With respect to the views of our non-Christian and atheist/agnostic friends, what has happened before our eyes has greatly affirmed my view that Fate worked demonstrably with the election of Barack Obama, and we are all better off for it.
You have a right to question me, the Bible, but please don’t question my motives or my sincerity that this means inclusion, not exclusion. That the new dawn will signal a common ground of love and respect, not who’s right and who’s wrong.
I submit to you a theme to the new day ahead of us.
"If we truly hope to speak to people where they're at - to communicate our hopes and values in a way that's relevant to their own - then as progressives, we cannot abandon the field of religious discourse."
"Given the increasing diversity of America's population, the dangers of sectarianism have never been greater. Whatever we once were, we are no longer just a Christian nation; we are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers."
-Barack Obama
It’s been 44 years since America passed the Voting Rights Act, helping to bring the promise of the Constitution to all men, but a setback occurred. 40 years ago saw the rise of the Southern Strategy, the politics of fear and division. It saw the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. who preached of equality and the Promised Land, as well as Robert Kennedy. For 40 long years, we have wandered.
November 4 marked the election of Barack Obama, our 44th President of the United States of America. It brings this period of American History back, full circle. Equality did not come easily, but it was a test for man. This does not mean Obama was chosen by God. This does not mean he is "The One." Instead, it is the gift that man gave himself. All men are created equal.
Whether it’s the divine word or not, the Bible contains a consistency with the numbers 4 and 40. (3+1) 4 is essentially worldly, of things created. Think 4 seasons, 4 directions, as well as many verses that allude to the number. The Fourth Book of Psalms is the Book of the Wilderness, speaking of earth. The Fourth Commandment is the first that refers to the earth. The fourth clause of the Lord's Prayer is the first that mentions the earth. Many other examples exist.
The period of 40 signals a time where God makes major changes and transformations. 40 is the number of days during the flood. The number of days Moses stayed on the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments. Goliath came for 40 days before being killed by David. Jesus fasted for 40 days. After his death, he appeared 40 days later. For 40 years the Israelis wandered in the wilderness before reaching the Promised Land. In other words, after a period of 40 good things happen.
Barack Obama speaks of the Joshua Generation as a basis that we have much work to do, but faith should not divide us, nor can we be afraid to approach it. That Joshua led people to the Promised Land after 40 long years makes me realize Barack won’t run from this "coincidence," he will build upon it for all the people of the world.