BUSH AS SAVIOR COLLAGE
Collated by Peter Fredson
The World Wide Web is a prime reference for investigation into the hodge-podge shenanigans of George W. (Dubya) Bush. The following passages were extracted from several thousand articles and opinions concerning Bush’s concern with and exploitation of religion.
For a variety of reasons--respect for the constitutional separation of church and state, deference to cultural pluralism, political expediency, modesty, uncertainty--American presidents have generally toned down the theocratic proclamations of Puritan forbears. Most are content to attend church, consult with ministers, tout faith, and publicly thank God for American prosperity, freedom, and democracy.
The current occupant of the Oval office is a striking exception. President G. W. Bush often sounds and acts like a Puritan theocrat. In 2001, after the horrific Sept. 11th events, he told reporters: "Our nation was chosen by God and mandated by history to serve as a model of justice."
Bush sees the world as a moral battleground between Good and Evil, the powers of Light pitted against powers of Darkness. In a radio address on March 30, 2002, he said: "We place our sorrows and cares before him, seeking God's mercy. We can be confident that evil may be present and it may be strong, but it will not prevail. We are assured that history is of moral design. Justice and cruelty have always been at war, and God is not neutral between them. His purposes are often defied, but never defeated."
As Governor of Texas Bush made a mysterious speech to the secretive Council for National Policy which is still considered secret. All efforts to learn what Bush as presidential hopeful said or promised to the conservative Council have failed. The CNP's elite membership is overwhelmingly Republican, charismatic, anti-choice, antigay, and pro-gun. Did Bush promise the fundamentalists no hindrance to install their theocracy? Did Bush give them carte-blanch to overthrow the wall of separation between church and state? Did Bush promise to load the Supreme Court and District Courts with religious zealots? Did Bush promise to install evangelistic dogma as the law of the land? Did Bush promise them full-rein in posting their slogans, icons and symbols in public buildings and places? Did Bush promise to install Biblical teachings in the public schools, hang the 10 Commandments in every classroom and courtroom, have students recite the Pledge with God before each class. Judging from the results, he evidently gave the fundamentalists what he had promised.
We all know about the Bush double-standard, promising to be open and candid about his plans, then holding secret deals and talks with fundamentalists and corporate sponsors. We can only look at his actions after the Supreme Court Republican Judges selected and installed him as President.
In a 2002 speech in Knoxville, Bush specified how to deal with evildoers: "The best way to fight evil is to do some good. Let me qualify that--the best way to fight evil at home is to do some good. The best way to fight them abroad is to unleash the military."
For Bush, War brings Peace.
When militant nationalism is bolstered by religious fervor, the world should worry. When heads of state view themselves as instruments of a divine will, they become oblivious to mere human opinion, particularly when it differs from their own, since those who have God on their side always (as Henry David Thoreau said) constitute a majority of one.
To the anointed, wars are holy crusades. Supporters become saints, protesters reprobates. A virtuous warrior can see where simple truth and goodness lie. To squash a foreign devil, collateral damage of cataclysmic magnitude becomes justifiable devastation of infrastructures, wrecking of world markets, maiming and killing of innocents.
American theocrats draw support from many moderates, as extreme right politicians have fused God and Jesus with government, patriotism, and warding off of Islamic fundamentalist evils. Perhaps the only difference between Christian and Islamic theocrats is their use of the Bible, versus the Koran, to justify their oppressive ideology and desire for holy war.
Fascism is a political philosophy; authoritarian and antidemocratic, where the state is placed above the individual, requiring absolute obedience to a glorified leader. This is the Bush administration policy. Christian fundamentalists have glorified Bush, another requisite for a fascist leader. They portrayed him with a Christ-like halo around his head, and his hands folded in prayer. Pamphlets produced by In Touch Ministries were distributed to thousands of Marines calling on them to pray for Bush, despite the inside-out nature of the request
Fareed Zakaria reported in Newsweek, March 24, 2003, on Bush’s “arrogant empire.” Bush is demanding and authoritarian in his relations even with foreign nations. As Zakaria points out, “President Bush’s favorite verb is ‘expect.’” And Donald Rumsfeld’s favorite quote is an Al Capone line: “You will get more with a kind word and a gun than with a kind word alone.”
For many evangelicals, the root of Baby Boomer evil is moral relativism, the sense that there is no absolute good or evil. When Bush frequently uses those terms, they have resonance beyond foreign policy. When he says “Al Qaeda is evil,” he is talking to evangelicals about abortion, gay marriage, sexual promiscuity, divorce, birth control, loud music, thongs, and anything else they might think resulted from moral relativism. Moral clarity is essential to Bushites for fighting not only terror but American cultural rot.
