Is the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr a Saint?

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I know Protestants don’t have Saints as Catholics and Orthodox do, but wouldn’t he be Saint material if he were Catholic? Do you consider him a Saint in your own personal views?
 
Alright. But I thought the prohibition is against saying that anyone is in Hell…That’s not what I’m asking here :eek:. Besides, there would be no canonized Saints if Catholics were prohibited from saying, “Hey, I think that person may have been a Saint” 😉
 
I don’t come from a mainline Protestant denomination. Can you give an example of a Protestant Saint?
 
For example, both John and Charles Wesley are saints in the Anglican Communion.
 
NewsTheMan said:
He is not a canonized saint.
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I understand that- perhaps the title I chose was a poor one. The Church does not go around canonizing non-Catholics as Saints, though it doesn’t mean there are none. What I want to know is if you think that he indeed was a Holy person/ Saintly Christian akin to the Catholic Saints and Blesseds.
 
Marybeloved said:
I know Protestants don’t have Saints as Catholics and Orthodox do, but wouldn’t he be Saint material if he were Catholic? Do you consider him a Saint in your own personal views?
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By the Catholic definition, would he not have to be recognized for 2 posthumous miracles?

Jon
 
JonNC said:
By the Catholic definition, would he not have to be recognized for 2 posthumous miracles?
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Gosh! I had no idea it would be so difficult to communicate what I wanted with this thread- I think I’ve failed there.

The Catholic Definition of a saint is not someone who is responsible for 2 miracles after death. It’s someone who is Holy at death, and then goes to Heaven. People witness the evidence of holiness/sanctity in them and when they die, they say to the Church- We believe this guy was a Saint. What you’re describing is the process by which the church verifies this belief. The canonization does not make him a saint, it simply recognizes the fact.

I’m asking about the first part, where people say, I believe this person showed evidence of extraordinary christian virtue/holiness and there’s a good chance that he was a Saint, Like we used to say of John Paul II and Mother Teresa before their beatification. **Do you think he (Dr. King) showed the signs of sanctity?
**
 
RyanBlack said:
For example, both John and Charles Wesley are saints in the Anglican Communion.
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Anglicans aren’t Protestants.
TrueLight said:
Really! Is there a canonization process?
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I’m not sure how it works, but I do know that Anglicans venerate the archangel St. Uriel whilst Catholics do not, only limiting the veneration of the three angels mentioned in deuterocanonical scripture.
 
A Saint is someone who has gone to heaven. When the Vatican declares a Saint, it is because there is proof that this person is in heaven, often the proof is miracle attributed to the saint.

Is he in heaven? We don’t know for sure, he could most likely be there.

I think my Dad is in heaven, but I don’t think he’ll be canonized officially by the Church.
 
Marybeloved said:
Gosh! I had no idea it would be so difficult to communicate what I wanted with this thread- I think I’ve failed there.

The Catholic Definition of a saint is not someone who is responsible for 2 miracles after death. It’s someone who is Holy at death, and then goes to Heaven. People witness the evidence of holiness/sanctity in them and when they die, they say to the Church- We believe this guy was a Saint. What you’re describing is the process by which the church verifies this belief. The canonization does not make him a saint, it simply recognizes the fact.

I’m asking about the first part, where people say, I believe this person showed evidence of extraordinary christian virtue/holiness and there’s a good chance that he was a Saint, Like we used to say of John Paul II and Mother Teresa before their beatification. **Do you think he (Dr. King) showed the signs of sanctity?
**
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Sorry I misunderstood. So, let me take it from the Lutheran POV, and say yes, the evidence is that he was a holy man and showed signs of sanctity as a member of the Church on Earth, clothed in the righteousness of Christ.

Jon
 
Marybeloved said:
Gosh! I had no idea it would be so difficult to communicate what I wanted with this thread- I think I’ve failed there.

The Catholic Definition of a saint is not someone who is responsible for 2 miracles after death. It’s someone who is Holy at death, and then goes to Heaven. People witness the evidence of holiness/sanctity in them and when they die, they say to the Church- We believe this guy was a Saint. What you’re describing is the process by which the church verifies this belief. The canonization does not make him a saint, it simply recognizes the fact.

