November 14, 2008
Martin Luther King Jr.’s Dream for the American Church
What the election says about our progress and decline.
by Skye Jethani
Amazing. How else can you describe what happened last week when Barack Obama became the first African American elected President of the United States? However you voted, whatever your politics, the election reveals something about the progress of our society. As George W. Bush said the morning after the election, it "showed a watching world the vitality of America's democracy and the strides we have made toward a more perfect union."
Amid the reflections there have been numerous references to Martin Luther King Jr.'s pioneering civil rights movement and his "dream." One Chicago news commentator on election night said the day King delivered his famous speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial he could not have known that a two year old boy in Hawaii would become the fulfillment of his dream. That got me wondering - is Barack Obama really the fulfillment of King's dream?
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Posted by UrL Scaramanga on November 14, 2008
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Comments
Fulfillment - no. An actualization of movement toward his dream - yes.
It was a huge step and one I celebrate - but we are far from the King's dream. I live in the Detroit metro-area and bigotry and racism are still very prevalent here. Obama's election should serve as a catalyst to continue working towards MLK's dream.
Posted by: Kevin Davis at November 14, 2008
READING YOUR COMMENTS AND SO MANY OTHERS HAS SADDEN MY HEART, THE WAY YOU SPEAK OF OUR NEWLY ELECTED PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMBA. A MAN WHO STANDS FOR ALL OF AMERICA. JUST AS DR. KING DID. IF YOU WERE EVER AN AFRICAN AMERICAN THEN YOU WOULD HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING.I THANK GOD FOR ALLOWING THIS DAY. I HAVE BEEN OFFENDED BY THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY. BUT I AM PRAYING FOR MYSELF THAT T DON'T ALLOW ANY BITTER OR ANY BAD SPIRIT TO GET IN MY HEART
Posted by: dorothy monroe at November 14, 2008
BTW, as far as this question from Skye...yeah amazing. I love the couched words "whatever your politics". I'm continually disheartened by the whole "god is on 'our' side" angle we American Christians too often take.
G_d is on our side...the BIG "OUR". Praise G_d!
Posted by: Bil_ at November 14, 2008
Hi Skye, yes it was a fantastic demonstration of the greatness in the American dream.
Posted by: alan hirsch at November 17, 2008
A definition of dream from Websters is: ambition: a cherished desire;... when you understand Dr. King's vision, the achievement by President-elect Obama fits perfectly. Dr. King lived and died with the desire that all men would be recognized as equal and that we could walk hand in hand. I know everyone has not embraced this change, but I am so happy that America now sees itself as it really is. We still have work to do...wouldn't you agree!
Posted by: Candy B at November 18, 2008
Isaiah had a vision of a child being born, however he did not know the full implication of what the vision referred to at the time. In our reflection of the story of Christ, we say that he prophesied about the Lord's birth. Did he? Christ was born and the government was on His shoulders. Dr. King's dream was profound in and of itself. However, President elect Obama becoming president is a dream that came true for him i. e. his own dream. Also, his becoming President was a historical moment for multiple reasons which include but are not limited to Dr. King's dream.
johnny
Posted by: Johnny Johnson at November 19, 2008