Parsing King's philosophy of the nature of good and evil.

"A sixth basic fact about nonviolent resistance is that it is based on the conviction that the universe is on the side of justice." (King 20)

This aspect of King's philosophy of nonviolence needs further delineation if one is to notice the truth claim that he is making. What's most important, in my opinion, is to not assume that here King is saying that the world is inherently good. He said that, "...there is a creative force in this universe that works to bring the disconnected aspects of reality into a harmonious whole" or that there is "...some creative force that works for universal wholeness" (20). It seems to me that King is emphasizing the idea that all good things come from God without explicitly stating it in this instance so as to make his philosophy approachable for those who do not have faith or who have faith in a deity of another religion.

King makes a claim in his speech "The Most Durable Power" that makes more sense of his views for me. In this oration, his final words are: "He who hates does not know God" (11). Connecting this to King's philosophy of the nature of good and evil, I think it can be easily understood that here King is explicitly stating that all good things only come from God.

These ideas have become a profound point of meditation for me. Would King say that those who do not have faith or a belief in God can still know God, and even that the faithless might be able to know God better than those who actually profess a faith and belief in God? I do not expect to find an answer or a resolution to this exceptionally perplexing thought, nor do I think that this question was posed in any way by King himself, but only by my own curiosity.