I’m asking about the first part, where people say, I believe this person showed evidence of extraordinary christian virtue/holiness and there’s a good chance that he was a Saint, Like we used to say of John Paul II and Mother Teresa before their beatification. **Do you think he (Dr. King) showed the signs of sanctity?
**
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Dr Kings public life is to be respected. But per his close friends, such as Ralph Abernathy who traveled with Dr King, shared jail cells with him and succeeded him, his personal life and morals was questionable. Rev Abernathy’s biography, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, 1989, shows a flawed morality of Dr. King.

I believe Dr. King did great and outstanding things for this country. His murder is a great loss for our country and society. But he is not a saint as in the manner of John Paul II or Mother Teresa.

Mark
 
Marybeloved said:
Do you consider him a Saint in your own personal views?
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I don’t believe in Heaven, so I don’t believe Martin Luther King is there.

What matters is the legacy he left in the Western world and the virtue of courage he displayed in a time of great adversity. This also applies to a significant number of Christian saints as well, many of whom were martyred for their beliefs. For instance, Stephen was stoned; Peter was crucified upside down and Ignatius of Antioch was thrown to a den of lions.
 
MarkBrown said:
Dr Kings public life is to be respected. But per his close friends, such as Ralph Abernathy who traveled with Dr King, shared jail cells with him and succeeded him, his personal life and morals was questionable. Rev Abernathy’s biography, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, 1989, shows a flawed morality of Dr. King.

I believe Dr. King did great and outstanding things for this country. His murder is a great loss for our country and society. But he is not a saint as in the manner of John Paul II or Mother Teresa.

Mark
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Wow, thanx Mark. This is the sort of discussion I was looking for- If he was witnessed as an exceptionally holy and virtuous person. Frankly, I’m disappointed- He has always seemed to me to be the closest thing to a protestant Saint- Oh, well, I’m sure there are others:shrug:.

I remember hearing the story of a white woman who risked her life countless times smuggling slaves from the South of the USA to the North through rivers/swamps etc where they could escape slavery, I was very moved and I felt like I was hearing the biography of a Saint. She was protestant, I don’t remember her name, Americans here probably do- She’s the other possible protestant Saint in my mind apart from the martyrs.
 
MarkBrown said:
Dr Kings public life is to be respected. But per his close friends, such as Ralph Abernathy who traveled with Dr King, shared jail cells with him and succeeded him, his personal life and morals was questionable. Rev Abernathy’s biography, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, 1989, shows a flawed morality of Dr. King.

I believe Dr. King did great and outstanding things for this country. His murder is a great loss for our country and society. But he is not a saint as in the manner of John Paul II or Mother Teresa.
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That’s true, but then it depends on what the OP means by “saint”. Is she referring to a “canonized saint” or simply a “saint” (as in, one who is in Heaven and may/may not be recognized on Earth)? King David committed several bad deeds and he is regarded as a saint. Moses murdered an Egyptian yet he is one of the most venerated figures within the Bible, and is equally praised in Judaism and Islam alike. So I think it helps to specify what exactly the OP means by saint so that the bar isn’t raised too high or too low.
 
Marybeloved said:
I remember hearing the story of a white woman who risked her life countless times smuggling slaves from the South of the USA to the North through rivers/swamps etc where they could escape slavery, I was very moved and I felt like I was hearing the biography of a Saint. She was protestant, I don’t remember her name, Americans here probably do- She’s the other possible protestant Saint in my mind apart from the martyrs.
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Are you referring to the Quakers (i.e. Religious Society of the Friends), by any chance?
 
Bohm_Bawerk said:
Are you referring to the Quakers (i.e. Religious Society of the Friends), by any chance?
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No Bohm, she was a single historical figure- She may have been a Quaker, I can’t be sure; But I vaguely recall that she was responsible for freeing some hundreds of slaves throughout her life- I was very struck by the story, but it was a while back and I can’t recall her name.
 
I agree with NewstheMan that indeed Martin Luthe King Jr is not a canonized saint - that is a Catholic Church process to which he has not been submitted. I do believe him to be a saint however, in much the way that Gandhi was a saint, and others like them. These people suffered much for others, and indeed, died for their causes. They should be honored, and God should be thanked for gifting us with their lives.
 
Marybeloved said:
No Bohm, she was a single historical figure- She may have been a Quaker, I can’t be sure; But I vaguely recall that she was responsible for freeing some hundreds of slaves throughout her life- I was very struck by the story, but it was a while back and I can’t recall her name.
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I think you are talking of Harriet Tubman.
 
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