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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Rascal who wrote (79193)	3/3/2003 1:13:14 PM
From: Karen Lawrence	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

Good post Rascal

To: Rascal who wrote (79193)	3/3/2003 2:36:45 PM
From: KLP	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

You may be young enough not to realize that nearly every President believed in God...some more than others...Remember Jimmy Carter? Message 18649029

To: Rascal who wrote (79193)	3/3/2003 3:15:16 PM
From: Win Smith	Respond to of 281500

Bush and God msnbc.com [ edit: sorry, I missed the previous posts too, but I'll leave this here for the other articles and pithy excerpts Cross reference: #reply-18605289 ] [ On that topic, Newsweek's cover story, plus a couple others from the issue. Clips: ] While Rove and Hill leaders work the domestic side, Bush is dwelling on faith-based foreign policy of the most explosive kind: a potential war in the name of civil freedom—including religious freedom—in the ancient heart of Arab Islam. In the just-war debate, he has strong support from his base. Leading advocates for the moral virtue of his position include Richard Land, the key leader of the Southern Baptist Convention’s political arm. Another supporter is Michael Novak, the conservative Catholic theologian. Novak recently journeyed to Rome to make his case at the invitation of the U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, Jim Nicholson, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee. All politics is local. But the president is facing a mighty force of religious leaders on the other side. They include the pope (Bush will meet with a papal envoy this week, NEWSWEEK has learned), the Council of Bishops, the National Council of Churches, many Jewish groups and most Muslim leaders. “People appreciate his devotion to faith, but, in the context of war, there is a fine line, and he is starting to make people nervous,” says Steve Waldman, the editor and CEO of Beliefnet, a popular and authoritative Web site on religion and society. “They appreciate his moral clarity and decisiveness. But they wonder if he is ignoring nuances in what sounds like a messianic mission.” The White House: Gospel on the Potomac msnbc.com There is, however, nothing in the personal piety of small-group Christianity that can ground a faith-based vision for governing the body politic. Translating faith into political principles is what denominations try to do. But Bush’s “compassionate conservatism” could not be less like the United Methodist Church’s relentlessly liberal social creed. Early in his presidency, Bush drew on confidants like Princeton professor John DiIulio, the point man for his faith-based initiative, who tutored him in the philosophy of Catholic social doctrine. His statements on abortion and stem-cell research reflect papal teachings. More recently, Bush’s invocation of “Providence” and “God’s will” for the world echo Calvinist theology. But that is also the Biblically derived language of the American civil religion that, as sociologist Robert Bellah pointed out 37 years ago, is the rhetoric that our leaders have always used to link the nation’s purposes to those of a transcendent God—especially in times of war. The first President Bush admitted he had no gift for what he called “the vision thing.” His son, at least, recognizes the need for one. That a president invokes the Almighty should no longer surprise us. But the danger of invoking God for any political or military purpose is the presumption that he is on our side. The lesson of history is that no individual or nation is exempt from Divine judgment. Martin Marty, The Sin of Pride msnbc.com The concerns of world religious leaders about this war have not induced the White House to open its door to a broader theological debate. The pope and the American Roman Catholic bishops—as well as Protestant bishops and many other —lay and clerical leaders outside the president’s core constituency—got no hearing, only dismissal. These clerics have legitimate concerns that extend to the geopolitical scene—as well as to the American soul: how will the only remaining world power assume the burden of building a new empire? One hopes that the Bush people will keep in mind that claims of God’s always being on our side are alienating to many former or would-be allies. . . . Christian theologians are wary when Bush uses the words of Jesus to draw neat lines and challenge the whole rest of the world: if you are not for us, or with us, you are against us. Without question, belief in American democracy as one of God’s blessings is part of the move against Iraq. But, as theologians in a number of faiths remind us, the demonization of the enemy—an “us and them” mentality—can inhibit self-examination and repentant action, critical components of any faith. . . . In the future, when Bush speaks about God and this country, as he assuredly will, one hopes he will heed the example of Abraham Lincoln. In other desperate times Lincoln had to seek Almighty guidance for what he called this ” almost chosen people.” That president accompanied his seeking with a theological affirmation too rarely heard now: “The Almighty has His own purposes.” These purposes may not always match our own, even if we are called to highest office. Awareness of this might bring the nation and its political and religious leaders alike under judgment as we pursue, by our best lights, responsible action.