Dear Editor,
I don’t consider myself a theologian; rather I consider myself a high school drop-out.
As I read the letter from church leader Rev Chris Bowman in SN of November 13, I was forced to ask myself what would MLK say about Chris Bowman’s opinion of the role of the church in relation to immorality and injustice in Guyana?
Several years ago, Martin Luther King responded to some ministers who held similar views of Chris Bowman regarding the roles of the church and state.
Here is an excerpt from his famous ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail,’ published in The Atlantic. It was written in response to a public statement of concern and caution issued by eight white religious leaders of the South.
“While confined here in the Birmingham city jail, I came across your recent statement calling our present activities ‘unwise and untimely.’ But since I feel that you are men of genuine good will and your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I would like to answer your statement in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms.
“I think I should give the reason for my being in Birmingham, since you have been influenced by the argument of ‘outsiders coming in.’
“I am in Birmingham because injustice is here … I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial ‘outside agitator’ idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider…
“How does one determine when a law is just or unjust? A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law, or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. To put it in the terms of St Thomas Aquinas, an unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal and natural law. Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust. All segregation statutes are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality…
“There are some instances when a law is just on its face and unjust in its application. For instance, I was arrested Friday on a charge of parading without a permit. Now, there is nothing wrong with an ordinance which requires a permit for a parade, but when the ordinance is used to preserve segregation and to deny citizens the First Amendment privilege of peaceful assembly and peaceful protest, then it becomes unjust…”
Yours faithfully,
Anthony Pantlitz
