The remarkable courage and deep conviction of Martin Luther King Jr. live on in this classic prophetic text, a veritable primer in the principle... read full description
reviews
Mar 03, 2011
Jackie
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I read this in high school (pretty insane for a public high school, right?), and remembered really enjoying it. It started off strong, I really liked the sermon about the Good Samaritan - how he really went out of his way by probably putting his own life in danger, about how he went above and beyond by using his own donkey and paying for all his bills at an inn. Dr. King wrote, "Man-made laws assure justice, but a higher law produces love. No code of conduct ever persuaded a father to lo
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May 01, 2009
William
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Martin Luther King Jr. may be seen by many people, unfortunately, as a cliche historical figure. Everybody feels as though they know a lot about him, but in reality most people know nothing about him besides the fact that he was a civil rights leader who got assassinated. I personally have always wanted to pick up a book by MLK Jr. because I have never been satisfied with the info that black history television programs and school classes gave me. Don't get me wrong, those sources gave me good in
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May 18, 2011
Nick
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I found this book of King's sermons to be very moving. I started thinking about reading it because of the whole tiff-taff over the fake King quote circulating on Twitter after the OBL assassination. (Despite not being a direct quote from King, it certainly expressed a sentiment consistent with his philosophy, and was more or less a paraphrase of a passage in this book.)
Before reading StL, I was of course familiar with King in a cultural sense and had read a couple of his writings such More...
Before reading StL, I was of course familiar with King in a cultural sense and had read a couple of his writings such More...
Jul 26, 2011
Sunny
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good book. spiritual and religious at the same time. its a collection of his speeches which were important then but are still relevant now. although he will eb recognised for the fighthe lead for black rights in america predominantly this book is also about doing the right thing and the role humans can and should play in the world. beautifully moralising without being overly sententious. his main belief is that love can perish hate and he cites various sections of the bible and some of the world
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Dec 29, 2009
Talat
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Dr. King's eloquence, rhetorical power and Christian witness inspire at every turn of phrase. each page is saturated with prophetic power. "Strength to Love" (1963) is a collection of sermons that Dr. King delivered in the late 1950s and 1960s and edited for print. I feel challenged to identify what the most powerful part of this book is. Every page seems to bear the best of the book's message. Dr. King's gospel of social justice and non-violence consistently radiates forth. Of special
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Feb 08, 2012
Ted
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Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Junior wrote that "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" in 1963.
Just last week Nigerian President Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan said that "A terrorist attack on any of us is an attack on all of us."
I shared both quotes with my Civics class, but one eighth grader wrote on the board under Dr. King's words that "no one gets this." I asked if they'd like me to discuss it with them and the same st More...
Just last week Nigerian President Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan said that "A terrorist attack on any of us is an attack on all of us."
I shared both quotes with my Civics class, but one eighth grader wrote on the board under Dr. King's words that "no one gets this." I asked if they'd like me to discuss it with them and the same st More...
Feb 09, 2012
Joanna
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This book is a collection of Dr. King's sermons about the power of love and nonviolence. Dr. King persuaded me that nonviolence is a powerful tool to achieve social change, justice, and reconciliation. His writing is extremely inspiring, and you can truly hear his intellectual intelligence as well as his intelligence of the heart through these sermons. I do still believe that he was on another level than most people. It takes real strength and a true connection to humanity and the divine (whatev
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Feb 27, 2008
Russ
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I'd heard this King guy was good, but I had no idea. Seriously, I had read "I have a Dream" and "Letter from Birmingham Jail," but I wasn't still blown away by this. It's a collection of 14 sermons (which he revised for a written format) and an essay. I'm not sure what surprised me most. The range of his allusions and quotations is larger than I would have guessed for sermons. He quotes poets from Shakespeare to Tennyson to Dunbar and philosophers from Plato to Schopenha
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Jun 22, 2011
Kirk
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MLK: The Best Christian Preacher that You're not Reading.
Martin Luther King, Jr. in Strength to Love has a produced a collection of sermons that is just as good as anything you would read by Tim Keller, John Piper, or DA Carson. In this book King expertly weaves biblical teaching and social consciousness as only a master preacher and social visionary can. While his politics do . . .
CLIFF HANGER!
Read my full review this Friday at http://fatoolblog.blogspot.com/
Martin Luther King, Jr. in Strength to Love has a produced a collection of sermons that is just as good as anything you would read by Tim Keller, John Piper, or DA Carson. In this book King expertly weaves biblical teaching and social consciousness as only a master preacher and social visionary can. While his politics do . . .
