November 12, 1984

The Rev. Martin Luther King Sr., one of the South's most influential black clergymen for decades and the father of the slain civil rights leader who bore his name, died of heart disease yesterday in Atlanta. He was 84 years old. Mr, King, who suffered from cardiac problems in recent years, was stricken at home yesterday evening and rushed to Crawford W. Long Memorial Hospital in Atlanta where he was pronounced dead, a hospital spokesman said. For 44 years Mr. King served as pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church, one of the South's leading black congregations, and he remained a major force in the civic life of Atlanta after retiring from that pulpit. Though he was a pioneer leader in Atlanta civil rights battles, the national influence of ''Daddy King,'' as he was called, came largely through his son.

On May 16, the police raided the Los Angeles home of Thomas G. Tcimpidis and seized his personal computer and data storage devices. The ensuing case has ignited a nationwide debate that could influence the future of computerized communications and electronic publishing. Mr. Tcimpidis, a 33-year-old television engineer, was using his home computer as a high-technology version of the supermarket bulletin board. Other computer owners could connect their computers - at no charge - to his computer over the telephone and post messages or read those left by others. But at least one of the messages on Mr. Tcimpidis' bulletin board contained telephone credit card numbers that had been obtained without authorization. Mr. Tcimpidis is now facing misdemeanor charges for ''knowingly and willfully publishing'' the numbers with the intent they be used by people to avoid telephone charges.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 1984 International Israel offered to begin a cease-fire in south Lebanon with the Shiite Moslem militia there. The move was a response to Lebanon's suspension of troop withdrawal talks over the arrest of a group of Moslem militiamen. (Page A1, Column 4.) Israel destroyed 28 homes of Palestinian farmers in the West Bank of the Jordan Valley. Israel has now destroyed nearly 80 such houses in the last 10 days, according to a spokesman for the Civil Administration, the Israeli agency that governs occupied territories, who said the houses were built without permission. (A14:4.)

Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi has barely begun to confront the daunting challenges and the opportunities for new beginnings that he faces. But it has already become apparent to many here that if he survives politically, he will differ significantly from his mother in policy and style. India and Mr. Gandhi appear to have come through the horrible days after Indira Gandhi's assassination more or less on an even keel. The riots in the capital, in which at least 600 people were killed, appear to have ended. Life in the rest of the country, where at least 400 others died violently, seems to have returned nearly to normal. And Mr. Gandhi is widely credited with having successfully projected at least an image of poise, strength and continuity in government at a dangerous moment for national stability. Signs of Openness Continuity aside, the 40-year-old Prime Minister has shown signs that his Government, if it lasts, will be more open, less imperial and less authoritarian than that of his mother, and that he will delegate authority and rely on consensus more than did Mrs. Gandhi, who tended to hold power closely and was known to mistrust some of the people to whom Mr. Gandhi has already made gestures of unity.

The nation's vigorous economy may have played a major role in President Reagan's overwhelming re-election, but most analysts doubt that the economic performance Americans endorsed last Tuesday is the one they will get in the coming four years. ''A mild recession is shaping up,'' said A. Gary Shilling, who runs an economic consulting firm bearing his name. ''In fact, we may already be in it. The election doesn't change that. But people vote the past rather than the future.''