Like Many Who Changed History, Rosa Parks Was a Christian
By Doug Patton
November 8, 2005

When civil rights icon Rosa Parks died last week at age 92, she passed into history as a woman who stood up for what she believed in and refused to back down at a pivotal point in our country's evolution toward racial equality. Her one act of defiance was a catalyst that sparked a movement and brought about unprecedented changes in our nation.

Upon her passing, her body lay in state in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol for the public to pay their respects, an honor normally reserved for presidents and Supreme Court justices. Before she could even be laid to rest, a bill had been introduced in both houses of Congress to erect a monument to her in the Capitol's Statuary Hall. Every politician and news commentator spoke of her with a reverence akin to Martin Luther King, Jr. and Pope John Paul II.

Ironically, hardly a word was said about the true impetus behind her actions on December 1, 1955.

Yes, she was exhausted that day. Yes, she chose not to give up her seat, knowing fully well that she might be arrested. But by her own admission, she would never have had the courage to remain seated had it not been for her unwavering faith in God.

This is more than just an historical footnote, and it is not just a case of tangential nitpicking. She understood that her faith and her God were greater than the white man who wanted her to move to the back of the bus, greater than the Montgomery police, the mayor, Jim Crow, the whole structure of institutional racism and oppression. And she was not the only one.

Mother Teresa wanted to offer selfless Christian service to some of the poorest, sickest people on earth. She toiled for decades in Calcutta, India, a city so squalid the only thing worse for the populace than dying was living. Like Rosa Parks, she never sought the spotlight, but God gave her a forum that touched the world.

Martin Luther simply intended to protest the corruption, selling of indulgences and other scriptural error in the teachings and practices of his church when, on October 31, 1517, he nailed his now-famous 95 theses to the main door of the castle church in Wittenberg, Germany. Apparently, God had other ideas, and a movement known as Protestantism was born.

When Jonathon Edwards wrote "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" in July of 1741, he was simply preparing a sermon for a congregational meeting in Enfield, Connecticut. Little did he know that God would take his words and ignite a spiritual revival across the American colonies that eventually led to revolution.

All these people had one unifying commonality: they knew that their God was greater than the forces working against them, and that their faith would sustain them through whatever petty trials and hardships the ne'er-do-wells of the world could throw at them.

It is unfortunate that few in this generation who honor Rosa Parks know about the spiritual dimension of her long life, because it was Christ who was the guiding light of her years on this earth.

"As a child," she wrote in 1994, "I learned from the Bible to trust in God and not be afraid. I felt the Lord would give me the strength to endure whatever I had to face."

Once, knowing that her presence would overshadow a lesser known author at a joint book signing, Mrs. Parks requested that her colleague switch seats with her so that the public would talk to him first. That kind of humility cannot be conjured from a human heart devoid of God's influence.

Rosa Parks has passed into history. More important, she would have told you, her spirit has passed into eternity with Jesus Christ.

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Doug Patton is a freelance columnist who has served as a political speechwriter and policy advisor for federal, state and local candidates, elected officials and public policy organizations. His weekly column can be read in newspapers across the country and on selected Internet web sites, including www.TheConservativeVoice.com and www.GOPUSA.com, where he also serves as the Nebraska editor. Readers can write him at dpatton@neonramp.com.

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Note -- The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, and/or philosophy of GOPUSA.