NOTE: The following is protected by federal copyright law and is an excerpt from the book Marxianity written by Brannon Howse and is not to be published online. The footnotes that document the content in this article are found in the book Marxianity or the eBook.
Once you understand King’s embrace of socialism, it is all the more shocking that contemporary Christian leaders like Matt Chandler and John Piper babble that King stood on the authority of God’s Word and applied Scripture in his work. As William Sullivan predicted, they make statements that exceed their field of competence, training, and education. As a result, they uphold not only Martin Luther King, but also concepts such as white privilege and movements like Black Lives Matter.
The Bible clearly teaches that humankind is one race and that different people groups began with the confusion of languages at the Tower of Babel (see Genesis 10 and 11). Language differences prompted them to procreate within groups speaking the same language and genetic variation kicked in. Race-baiting—pitting the have’s against the have nots, in Hegelian fashion—is not biblical, and neither is the socialist outgrowth such as democratic socialism, nationalization of industries, and redistribution of wealth.
We must not fall into the traps of communists who infiltrate good movements for purposes antithetical to American ideals. Certainly, we appreciate some things Dr. King did, but we also must warn about many of the things he had wrong and certainly not to ascribe to him a commitment to biblical Christianity.
Why does this matter? Because popular leaders like John Piper and Matt Chandler perpetrate the “politically correct” history of Martin Luther King, Jr., by encouraging evangelicals to embrace his worldview. Socialism is not the solution to any form of prejudice. In extolling King, Chandler uses a dialectical pattern to explain why people should accept him, as revealed in this video excerpt:
[quote] I think probably one of the more polarizing characters as we think about American history, as we think about the civil rights movement, is Martin Luther King, Jr. For some, [he is] very much a hero. For others, some questionable character traits that they would point to and say, ‘I don’t know how we can champion this man,’ or ‘we could hear what this man said,’ or ‘look at what this man did,’ and champion that view of these things. And yet, I think it’s important for us to pay attention to what God accomplished through this man. An imperfect vessel who was used profoundly and powerfully by God and set for us a real picture of how a church can be involved in pushing back the darkness in the day and age in which it exists. . . .
And here came Martin Luther King, Jr., and the SCLC and predominantly African American congregations, although there certainly were some white brothers and sisters who hopped in on this. And, man, they were used profoundly by God to reorder some social constructs and line them up more with what we see to be the heart of God in the Word of God. And so, I think he’s an important historical figure, and I think he’s an important brother for us to look at and study in all his frailty and in all his strength. [end quote]
Here, Chandler demonstrates his lack of understanding of American history (i.e., his incompetence to speak on the subject). He suggests that God used Martin Luther King, Jr., to align society with the Word of God, as if King alone were responsible. As I pointed out at the beginning of this chapter, the civil rights movement in America began in earnest in 1866 with Republicans passing one civil rights bill after another. It is also ludicrous to say that God used Martin Luther King, Jr., to line culture up with the Word of God, when King promoted a worldview contrary to scriptural teaching.
Even worse than revealing his ignorance of history, Chandler reveals that he’s become yet another useful idiot for communism. He clouds reality by claiming that King was a bearer of biblical truth:
[quote] So, I want to learn from his love for the Word of God, his application of the Word of God in the time in which he was living. And I want to live my life in the same way. To be bold and courageous and know that, man, there are gonna be people that misunderstand me and despise me because of standing on the Word of God. And so, I’d encourage us to study the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., because he is a picture of standing upon the Word of God against the tide of what was considered normal in his day. [end quote]
King standing on the Word of God? Did King believe in the miracles of Jesus? The virgin birth and deity of Christ? No, no, and no. His worldview was desperately lacking in these critical points of doctrine.
After my radio programs about King, I received emails thanking me for exposing his aberrant worldview. It’s another example of why we should never be afraid—in spite of the current tide of political correctness—to ask important questions and refute misinformation, even though many “evangelicals” prefer to flow with contemporary political currents.
Similar to Matt Chandler, John Piper does his part to perpetrate the image of Martin Luther King. Here’s an example of Piper’s view from the cultural-Marxist-promoting Gospel Coalition website:
[quote] I suppose for 20 years we have devoted Martin Luther King weekend to a focus on racial harmony and racial diversity at Bethlehem Baptist Church. They’ve continued it on even after I was finished as the lead pastor. Let me just say a word about what that means, why we do that.
When we do that, when we focus on racial harmony and racial diversity or ethnic harmony and ethnic diversity, we’re not focusing on the theological framework of Martin Luther King. We’re not focusing on the ideological or political framework of Martin Luther King. We’re not even focusing on the spiritual and moral framework of Martin Luther King. That’s not what’s going on.
We’re talking this moment in our cultural life as a focus point because Martin Luther King became in his life and in his death a flashpoint for a transformation that was needed in American culture. Needed in the American church that I was a part of in Greenville, South Carolina. Needed in human hearts like mine. He was the embodiment and the explosive moment that made crystal clear what has to change in the culture, in the church, in this person’s life, and I think millions of others like me. That’s the first meaning of doing it on that weekend.
And the second meaning is he became a voice. A voice of blood. Crying from the ground like Abel’s blood. Crying from the ground for a thousand lynchpins. Ten thousand indignities. It was a voice representing blood from the ground.
So, you take the transformation flashpoint and you take the voice and you say, this is a good moment for our church to think about these things. [end quote]
To the contrary, I say that if the church wants to think about biblical issues related to racism, we should go to the Word of God. Would we have a day to celebrate Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Bill Clinton, or Barack Obama? No, because their worldviews do not line up with Scripture, but theirs is the same worldview espoused by Martin Luther King, Jr.; Piper, too, seems ignorant not only of the 100-year history of civil rights already in play by the time King became a household name, but of the spurious co-workers he retained.