Fundamentalist Christians see everything in terms of black and white. Worse, they see people as inherently evil, that need a paternalistic father-figure to crack the whip and save them from the Dark Side. Bush's philosophy is a simplistic black and white, the either/or mindset that tolerates no deviations, no nuances, despite conditions changing. Absolute Certitude attracts many simple-minded devotees. The simplicity, the 'we are better than you because we are Christians' legitimizes any and all actions.....including imperialistic and colonial notions toward other nations. When you are Right, you cannot be Wrong.
Bush uses language familiar to evangelicals, and plays into American love of being better than other nations and to having a “special calling.” Bush constantly uses right/wrong and good/evil language, attractive to evangelicals who believe there are simple and easy answers to problems. But, Non-evangelicals find his links to religion and politics to be offensive, menacing, and even frightening.
Watching Bush weave a fundamentalist web for the U.S. lets us understand how Germans felt in 1932, watching helplessly when patriotism turned into fanatic nationalism, and then into the madness of fascism.
Bush's sincerity is evident; unfortunately so is his intellectual poverty and lack of historical referents. We're told he reads the Bible every day (like some of us might read the newspaper) and that he once brandished a copy of it during a speech on federal funding for faith-based charities, saying, "This is the only handbook you need. This handbook is a good go-by."
As the Rev. Welton Gaddy, leader of a liberal Christian coalition, points out, in a nation founded on freedom of religious practice, promoting the Good Book as a manual for public policy is a disquieting choice. Especially since, of the $100 million so far dispensed to faith-based charities by the Bush administration, not one dollar has gone to a Jewish or Muslim organization.
The goal of the ‘faith-based’ domestic agenda espoused by Bush is taxpayer-funded proselytization of the poor. Christians would not be amused if tax credits or government grants went to an Islamic organization that convinced alcoholics and addicts to straighten up in order to please Allah.
Proselytizing eventually emerges in “compassionate” conservative programs with self-serving ends due to their propensity to insist that the poor need Christian spiritual nurturing to motivate them to change their situations.
Fundamentalists despise freedom of religion in its truest sense: the freedom to practice any religion, or no religion, according to the dictates of ones own conscience. This kind of “freedom”, to them, is intolerable. To them it is obvious that only their specific beliefs and practices are absolutely true, and all others are absolutely false and to be condemned.
Since September 11, 2001, Americans of all beliefs have decried Islamic fundamentalism, vowing to reject extremism. Yet four years of Bush rhetoric and practice have been detrimental to religious freedom and liberty. America is slipping into a fundamentalist mode paralleling those of the Taliban that Americans are desperately seeking to defend themselves against.
Example: The Bush administration worked with the Salvation Army, to make it easier for government-funded religious groups to practice hiring discrimination against gay people, according to an internal Salvation Army document.
The White House made a "firm commitment" to the Salvation Army to issue a regulation protecting such charities from state and city efforts to prevent discrimination against gays in hiring and domestic-partner benefits, according to the Salvation Army report. The Salvation Army, in turn, agreed to use its clout to promote the administration's "faith-based" social services initiative, which sought to direct more government funds to religious charities.
President Bush was willing to achieve, through regulation and executive orders, ends too controversial to survive the legislative process. This underscores an incestuous allegiance between the Bush administration and conservative groups, with willingness to overlook constitutional and legal niceties by deceit, sneak attacks and misinformation to impose a specific religious outlook upon the nation.
An American president should have the admiration of the world. Bush simply does not. There is probably no country in the world, outside his own, where a majority of citizens hold him in great respect or affection. Just ask people in England, Scotland, and Ireland. There are many people, in "friendly" countries, who hate him more than Saddam. It is Bush’s queer achievement to ruin the accumulated good-will of American effort through two world-wars, floods, hurricanes, and earthquakes in just four years. His religious ranting to excuse killing for oil, does not play in Europe or other places. Not in China, not in any Muslim country. Where does it play? In Christian Coalition organizations and among True Believer supporters.
An American president who presumes loudly to lead the world must take the world with him. Bush does the opposite. He does not inspire. He is not impressive. He is not trusted. He is not a leader. He is a failure. Fear and threat seem to be Bush's only friends outside of his fanatic followers.
Fear is the motivator of choice in dictatorships and totalitarian regimes, not democracies. When you try to make people do something out of fear, you diminish them. Once you choose fear-mongering over sweet reason to advance your cause, you diminish yourself. You become a thug, the rest…your serfs. Bush people are expert at calling Terror Alerts, using pretty colors and duct tapes as their shield against real terrorists. Their strategy is to scare people silly, then claim that their only protection is that George Bush as savior will pray for them.
Bush people cannot respond to charges that they created terror in the American public deliberately, as a way to remain in office. They have exploited, to the hilt, the 9/11 disaster, to accumulate cash and votes, and to somehow make Bush a hero that can swagger and smirk in self-glorification. This is why they spin like Whirling Dervishes to swirl the few shreds of truth that might remain.
