TRS 130 Reading Questions: King
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Martin Luther King, Jr.
Biographical Information
Do a search on the web for biographical information on Martin Luther King, Jr. that
answers the following questions:
1. What influences shaped King's moral character?
2. Why did King write his Letter From a Birmingham Jail?
Letter From a Birmingham Jail
In his Letter From a Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King, Jr. identifies and
responds to five main charges against him.
1. Who made these charges and why?
2. Identify and explain these five charges and how King responds to each.
3. Identify the three main "countercharges" or criticisms that King initiates.
4. If one accepts King's arguments what are the limits on intervention in affairs of other
communities?
5. What criteria does King offer for judging the morality of civil disobedience?
6. Does King treat "justice" as a foundational concern of Christian ethics? Why or why
not?