Today’s lecture attempted to explore what the core mission of Concordia University is and today’s speaker stated that this core mission is clearly to help students pursue knowledge and truth all within the context of the Christian gospel. This lecture dealt quite indirectly with the lives of the impoverished, but a connection can certainly be drawn nevertheless. Given that knowledge and truth in this institution is to be explored within the context of the Christian gospel and given that the Christian gospel deals specifically with the lives of the impoverished, especially in Amos, it then follows that exploring truth within the context of the Christian gospel means, in part, being concerned with the lives of the impoverished which in turn means that helping the poor is a moral truth vital to the practices here at Concordia. What I gained from this lecture is precisely what I have previously written, the idea, presented by the speaker, that if the goal of Concordia University is to explore truth and knowledge within the context of the Christian gospel it must then involve working for the betterment of the lives of the impoverished given that the Christian gospel is very much concerned with this endeavor.
April 2007 Archives
Martin Luther King’s speech I’ve Been to the Mountain Top is a speech which addresses the wrongs that the African American community had faced at the hands of segregationists and bigots. In it Martin Luther King Jr. addresses his love for the great tomorrow and his need to seize the moment to bring forth a victory against sin for the future of man. Martin Luther King’s speech speaks to the heart of what it means to be concerned about the poor. He says man needs to be worried about what will happen to the victim if we do not help him. He uses the parable of the Good Samaritan to show that man cannot stand idly by while others suffer. He shows that man must act to the benefit of those who suffer in the name of Amos, Jesus, and Socrates the defenders of love, justice and wisdom. If one has love justice and wisdom they must use it and if they fail to use it in another’s time of need then they have fallen to cowardice and sin and he is seen to agree with the oppression that he failed to stand against. Listening to Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech has inspired me towards and helped me relearn an idea which I must always remind myself of, wherever there is injustice one must stand against it, that which is good, decent, pure, and holy will not defend itself, it needs individuals who are willing to stand up for the marginalized, the victimized, and the impoverished in the face of evil and declare allegiance with the oppressed the and downtrodden.
