The Washington Post has an interesting article today in which the President’s speechwriter asserts that George W. Bush doesn’t claim to be ordained by God to rule. Alan Cooperman writes:
Like many evangelical Christians, President Bush believes that God is at work in his life. But he has avoided claiming that God is behind his presidency or U.S. foreign policy, his chief speechwriter said.
"The important theological principle here, I believe, is to avoid identifying the purposes of an individual or a nation with the purposes of God," Michael Gerson said. "That seems a presumption to me, and we've done our best to avoid the temptation."
The only problem with Gerson’s remarks is that they aren’t true. Just look at this example from a recent Meet The Press:
MR. RUSSERT: Reverend Land, The Washington Post reported this: "`I believe God wants me to be president,'" the Rev. Richard Land, head of the public policy arm of the Southern Baptist Convention, quoted George Bush as saying."
When did George Bush tell you that?
DR. RICHARD LAND: Well, he told me that--he told a group of us that the day he was inaugurated for his second term as governor of the state in 1999.
Bush has used his belief that God wants to him to be President in pursuit of foreign policy goals that have cost thousands of lives and polarized the world. The only question is how many more wars will this dangerous theology bring us over the next four years?
