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Martin Luther vs Martin Luther King
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| Brother Martin Luther |
Martin Luther and Martin Luther King shared much more than a name.
They both changed the worlds they lived in, many would argue for
the better. They were reformers and leaders and they were men of faith.
The two Martin's were born nearly 450 years apart on opposite sides of
the world, one in medieval Germany and the other during the Great Depression
in the racially segregated American state of Georgia.
They both grew up with a deep love and faith in God and were committed
Christians, none more so than Martin Luther, the German monk who was to
change the Church forever.
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| Rev. Martin Luther King |
In fact, Martin Luther King was a minister in the Baptist Church, one of
the strands of Christianity derived from the Protestant faith, the very
faith Martin Luther is credited with inspiring.
Indeed, Martin Luther King was born Michael King in 1929, it was as a
teenager he chose to change his name to Martin Luther King Jr, after his
father the preacher.
Both Martin Luther and Martin Luther King Jr went to university and gained
doctorates in Theology.
Martin Luther became an Augustinian monk and lecturer at the University of
Wittenberg. Martin Luther King became a pastor at his father's church in
Alabama. They both started to write, committing their thoughts and beliefs
to paper.
A single issue for each of them was to spark their lifelong battles for
reform. For Martin Luther, the Catholic monk, it was his parishioners
buying indulgences, purchasing their salvation to fill Rome's coffers.
For Martin Luther King, it was a black woman being arrested for refusing
to give up her seat on a bus to a white man. Like Luther, he saw his
parishioners struggling in the face of a corrupt and autocratic system.
Both spent the rest of their lives fighting for justice and equality in
the eyes of God and their fellow man.
Martin Luther and Martin Luther King were both fathers and husbands who
deeply loved their families despite their many other commitments.
Both lived controversial lives, suffered incarceration and death threats.
Both died before they should have.
Both struggled with the laws and doctrines of their time, Luther King
worked to eradicate segregation in America, Luther nearly brought down
the Roman Catholic Church.
Martin Luther and Martin Luther King left the world a better place; both
also left large tracts of their thoughts and beliefs through the written
and spoken word.
Martin Luther was a modern thinker many say bridging the gap between
medieval times and the Renaissance. His writings are timeless and still
resonate today.
Martin Luther King Jr was renowned for his simple and powerful oratory.
His sentiments echoed the desire of so many and have become near universal
beliefs.
See if you can tell the difference between them, take our Quiz.
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