for 4 FEB 06: A KING AND HIS QUEEN

(BLOGGER'S NOTE: You may find this humorous, serious, or a little of both - but from time to time, we offer things to reflect upon as we keep the seventh-day Sabbath.)

The body of Coretta Scott King is scheduled to be on display Saturday, inside the Georgia Capitol. When her husband was shot in 1968, this would have been unthinkable -- and imagine, then-Governor Lester Maddox was a Democrat.

I haven't noticed any verbal attacks against Coretta Scott King in recent days, compared with how some people still criticize Martin Luther King Jr. Perhaps that's because she was a widow, didn't make many inciting comments - or because people can't believe she went to Mexico for treatment.

The life of Coretta Scott King offers some helpful lessons for people of all ages - and for African-American young people in particular:

+ She obtained a college degree, and was in graduate school when she met her husband. And Mrs. King somehow accomplished this without a HOPE scholarship program.

+ She married at age 26, and seemed to be in no hurry to get hitched. Of course, some think Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has taken this to a ridiculous extreme....

+ She had her children after becoming married -- somehow controlling her body in a way so many guests on "The Maury Povich Show" cannot.

Antonio Carter raised a very good point the other night, in a TV interview about the future of the civil rights movement. He said African-American leaders need to encourage the next generation to have a higher standard in their lives. And that does NOT mean a Cadillac, as opposed to a Hyundai....

(Is it just me, or is sitting next to Robbie Watson on WRCG's "TalkLine" mellowing Antonio Carter? His TV comments sounded so close to Bill Cosby, he could do a Jell-O pudding commercial.)

E-MAIL UPDATE: Today's topic actually is a follow-up to what we posted last Saturday, about our comments at church concerning Martin Luther King Jr. A blogger in Ohio sent this reply to that entry -- starting with the closing of our denomination's home office for M.L.K. Day:

They could have taken the day off because no mail was delivered and in all likelihood the banks were closed making it tough to conduct business.

I saw the blog you referred to and had to just shake my head. I don't know Nathan personally other than just a few forum exchanges over the years and don't know what to make of what he wrote. There is so much fiction mixed with fact and so many allegations about MLK that it is nearly impossible to sort out what is true and what isn't. I don't know what he would think of what has become of the civil rights movement. I don't know what personal failings he had. I don't know if he was a plagiarist. What I do know is that he helped correct a terrible injustice through mostly reasonable means. We can honor a man for that without endorsing everything he ever did.

Regarding race and the Church of God I have had battles over the years with people who believe the church is inherently racist because of British Israelism and the previous policy on interracial dating and marriage. I explain to them a belief in British Israelism is not racist but can be used by some to further their already racist views. As far as interracial marriage and dating goes unfortunately the church misused scriptures and I am glad to see UCG and even LCG to some extent has abandoned that approach. Unfortunately as you witnessed changing the attitudes of people is much tougher. I believe most people I know within the Church of God are not racist but it is disheartening to hear your story.

While the United Church of God "home office" was closed on M.L.K. Day, it was open January 2 - the legal holiday for New Year's. There were no open banks and no mail delivery that day. Not to mention all those distracting football games....

I attended a seminar this past week, which will help me relate better with people of different attitudes. I won't go into details right now, but the session taught me the congregation I attend is loaded with "traditionalist" people. So I should be careful talking about civil rights -- and probably also the woman who won't date me.

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