How we cite our quotes: (Paragraph)
Quote #4
So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice? In that dramatic scene on Calvary's hill three men were crucified. We must never forget that all three were crucified for the same crime--the crime of extremism. Two were extremists for immorality, and thus fell below their environment. The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment. Perhaps the South, the nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists. (24)
Dr. King loved turning his critics' arguments against them, especially when he could use Christian teachings and history. Calling attention to Jesus' extremism in favor of love and compassion basically renders the idea that Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement were radical and extreme completely useless. "Yes, we're extremists. Now, what was your point?"
Quote #5
But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If today's church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century. Every day I meet young people whose disappointment with the church has turned into outright disgust. (33)
Dr. King had a lot of choice words for the Church as a whole. But they were words intended to call the Church back to its roots, to strengthen it, and to help it survive and remain relevant in an increasingly secular age.