A reader makes an essential point:
MLK didn’t run for office.
Another makes several:
First of all, King was not a politician. He was not elected to represent diversity. Rather, he was a Baptist minister. Secondly, one of King's major influences was a Hindu leader, Gandhi. King's views were not held in a vacuum, but were influenced by ideas outside of his own belief system. He marched with Jews and Catholics, arm in arm.
Lastly, one of the main points of King's invocation of Christian virtues was to shame his white, Christian listeners. His repeated reminders about Christian charity and brotherhood were an attempt to force white Southerners to look in the mirror, and to live up to their own proclaimed beliefs.
The Christianist, as I understand him or her, is out to force all to abide by their narrow interpretation of Christian morality, be they believer or unbeliever. King was tapping into the belief system of the South; the Christianist would impose that belief system from above. That is a major distinction.
My thoughts here.
The Dish 