Themes of The Holy Bible and Letter from Birmingham Jail

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Themes of The Holy Bible and Letter from Birmingham Jail

Arguably, throughout history, the most influential book ever written has been “The Holy Bible.” Whether it is a historical document, a children’s story, a fable, a story of moral lessons, or a multitude of novels; “The Holy Bible” and its themes have been passed down through generations. If one were to look at “The Holy Bible” as a whole then one could say that the themes of the Bible are all about freedom and how one has a responsibility to keep that freedom. In “Letter from Birmingham Jail” King relates to several themes mentioned in “The Holy Bible.” Themes such as justice, non-violence, equality, and freedom in King’s work greatly reflect what freedom and responsibility really mean.

First of all, one of King’s biggest themes that he supported in his life was justice. In his letter, he says, “Beyond this, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here.”(708)King is saying at this point that it is unjust that he is here because he was only leading a non-violent protest. He also says, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”(708) Here King is saying that if injustice is started it in one area it could eventually spread and then what is justice could be consumed by injustice everywhere. “The Holy Bible” mentions justice several times. In Psalms of “The Holy Bible” one verse says, “Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth righteousness at all times.”(Psalms 106:3)The meaning of this verse is that the people who try to maintain justice and always try to do what is right will be blessed. King strongly believed this biblical theme. He is saying that he was only trying to do what he thought was good justice. He led a non-violent protest to help the...

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...ng he is in jail for only doing what is right, by trying to achieve what is right through non-violence. The fact that he is in jail is unjust, does not support equality, and does not give them freedom. The Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence as a way of enforcing what they thought was right through non-violence. King was only doing the same as the Founding Fathers in that he was trying to re-establish Christian themes in the United States through non-violence. Therefore, it is a shame for the United States law to be carried out in this way when it was supposedly founded on much different principles. King is brilliantly portraying how he is being more responsible than the United States. The United States has more freedom than anyone other country. King is trying to make them start having responsibility for it.

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