Name: Leo I Cordel Jr.

BSED SCIENCE 3C
REFLECTION
I'd want to use this moment to recall and recommend Dr. Martin Luther King's "I
Have A Dream" speech once more. This magnificent, soul-stirring speech, delivered on
August 28, 1963, has rightfully earned its place among America's finest orations. Dr.
King's speech, as well as his slightly less-well-known "I've Been to the Mountaintop"
address (given in Memphis, TN on April 3, 1968 – the day before he was slain) and his
astonishing "Letter From Birmingham Jail," have all been read and re-read many times
by me. I strongly suggest that you read them all.
The purpose of this piece is to suggest that one of the things that makes the "I
Have A Dream" speech so inspiring is because it is based on personal experience.
The purpose of this piece is to claim that one of the reasons Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech inspired our country and continues to do so well
over half a century later is not only his eloquence, as stunning as it was and still is. He
presented not innovative thoughts, not only topical ideals, but the timeless truths of
God’s Word, which is why his words still ring in our ears and echo in our souls. I’ve
attempted to demonstrate where some of those amazing words came from, as well as
some of their ramifications.
As our nation continues to experience deep racial tensions, Dr. King’s words
seem particularly timely and appropriate. Consider these quotes from his speech:
Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children. – If there is no
God, and/or he is not just, this is nothing more than poetic nonsense.
There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, “When will you be
satisfied?” … [W]e will not be satisfied until “justice rolls down like waters, and
righteousness like a mighty stream.” – A direct quote of Amos 5:24, American Standard
Version.
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and
tribulations. … You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with
the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. – An indirect reference to passages like
Romans 4:1-4; 8:16-25; 2 Corinthians 1:3-7; Philippians 1:29; James 1:2-4; 1 Peter
2:19-25; 3:13-18; and 4:12-19.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning
of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” –
A direct reference to the biblical doctrine that man is created in the image of God
Almighty, found in Genesis 1:26-28. Again, if there is no God, and/or he has not created
us as equals, this is merely sloppy sentimentality utterly disconnected from reality and
anchored in … thin air. If we are not divinely created, we are nothing more than random
piles of molecules – white molecules and black molecules. Who cares how one pile of
molecules treats a differently colored pile of molecules? Where would we even get
abstract ideas such as “truth” and “equality”?