"The Challenge of the Book of Jonah"
[1951-1955?]
[Boston, Mass.?]
The following sermon outlines were found among the hundreds of notecards
King prepared for his courses at Boston. In the sermons King argues
that God's love is universal and inclusive of all faiths and races.
No more delightful moments can be spent than those spent reading the
book of Jonah. It is one of the greatest books of the Old Testament. Its
themes is both arresting and electrifying. Its unknown author appears
to have possessed the vision of a Saint Paul, the satiric power of a George
Bernard Shaw, and the delicious humor of a G. K. Chesterton. This book
does not represent an actual occurrance any more than the parable of the
prodigal son. But who can doubt the accuracy of either as portraits of
of multitude of human hearts. To often have we spent
our time arguing over the historicity of Biblical stories, while failing
to grasp the underlying truths.
Let us look at this story for a moment and see what it has to offer us.
Recall the story
I Tell the Story
II This story has within it two {three} fundamental
truth that I would like to set forth
1. God's love is boundless and Universal
(1) God loves the Ninevite
(2) Deal with Jonah's failure to see this and the whole Jewish attitude.
(3) Deal with Christian view. Love men because God loves them.
(4) Story of the lost sheep.
(5) There is no class system. Aunt June is just as significant as
the Ph.D. The person who lives in the ally is just as worthful to
God as the richest person in the community.
2. All men are their brothers keepers and dependent on each other.
(1) Deal with Jonah's failure to see this
(2) We are all involved in a single process and whatever effects
one directly effects the other indirectly. So long as there is slavery
in the world I can never be totally free.
(3) Science has made this obviously true. We must have one World
or none.
(4) Quote John Donne
AD. CSKC.
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