The numerous studies on the life and thought of Martin Luther King, Jr., have been biographical or aimed at exploring King's role as a civil rights leader. Yet interpreters of King have not substantially analyzed his enormous contributions as a theologian. Noel Erskine's King Among the Theologians fills this gap by presenting a thoroughly researched and highly accessible investigation into the major influences on King's theology, King's own unique theological project, and his enduring legacy.

Beginning with King's theology anchored in the black church tradition, Erskine then places King in conversation with three towering figures to help illuminate the theological task: Paul Tillich, Karl Barth, and James Cone. Offering concise overviews of each figure and his basic ideas, and how they lived and what they thought, Erskine skillfully explains how King was nourished by, and helped to nourish, these teeming theological crosscurrents. In an original and highly intriguing contribution to the discussion of King's life and legacy, Erskine proposes that womanist theology, as expressed in the work of Jacquelyn Grant and Katie Geneva Cannon, provides an insightful critique of King's thought and helps supply a critical missing element in King's vision-the explicit acknowledgment of the rightful place of women in the Beloved Community. This places King in dialogue with a rich and emerging theological stream, revealing that King was, for all his brilliance and courage, a "man of his times." Highly appreciative of Kings profound impact on Christian theology, Erskine encourages theologians--and us--to continue in dialogue with and continue learning from King's thought. It is through this dialogue that King's dream of an inclusive and just society is kept alive.