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Examples Of Civil Disobedience In Letter From Birmingham Jail

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In his letter from Birmingham jail, Martin Luther King mentioned the three pious Jewish youths, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, as an example of the civil disobedience for the in-just laws of Nebuchadnezzar. King states “there is nothing new about this kind of civil disobedience. It was evidenced sublimely in the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to obey the laws of Nebuchadnezzar, on the ground that a higher moral law was at stake”. King believes that human history is full of numerous examples of breaking un-just laws as in case of the three young men’s story. They had been thrown in the blazed furnace because they did not obey the king’s order, and they didn’t worship the golden statue made by Nebuchadnezzar. King selected this …show more content…

Nebuchadnezzar asked all the officials to bow before the golden statue. Anyone refused to worship the statue, would be thrown in the blazing fired furnace. According to the Jew’s religions, Jews must worship God only as it was said in the book of Exodus “You shall not make for yourself a carved image any likeness of anything … you shall not bow down to them” Exodus 20:3-5. This means that the Jews aren’t allowed to worship any statue, image, picture on the earth or below it. They must worship their God only. Therefore, the three men didn’t obey the un-just law of Nebuchadnezzar. The city officials who were jealous of the three men informed the king that the three young men refused to bow before the statue. Nebuchadnezzar ordered the three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to bow before the statue; they refused and said that their God would deliver them from the furnace and from the king’s hands. The king commended his mighty men to throw the three men in the fire furnace, which was seven times hotter than usual. The three men were walking in the midst of the fired furnace singing and praising their God. A fourth figure like the son of god was walking with them” Daniel 4“. However, the flam killed the mighty men who threw the three young men and didn’t harm the three young men. Nebuchadnezzar believed in the three young men’s God. He made a decree that any nation or people shall speak anything against the three men’s God, he would cut them in pieces. In addition, the king promoted the three men in the provinces of

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