362 quotes
Communism is based on an ethical relativism and a metaphysical materialism that no Christian can accept.
You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. And you can be that servant.
The Drum Major Instinct (1968)
While abhorring segregation, we shall love the segregationist. This is the only way to create the beloved community.
Loving Your Enemies (1957)
The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state.
Strength to Love (1963)
There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair.
Letter from a Birmingham Jail (1963)
Don't let anybody make you think God chose America as his divine messianic force to be a sort of policeman of the whole world.
Why I Am Opposed to the War in Vietnam (1967)
One has not only a legal, but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.
Letter from a Birmingham Jail (1963)
If this is to be achieved, man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.
Nobel Prize acceptance speech (1964)
Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue.
I have a dream: that one day, right down in Georgia and Mississippi and Alabama, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to live together as brothers.
I am now convinced that the simplest approach will prove to be the most effective – the solution to poverty is to abolish it directly by a new widely discussed measure: the guaranteed income.
The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment. Perhaps the South, the nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.
Letter from a Birmingham Jail (1963)
Occasionally in life there are those moments of unutterable fulfillment which cannot be completely explained by those symbols called words. Their meanings can only be articulated by the inaudible language of the heart.
We, the disinherited of this land, we who have been oppressed so long, are tired of going through the long night of captivity. And now we are reaching out for the daybreak of freedom and justice and equality.
All types of conniving methods are still being used to keep Negroes from becoming registered voters.
Address to Cornell College (1962)
One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty.
Letter from a Birmingham Jail (1963)
One of the great philosophical debates of the centuries has been over the whole question of ends and means.
Address to Cornell College (1962)
I must affirm that it is just as wrong, or perhaps even more so, to use moral means to preserve immoral ends.
Letter from a Birmingham Jail (1963)
Anyone who feels that the problems of mankind can be solved through violence is sleeping through a revolution.
Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution (1965)
We must see that peace represents a sweeter music, a cosmic melody that is far superior to the discords of war.
The Quest for Peace and Justice (1964)