Question

Read the excerpt from Dr. Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”

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.

Why does King use this allusion?
to share historical precedent
to emphasize the morality of his cause
to define the purpose of his travel
to compare the goals of famous leaders

Answer 1

to emphasize the morality of his cause

King likens his mission to the Apostle Paul's to cast his civil-rights work as a moral, religious calling—framing the fight for freedom as a righteous, gospel-like duty.