Not Get There With You, chs. 1-5; (Student Presentation Material 14 Paris, Black Religious Leaders, Introduction Lischer, The Preacher King, chs Cornel West, Martin Luther King, Jr., A Prophetic Christian as Organic Intellectual, in Prophetic Fragments, (Eerdmans, 1988)*