They were too God-intoxicated to be “astronomically intimidated.” They brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide and gladiatorial contest.
The contemporary church is so often a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. It is so often the arch supporter of the status quo.
For more than two centuries our foreparents labored here without wages; they made cotton king; and they built the homes of their masters in the midst of brutal injustice and shameful humiliation – and yet out of a bottomless vitality our people continue to thrive and develop.
Some people are so worn down by the yoke of oppression that they give up.
Slaves do not always welcome their deliverers. They become accustomed to being slaves. They would rather gear those ills they have.
The oppressed must never allow the conscience of the oppressor to slumber. Religion reminds every man that he is his brother’s keeper.
Nonviolence is an imperative in order to bring about ultimate community.
To accept injustice or segregation passively is to say to the oppressor that his actions are morally right.
Violence often brings about momentary results.
A second way that oppressed people sometimes deal with oppression is to resort to physical violence and corroding hatred.
An eye for an eye leaves everybody blind.
Violence is not the way.
The principle of nonviolent resistance seeks to reconcile the truths of two opposites-Acquiescence and violence -while avoiding the extremes and immoralities of both.
So when Jesus says “Love your enemies,” he is setting forth a profound and ultimately inescapable admonition.
To have serpentlike qualities devoid of dovelike qualities is to be passionless, mean, and selfish.
The ultimate solution to the race problem lies in the willingness of men to obey the unenforceable.
Racial understanding is not something we find, but something that we must create. Through education, we seek to change attitudes.
Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political moral questions of our time.
In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self-purification; and direct action.
Our problem is not to be rid of fear but rather to harness and master it.