CLIFF HANGER!
Read my full review this Friday at http://fatoolblog.blogspot.com/
Aug 06, 2011
Definitely one of the best books i've read. Most of the writings come from MLK's sermons and focus on the call to a new way of dealing with evil. Most of MLK's message has been lost in modern times. We focus on his achievements for the civil rights movement, which were great. His main emphasis was on transforming love and living according to the principles of the kingdom of God. This is still an unpopular message in most churches today.
Jan 15, 2009
Serena
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I am not one for sermons outside of church, but these are more like sermons you'd here at an Ivy League school! Honestly, I'm more of a Malcolm X kind of girl, but the way this man writes is simply genius and cannot and should not be ignored. I know we all talk about him, have viewed his speeches, and heard his voice, but reading him is an entirely unique experience that you won't regret.
Aug 12, 2011
Latoya
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A book that truly has changed my life. The conviction of the truth that King writes about will encourage the reader to dig deeper when walking through the trenches of life. The truth that with every step of the way as my Savior Jesus Christ continued through this His life accused, tortured, and unaccepted by men...we all must always continue with the stregth to love man, despite himself.
Jan 04, 2010
Emily
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I read this book in Africa, it was life changing. Martin Luther King, Jr. was not only an amazing leader for the African American community's fight for social justice, he also offers so much wisdom for all of us with words of guidance in love, faith, hope, and strength. He challenged me to become a thinking Christian, not just a following one.
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Dec 05, 2011
Elle
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MLK Jr's sermons inspire as he examines fear, faith, social justice, the nature of God and the nature of man (the language is male, so I reflect that here, knowing the sermons are for all people), and the call to love. One tour de force after another, and a book I bet all my preaching MDiv friends would especially appreciate.
Nov 10, 2011
Kristen
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This book helps me in tough times. It's no surprise that Martin Luther King is eloquent - but I had not realized until reading this collection of sermons that he was also such an intellectual. These are amazing pieces.
Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend. --Martin Luther King Jr.
Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend. --Martin Luther King Jr.
Jan 14, 2011
Check out "On Being a Good Neighbor," an awesome meditation on and interpretation of the Parable of the Good Samaritan in the Book of Luke. A worthy read for anybody interested in thinking about what it means to see beyond the "external accidents of race, religion, and nationality," glimpsing the essence of the other instead.
Nov 20, 2008
Matt
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What an amazing collection. It made me appreciate King's sermons even more to see them in print. Really, it's easy to miss how carefully constructed they are until you see them written out. More important than his speech writing skills, King's messages of tolerance, peace, and love are still extremely relevant and inspiring (I think most will agree, there's still a lot more work to be done in those departments).
May 22, 2010
My
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Quite simply: This is one of those books where every single sentence is a philosophical work of genius. You could read just one line and ponder its meaning all day. A very clever and insightful piece of work, written by a great man generations ahead of his time.
Apr 22, 2011
Calli
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This man is just as amazing a writer as he was a speaker. These sermons are incredible. And they are some of the best and most eloquent musings I have ever read on love, acceptance, and what it means to treat all men as brothers.
Oct 06, 2008
James
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StL is King at his best in a format not well suited to him, as he indicates in his preface. What we know of King we mostly know from his March on Washington or perhaps from excerpts of his Holt Street Address. These sermons are the backbone of his early and middle career and also deserve attention, since they explain how walks the fine line between liberal complacency and militant extremism. The shadow of Black Power and the dread of an early death haven't crept into his thinking yet, and it is
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Jun 19, 2011
Maria
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I really enjoyed reading Strength to Love. There are so many lessons in this book that can be applied to our present day. Very thought provoking!
Aug 30, 2011
Inspiring and on my "Need to Read" list before I die. A little heavy in terms of the wording. Must keep a dictionary on hand!
Jun 09, 2009
I havent read this book yet but I want to read this book as well, because I've read a couple of excerpts out of it.
Feb 12, 2012
Wendy
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My four year old goddaughter is obsessed with MLK. I can't wait until I can share this book with her.
Feb 04, 2011
Vance
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I'm sorry that I didn't read this when I was younger. An exceptional book and still very relevant
Jan 02, 2009
Wolfmother81
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Currently reading. A little dry but makes you think about life and how it should be.
Feb 05, 2012
Ashleigh
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If I could give this 6 stars, I would. Some of the sermons hit me more than others but nonetheless, reading an MLK Jr piece in it's entirety and not just quotes pulled from speeches, is a different experience all together.