Most notable is the religious fervor in Washington--from prayer meetings at the White House and Justice Department to evangelical overtones in State of the Union addresses. The sudden ubiquity of religious references affects the daily lives of public servants and bureaucrats who are not used to having God injected into their work.
"I welcome faith to help solve the nation's deepest problems," President Bush told a convention of religious broadcasters, despite his many failures to solve many problems.
Earlier, in his State of the Union address, he said, "The liberty we prize is not America's gift to the world; it is God's gift to humanity."
Bush, who uses a good-and-evil compass to navigate national issues, peppers his speeches with exhortations to moral and civic duty. And with war, tragedy and terrorism confronting him all at once, Bush's allusions to spirituality and morality keep increasing. His next step could be to ring all the church bells of the nation to solve the national deficit, eliminate Al Quaeda, and eliminate hunger.
Speaking to broadcasters in Nashville, Tennessee about the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Bush said, "We carried our grief to the Lord Almighty in prayer." Bush loves cheap symbolic solutions that appeal to emotions.
After the shuttle Columbia disintegrated, Bush turned to religion and a quote from the book of Isaiah to help console the nation.
"The same Creator who names the stars also knows the names of the seven souls we mourn today. The crew of the shuttle Columbia did not return safely to Earth; yet we can pray that all are safely home."
Expressions of faith and values are cheap and easy rhetoric for American presidents, and Bush, who became a born-again Christian after concluding he was drinking too much, is no exception. Yet Bush often goes beyond his usual broad remarks on the power of faith in general to use language and ideas specific to Christianity.
Asked by Bob Woodward (as detailed in the book "Plan of Attack") how he approached the final decision to go to war, Bush replied, "I was praying for strength to do the Lord's will ... that I be as good a messenger of his will as possible."
Asked if he conferred with his father, George H.W. Bush, the president responded, "There is a higher father that I appeal to."
Lest opponents simply dismiss "God as God," they should know the dimensions of the deity they face. George W. Bush's divine father is the God of about 90 million evangelical Christians in America. Most evangelicals conduct themselves according to Christ's teachings of love and tolerance. But, many extremists practice no "love thy neighbor" unless their neighbors believe as they believe: no religious or racial parity, no gay or abortion rights, no stem cell research, no United Nations, no evolution, no environmentalism, no eye without an eye in return, no personal salvation without their Christ, and no religious freedom for anyone except themselves. Toleration of error for them is damnation.
At their absolute fringe are befuddling prophesiers who hold that something they call the "Rapture" may be close. This phantasmagoric forecast calls for a final "seven-year tribulation" between Israel and hordes of the "antichrist." Before the onset of their Rapture, God's truest believers will be lifted into heaven to observe pestilence and bloodshed erupting below. This prospect makes them deliriously happy and they will gladly give up all they hold to anyone who assures them that they will be “saved.”
To ensure his re-election, this "faith-based" Bush clings to the coattails of extremist right-wing Christians. They number millions. They unconditionally vote for God, Jesus, the Bible, Ten Commandments, prayer in schools, and absolute domination of infidels. They can make the difference in turning this nation into a theocracy.
It is a welcome message for evangelical Christian conservatives whom Bush is courting for a second term. Others are uncomfortable with the fascist-like approach. "Belief in a cruel God makes a cruel man," Paine reminds us. It also makes for a cruel nation.
"This president is using general references and, beyond that, terminology and vocabulary that come straight out of a very particular religious tradition, which is evangelical Christianity," said the Rev. C. Welton Gaddy, a Louisiana pastor and executive director of the Interfaith Alliance Foundation, an umbrella interfaith group.
"I think his rhetoric implies a lack of appreciation for the vast pluralism of religion in this nation," Gaddy said.
Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said Bush speeches are sounding "more and more like a sermon in a church" and risk alienating significant chunks of his constituency.
"When presidents start to become theologians on a regular basis, they begin to exclude people from their audience," Lynn said.
White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said Bush is comfortable speaking about religion because of its importance to him personally.
"The president when he speaks, speaks in a very inclusive way, very respectful ... of the fact that we are a nation whose great strengths come from the fact that we have people of so many faiths and people who have chosen not to have any particular religious affiliation," Fleischer said.
In a State of the Union address, Bush reflected on challenges facing the nation as it prepared for war against Iraq:
"We Americans have faith in ourselves, but not in ourselves alone. We do not claim to know all the ways of providence, yet we can trust in them, placing our confidence in the loving God behind all of life and all of history. May he guide us now, and may God continue to bless the United States of America."
In Nashville, Bush praised Americans' "deep and diverse religious beliefs." But he also singled out a special place for Christianity, calling the gospel that the broadcasters share over the airwaves "words of truth."
