Power & Non-violence

Students indicate where they think Christianity should be placed on a spectrum between ‘violence’ and ‘peace’. (Power & Non-violence Slides)

As a class brainstorm all the words and images that come into your head when you think of the word “protest”.

Discuss the following questions:

1. How do you feel when you have no power?
2. How do you change something that is clearly wrong?
3. Is there any cause that you’d be prepared to fight for even if it cost you your life?

Display the US Civil Rights Movement images and invite the class to share their observations. Ask the class to describe some of the injustices that the Civil Rights Movement was protesting against. (Power & Non-violence Slides)

Watch the documentary excerpt ‘MLK: Power and Non-violence’ (7:42) then students answer the following questions:

1. List three significant events in Martin Luther King Jr’s life.
2. What would you expect a demand for civil and economic rights to look like? What did it actually look like under the leadership of Martin Luther King Jr?
3. According to the documentary, how was Martin Luther King Jr’s approach to the battle for civil rights “shaped by his faith and his understanding of the profound ethic of love at its centre”?
4. How could Martin Luther King Jr continue in the fight for civil rights in America even though “he knew… he was not going to die in bed”?
5. Imagine you were in the crowd that assembled at Martin Luther King Jr’s house after it was firebombed. How would you have reacted when he told you and those with you to “go home”?

Display the Miroslav Volf quote, and lead a class discussion around the following: (Power & Non-violence Slides)

1. How true do you think his thoughts are? How much of a difference can grace really make?
2. To what degree did Martin Luther King Jr “play in tune” with Jesus by living out this idea of grace?
3. How does the idea of grace bring about “a major contribution to a peaceful world”

Students read Isaiah 40:4-5 and Amos 5:24 and answer the following questions.

1. What would an exalted valley and a mountain that has been brought low look like?
2. Draw and label the image from Amos 5:24.
3. What do you think Martin Luther King Jr was trying to say when he used these verses in his famous “I have a dream” speech? What does Jesus call his followers to do in this passage?

Students read Romans 12.17-21 and answer the following questions.

4. What does this passage say about how much we should care about justice (focus on v.19)?
5. What does this passage teach about violence and peace?
6. What is one commandment in this passage that particularly stands out to you?
7. Describe a personal situation where good could really overcome evil.

Students identify examples of inequality and oppression in Australia today, then create a poster for an issue they consider to be important. They should include a response or challenge which reflects a Christian attitude to the issue.

Use the following discussion questions to reflect on the content of the lesson.

1. Imagine you had the opportunity to give your own speech titled “I have a dream”. What would your speech be about?
2. Do you know anyone who you think embodies the idea of “grace that gives”? How close are you to following their example?

• Clip: I Have A Dream (7:00)
• PDF: I have a dream speech

Students listen to and read an abridged transcript of Martin Luther King Jr’s “I have a dream” speech. They then write an evaluation about the ways in which his Christian faith influenced the content of the speech.