One of Martin Luther King’s most famous quotations was first coined by a nineteenth-century minister, a writer claims in the Washington Post.

The quote, which is carved into the MLK Memorial, says:

“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.”

There is no question that MLK deserves credit for popularizing the quote. But he did not invent it — nor did he ever pretend to be its author.

The quote comes from King’s 1965 Alabama sermon, at the end of the Selma to Montgomery march, titled, “Our God is Marching On.”

At the climax of the address, the Nobel laureate quotes a number of poets and sages (and even a confederate president), riffing from Julia Ward Howe’s “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” to James Russell Lowe’s “This Present Crisis” (Truth Forever on the Scaffold…) Then he soars on, sampling from Rev. Theodore Parker’s sermon “Justice the Conscience,” the Bible and even — lo and behold — the words of Jefferson Davis.

Dr. King has stitched together a wide variety of quotations and the speech is far greater than the sum of its parts.

Take a look at this passage from the speech:

I know you are asking today, “How long will it take?” (Speak, sir) Somebody’s asking, “How long will prejudice blind the visions of men, darken their understanding, and drive bright-eyed wisdom from her sacred throne?” Somebody’s asking, “When will wounded justice, lying prostrate on the streets of Selma and Birmingham and communities all over the South, be lifted from this dust of shame to reign supreme among the children of men?” Somebody’s asking, “When will the radiant star of hope be plunged against the nocturnal bosom of this lonely night, (Speak, speak, speak) plucked from weary souls with chains of fear and the manacles of death? How long will justice be crucified, (Speak) and truth bear it?” (Yes, sir)

I come to say to you this afternoon, however difficult the moment, (Yes, sir) however frustrating the hour, it will not be long, (No sir) because “truth crushed to earth will rise again.” (Yes, sir)

How long? Not long, (Yes, sir) because “no lie can live forever.” (Yes, sir)

How long? Not long, (All right. How long) because “you shall reap what you sow.” (Yes, sir)

How long? (How long?) Not long: (Not long)

Truth forever on the scaffold, (Speak)

Wrong forever on the throne, (Yes, sir)

Yet that scaffold sways the future, (Yes, sir)

And, behind the dim unknown,

Standeth God within the shadow,

Keeping watch above his own.

How long? Not long, because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. (Yes, sir)

How long? Not long, (Not long) because:

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord; (Yes, sir)

He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored; (Yes)

He has loosed the fateful lightning of his terrible swift sword; (Yes, sir)

His truth is marching on. (Yes, sir)

He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat; (Speak, sir)

He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat. (That’s right)

O, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! Be jubilant my feet!

Our God is marching on. (Yeah)

Glory, hallelujah! (Yes, sir) Glory, hallelujah! (All right)

Glory, hallelujah! Glory, hallelujah!

His truth is marching on. [Applause]

Rev. Parker was an optimist — unrealistically so. In that same sermon, where he talked about the moral universe bending towards justice, he stated:

“Look at the facts of the world. You see a continual and progressive triumph of the right.”

After Jim Crow and “Separate but Equal,” after the Holocaust and Hiroshima, Dr. King did not pretend that he believed in a “continual and progressive triumph of the right.” But he promised that there was a Promised Land — and that his people would get there one day.

Televangelist Pat Robertson has been pitching what he calls “Age-Defying Protein Pancakes” and “Age-Defying Protein Shakes.”

Now Branson evangelist Jim Bakker has launched his own breakfast food product.

Jim’s Organic 8 Grain Cereal costs $10 for a one-pound bag. If you prefer buying in bulk, you can get a 5-pound bag for $30.

The cereal, Bakker notes, “is low in saturated fats, high in complex carbohydrates and full of flavor! … It’s the ultimate way to start your day!”

Let’s see. Pat Robertson protein pancakes. Jim Bakker organic cereal. Now, all we need is some Dr. Robert Schuller-brand soy sausage patties and we’ll have a complete, well-rounded trifecta of a meal.

The Princeton Review just announced its annual survey of colleges with the most and least religious college students.

Topping the list of schools with devoted college students: Brigham Young University. Evangelical colleges and one Catholic school took the other top spots. Here’s the Princeton Review’s announcement:

“According to a 122,000-student survey conducted by The Princeton Review, a MA-based education services company, for its just published book, “The Best 376 Colleges: 2012 Edition,”
America’ #1 college for “Most Religious Students” is Brigham Young University (Provo UT) while the #1 college for “Least Religious Students” is Bennington College (Bennington VT).

In the book, published August 2, The Princeton Review reports the top 20 colleges in each of these categories, plus top colleges in 60 other list categories important for college applicants. Others include: the top 20 colleges for “Most Conservative / Most Liberal Students,” “Great Financial Aid,” “Best Career Services” and “Best Professors.” (See release on book below.)

All of the lists are based entirely on what students attending the 376 colleges in the book reported to The Princeton Review about themselves, their fellow students and their campuses on its 80-question student survey for the book. The complete ranking lists in “The Best 376 Colleges” are also posted on www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings.aspx (free / registration required).

Top 5 Colleges for “Most Religious Students”
1- Brigham Young University (Provo UT)
2 -Hillsdale College (Hillsdale MI)
3-Thomas Aquinas College (Santa Paula CA)
4-Wheaton College (Wheaton IL)
5-Grove City College (Grove City PA)

Top 5 Colleges for “Least Religious Students”
1-Bennington College (Bennington VT)
2-Reed College (Portland OR)
3-Bard College (Annandale-on-Hudson NY)
4-Vassar College (Poughkeepsie NY)
5-Sarah Lawrence College (Bronxville NY)

– Source: The Princeton Review.
Lists of the top 20 colleges in each of the above categories are in “The Best 376 Colleges” and at http://www.princetonreview.com.”

The New Orleans preacher, if elected, would be the first African American to lead the 16-million-member Southern Baptist Convention, the nation’s largest Protestant body.

Details here.

The Assemblies of God, meeting in Phoenix for its biennial General Council, has selected an Arkansan to serve on its top governing board — the executive presbytery.

Rod Loy, pastor of First Assembly of God in North Little Rock, was one of two new members elected Wednesday.

Also Wednesday, Alton Garrison was re-elected as assistant general superintendent — the Pentecostal body’s second-highest executive position. Garrison preceded Loy as pastor at First Assembly of God in North Little Rock. He also served as superintendent of the Arkansas district.

The Assemblies of God, which was founded in Hot Springs, Ark. in 1914, is the world’s largest Pentecostal fellowship, with 3 million adherents in the United States and an estimated 64 million followers worldwide.