How we cite our quotes: (Paragraph)
Quote #1
Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C. left their villages and carried their "thus saith the Lord" far beyond the boundaries of their home towns, and just as the Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco Roman world, so am I compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town. Like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid. (3)
Right away, Dr. King knocks away one of the main criticisms the eight clergymen made, which was that he and the SCLC were "outsiders" who didn't have a place in the Birmingham conflict. He's using his critics' own beliefs to make his argument against theirs.
Quote #2
Hence segregation is not only politically, economically and sociologically unsound, it is morally wrong and sinful. Paul Tillich has said that sin is separation. Is not segregation an existential expression of man's tragic separation, his awful estrangement, his terrible sinfulness? Thus it is that I can urge men to obey the 1954 decision of the Supreme Court, for it is morally right; and I can urge them to disobey segregation ordinances, for they are morally wrong. (13)
Next up is the argument that protestors should be following the laws. Nope, Dr. King says, because segregation and its supporting laws and ordinances are immoral and sinful. What else you got, eight clergymen?
Quote #3
Of course, 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. It was practiced superbly by the early Christians, who were willing to face hungry lions and the excruciating pain of chopping blocks rather than submit to certain unjust laws of the Roman Empire. (17)
Refusing to obey unjust laws is an ancient tradition in Judaism and Christianity. Being persecuted also happens to be an ancient tradition, so Dr. King rightly felt he had thousands of years of moral precedent standing behind him. He cited examples he knew his critics couldn't dismiss.