On Kos, they have posted a translation of Bush’s VE day commemoration in the Netherlands. A couple of quotes make me, well, quite uneasy, considering that Mr. Bush repeatedly tells us all how much of a born again Christian he is:
In his speech at Margraten, Bush said Sunday that the most important lesson of World War II is that ‘no power is as strong as the power of freedom. There’s no soldier as strong as one who fights for freedom’.
Actually, I can name one power which is stronger: the Lord our God.
According to Bush, the free Europe after World War II was built on the courage and sacrifices of the soldiers who liberated the continent. The free world that Bush wants to leave as his legacy has been inspired by that. “We are at the service of the truth: freedom is the most important.” In the 21st century, according to Bush, Americans and Europeans work together to bring freedom to Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon and the Middle East. “Freedom is the permanent hope of humanity”, said Bush.
Freedom is the permanent hope of humanity? Funny, but my theology teaches me that Jesus Christ is the permanent hope of humanity.
Now, I understand that Mr. Bush cannot, because of his position, preach the gospel, nor would I expect him to (Unlike the Christian right, I believe in the separation of church and state, after all). But that doesn’t mean that he should be uttering things that are completely contrary to the teachings of Jesus - at least if he’s serious about following Him.
May 8th, 2005 at 3:57 pm
Excellent point. It seems as if the president’s allegiance to political structure is a little stronger than his loyalty to God sometimes. Of course, this comes out in more than just his speeches on freedom, but also in just about every policy he has that negatively affects the downtrodden in American society.
May 9th, 2005 at 5:25 pm
Freedom is merely a vast empty space, in which lost souls wander in search of God’s eternal values, while ravenous beasts hunt the fragile souls of the innocent.
May 19th, 2005 at 10:21 am
GW is not the president. He does the job of the presidency
May 19th, 2005 at 10:27 am
GW is not the president. He is an individual and as far as anyone knows his personal savior is the Lord Jesus Christ. GW does the job of the president. The presidency was created by the constitution not God. It neither cares about salvation or needs it. GW is defined by his relationships starting with the Lord. He is not defined in Gods eyes by his role as president but as son, husband, father, friend etc…Noone wants the president talking about the Blood of Jesus, the ultimate in freedom. You need to know who your audience is brothers in Christ.
June 28th, 2005 at 2:24 pm
There are several things here. For one if everything any of us was broadcast out for everyone to hear I am sure as one that is critical someone as your self would find faults in what is said…Biblically speaking we are also suppose to trust and support our government leaders that we have entrusted God to put in place for us and undermine what is being done and trust that he is handling these issues the way they should be (its would be tough to get most of the world to fight for Jesus, but freedom…maybe, then the delivery of the gospel would be paved and the freedom of Jesus introduced which is the ultimate in freedom) secondly I believe the Bible speaks directly and very negatively about having a critical spirit…so in saying this I believe we all need to get on out knees before God and look at our own lives and see how he wants us to to conduct our lives….We are not called to be moderate but radical in our life for Christ…There was no middle ground with Jesus eventhough he loved the sinner….he called the out of sin and the turned from their sin.
June 28th, 2005 at 2:41 pm
Actually, the Bible says nothing about trusting and supporting our leaders. Instead, it says to SUBMIT to the governing authorities. It says to pray for our leaders.
But the early church was outspoken in its opposition to the evil institutions imposed by the Roman empire, and in submission to that empire its members went to their deaths by the thousands for the exercise of a belief system which ran entirely counter to what the Romans advocated.
June 29th, 2005 at 10:46 am
So by saying this are you saying that you believe that we, as Americans, are part of the “evil empire”? And what does submission mean without support…not much…we do live in a fallen world and I do trust that which I feel like God has put in place to lead us…so what would you consider to be the definition to the word “gossip”…it is saying something, true or not that damages someones character…so unless you are the “perfect one you should not question and put OPINIONS out there that question the salvation of GW….so by what you say you should spend more time praying for GW than slamming what you perceive to be his princibles or his motives for his decisions….but then again this is just my “opinion”
June 29th, 2005 at 11:19 am
Dave,
We live in a democracy (or a republic, if you prefer). That means we have two choices: 1) Do not participate in the political process at all and keep our opinions to ourselves about our elected leaders or 2) Try to elect and encourage others to elect the best candidates possible, and express our opinions with regard to them.
I make no judgements about Mr. Bush’s salvation, only observations on the implications of his statements. Is it Biblically incorrect to say that democracy is the “hope of the world,” when Jesus reserves that title for himself? Yes. Does Jesus say that our salvation is on the line for making invalid statements? No, it is the condition of our heart which assures or denies our salvation, and none of us can peer into the heart of another.
As a professed born again Christian who also happened to be the President of a nation which is tolerant of different faiths, of course his rhetoric is limited. But it’s one thing to be sensitive to others’ faiths, and quite another to say things that are plainly in opposition with one’s own.
Is the United States the “evil empire?” Inasmuch as all of the nations of the world are under control of the ruler of this world, yes.
Once again, I would say look at the example of the early Christians for what it means to submit to government but to not necessarily support it. We are called to submit - in other words, we accept the authority of government, obey those parts of it which are in accord with our faith, and accept the punishment when we must disobey things which are in opposition to our faith. But supporting is not in the scriptures, and is therefore optional.
Of course there are things about the President which I support. I feel the administration did a wonderful thing when it joined with other rich nations to forgive many third world debts. I believe his heart, if not his policies, are in the right place with regard to abortion.
But there are far more things which trouble me - militarism, deceit, a complete lack of concern for stewardship of the planet, irresponsible fiscal policies which favor the rich over everybody else, favoritism for rich special interests, and so forth.
In a democracy, it is not only my right, but my obligation to try to impact the political process. As a follower of Jesus, it is my obligation to speak what I believe to be true.