Jesus commanded his followers to “love your enemies”, and yet Christian history is full of violence. But what difference has it made when they have followed his example of peace-making and non-violence?
This lesson looks at how Martin Luther King Jr and others followed this example of non-violence in the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches in Alabama.
You may want to do the lesson on “Martin Luther King: Power and Non-violence” as well, or use some material from that lesson as background information.
Introduce
Reflect & Discuss
Display the statements about Christianity’s relationship with violence and peace for students to discuss. This is followed by a discussion about the kind of cause students would potentially march for.
Display the images from the 1965 March for students to share their observations and questions. Students then respond to the Martin Luther King Jnr quote as well.
Engage
Watch & Respond
Watch the documentary excerpt ‘MLK: The March for Votes’ (7:50).
Students view a timeline of the US Civil Rights Movement to see where the 1965 Selma to Montgomery March fits, before defining key terms related to the March.
Students create an image that represents the kind of discrimination African-Americans faced in Selma, Alabama in the early 1960s.
Read & Discuss
Display the Ignatius quote. Students explain how these behaviours would have been counter-cultural in the Roman Empire.
Display the Cavanaugh quote and discuss what was so attractive about Jesus’ message of non-violence for these early Christians, and how the class feels about this idea.
Reflect & Compare
Students produce short written responses to the clip analysis questions outlined in the slides. Display the William J Cavanaugh quote for students to consider as they complete the table comparing the treatment and response of protestors during this march, and the treatment and response of Jesus just before his death? (reading Mark 14:44-15:20 may be helpful.)
Bible Study
Students read Luke 9:51-56 and answer the questions:
- How did people in the Samaritan village react to news that Jesus would be passing through?
- How did James and John react to this?
- How did Jesus respond to James and John’s question? What might this show us about Jesus’ attitude towards violence?
Students read Matthew 12:14-21 and answer the questions:
- What did Jesus’ enemies want to do to him?
- What overall picture do we get of Jesus from Isaiah’s prophecy?
- What might this prophecy tell us about how Jesus would respond to violence (in particular v.19)?
Respond
Reflect & Plan
Drawing on the themes from the lesson, students plan an outline of a training session for non-violent resistance.
Role Play
In pairs or small groups, students come up with and role-play a real life scenario where they could respond to a friend or family member with either hostility and anger or love.
Extension
- Podcast: The long shadow of slavery (17.29 – 19.13)
Play the CPX podcast episode from 17.29 – 19.13 and discuss the difference it can make when those who are not directly affected by injustice stand alongside those who are? As a class consider ways students might be able to do this in their own lives.