Question

PLS HELP ASAP 100 POINTS

Read the excerpts from Dr. King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail" and answer the question.

[9] I have travelled the length and breadth of Alabama, Mississippi and all the other southern states. On sweltering summer days and crisp autumn mornings I have looked at her beautiful churches with their spires pointing heavenward. I have beheld the impressive outlay of her massive religious education buildings. Over and over again I have found myself asking: "Who worships here? Who is their God? Where were their voices when the lips of Governor Barnett dripped with words of interposition and nullification? Where were their voices of support when tired, bruised, and weary Negro men and women decided to rise from the dark dungeons of complacency to the bright hills of creative protest?"

[10] There was a time when the Church was very powerful … In those days the Church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society. Wherever the early Christians entered a town the power structure got disturbed and immediately sought to convict them for being "disturbers of the peace" and "outside agitators." Things are different now. The contemporary Church is so often a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. It is so often the arch-supporter of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the Church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the Church's silent and often vocal sanction of things as they are.

In 3–5 complete sentences, thoroughly explain what effect the order of ideas in paragraphs 9 and 10 have on the meaning of the text. Why does Dr. King make his points in this order? What is the effect? Provide at least two specific examples from the text to support your answer

Answer 1

Step-by-step explanation:

The order of ideas in paragraphs 9 and 10 of Dr. King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail" has a significant impact on the meaning of the text. In paragraph 9, King describes the churches of the South as "beautiful" and "impressive," but he then asks a series of rhetorical questions that suggest that these churches are not living up to their potential. He asks where the voices of these churches were when Governor Barnett was speaking out against civil rights, and where they were when "tired, bruised, and weary Negro men and women" were protesting for their rights. This juxtaposition of the beauty of the churches with the silence of their leaders creates a sense of irony and disappointment.

In paragraph 10, King goes on to explain why he is so disappointed in the Church. He argues that the Church has lost its moral authority because it has become too comfortable with the status quo. He compares the Church of today to the Church of the early Christians, which was a "thermostat" that transformed the mores of society. In contrast, the Church of today is a "thermometer" that simply reflects the values of the majority. This comparison highlights the difference between the Church's potential and its reality.

The effect of the order of ideas in these two paragraphs is to create a sense of urgency. King is essentially asking the Church to wake up and start living up to its potential. He is reminding the Church that it has a moral obligation to speak out against injustice, even if it means being uncomfortable. The juxtaposition of the beauty of the churches with the silence of their leaders creates a sense of irony and disappointment that is meant to motivate the Church to action.

Here are two specific examples from the text that support my answer:

* In paragraph 9, King asks, "Where were their voices when the lips of Governor Barnett dripped with words of interposition and nullification?" This rhetorical question highlights the Church's silence in the face of injustice.

* In paragraph 10, King compares the Church of today to the Church of the early Christians, which was a "thermostat that transformed the mores of society." This comparison highlights the difference between the Church's potential and its reality.

The order of ideas in paragraphs 9 and 10 of Dr. King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail" is therefore significant because it creates a sense of urgency and motivates the Church to action.