Unifier » March 2002 » Theologian Ponders Ancient Advice

by Vern Barnet

Martin Luther King

Martin Luther King Jr. was criticized for making a fuss about racism. In his famous letter from a Birmingham jail, King explained why passivity did not work in the face of disenfranchisement, exploitation, injustice and murder.

Was King following Jesus, who instructed his followers to "turn the other cheek?" And that leads to another question: Did Jesus really advise passive acceptance of evil in the world?

Theologian Walter Wink has an interesting view of what he thinks Jesus really meant. Wink, who taught at Union Theological Seminary, places the words of Jesus in historical and linguistic context. The literal meaning of the words of Jesus seems perplexing. Could Jesus have meant that a battered woman should submit to further abuse?

Wink reminds us that in the time of Jesus the left hand was not used in public. One could be punished for using it. The only way someone could strike you with the slap of humiliation was with the back of his right hand to your right cheek. (Matthew 6:39)

Wink says if you turned the other cheek, rather than bowing or acquiescing to the person who struck you, you were being defiant. In that culture, your striker could not use his left hand to strike your other cheek. Nor could he use his fist, because fists were used only for fighting one's equals. A fist would elevate your status.

Jesus advised his followers to assert their dignity courageously demonstrating the conditions of oppression. King's nonviolent resistance to evil was effective because it purified the hearts of the oppressed and awakened the conscience of the oppressor.

To read Wink's unpublished work, go to www.cres.org/Jesus.