The Bush people installed an Internet Site on which prayers for the President, his cabinet, various senators, and prominent Republicans may be directed at God. For instance here are some heavenly directives issued by the White House Prayer Team:
Pray for the President and members of his team as they enact his plan for re-working our nation's intelligence services. Pray for wisdom and grace as they seek to strengthen the communication between foreign and domestic intelligence, improve the warning system of impending threats to America and create a powerful new position of National Intelligence Director.
As the President has declared September to be National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month, pray for the millions of Americans who suffer from the debilitating effects of alcohol and drug abuse, suffering from shattered lives, divided families and robbed of their promise and potential. Pray for the President's specific efforts to cut demand for drugs at home, disrupt supplies abroad, and ensure that citizens living with addiction get the treatment they need. Pray also for the faith-based and community initiatives that are targeted at conquering these problems, both in your community and across the nation.
As Hurricane Ivan is scheduled to make landfall along the Gulf Coast today, pray for safety and protection for all. Continue to pray for those affected by the recent hurricanes and storms throughout the Southeast.
Pray for Secretary of State Colin Powell and other leaders as they work to end the genocide in Darfur, Sudan in Africa. Pray that the killing of innocent victims will stop and that diplomatic efforts will succeed.
As yet another terror attack has taken place--this time on the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, pray for the President and all those who fight in the war on terror. Pray for the plans of those who plot evil to be foiled. Pray for the insurgent attacks in Iraq and other parts of the world to stop.
Pray for the U.S. Senate as they begin confirmation hearings for the nomination of Porter Goss as head of the CIA—for God's wisdom and grace to guide them.
As the President nominates two new Representatives to the General Assembly of the United Nations, pray for wisdom and godly leadership on the part of Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont and John E. Sununu of New Hampshire. Pray that they will serve with insight and clarity of thought and purpose.
Pray for our troops—for God to guard and shield them from harm, and for their faith and their families to be strengthened as they serve.
INSPIRATIONAL REFERENCES FOR THE WEEK
Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You while You may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him. You are my hiding place; You will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. --The Bible, Psalm 32:6-7 (NIV)
The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. --The Bible, James 5:16 (NIV)
ADDITIONAL LEADERS TO PRAY FOR THIS WEEK
Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy—John Walters
Deputy Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy—Mary Ann Solberg
Director, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms—Carl J. Truscott
Deputy Director, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms—Edgar A. Domenech
PRAY THE VOTE PRAYER FOCUS
In a little more than six weeks, America's citizens will elect their president, all the members of the House of Representatives, one-third of the Senate and hundreds of state and local officers, as well as vote on a number of important issues. Understanding what crucial days these are for our nation, The Presidential Prayer Team continues to urge prayer for the elections.
Pray:
· That those who are not currently registered will register and vote.
· That citizens will carefully examine the candidates and issues from a biblical standpoint, and will vote in accord with God's truth as revealed in His Word.
· That people willing to honor God and consult with God will be elected.
To register to Pray the Vote, click here.
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At the President’s web site, people can also give flattering comments about the saintliness of the President, for instance:
We as Americans seem to move on too quickly to something else. Therefore, we do forget how horrific the events; we do forget the continual prayer that is needed; we do forget the current sacrifices of our military in Iraq and Afghanistan. --Michael
I think people pray for the President and family more than they ever have. We love our President and believe he is sincere and he is our brother in Christ. Our church is praying for the coming election. --Jean
I do think that most Christians are closer to God than they were, but I feel that we too, sometimes forget what happened. I pray for all the victims' families. I also am so thankful that we have a president who prays. --Brenda
I believe that many people, in panic, started back to church, (not to true rededication and belief) but I am afraid that most immediately lost interest as soon as they felt safe again. I believe we as a nation have received several warnings to return to our historic Christian principles but we have not done so. --Don
This has been an incredible thing to have come into my home. It makes me a part of something that is bigger than myself and keeps me informed on what is going on with our President and those in office. I am pleased to know exactly how to pray for our country. Keep up the good work. I love this! --Bev
The Presidential Prayer Team has given stability in an otherwise shaky world. Having a sovereign God to pray to gives us hope and peace of heart and mind. Thank you for the opportunity to be a small part of the big picture of God's plans! --Kent
I can't begin to find the words to thank you for all that the PPT has meant in my life. The encouragement and involvement that you bring to me is truly a gift. I thank you that through the PPT I have come to a place of non-partial praying for our leaders. You've made me aware of the importance of consistent prayer for our leaders and our country—that it is scriptural, and that all the years that I did not vote, I denied my country. The support for our leaders, our troops, (my son is one), the polls and most of all the message you bring that speaks to my heart have all helped me to honestly say I love my country and will continue to remain an informed voter consistently in prayer for my leaders and my country until my last breath. Thank you all! You are in my prayers! Continue to run the race with God's integrity and honor. --Trish
The Presidential Prayer Team has opened my eyes and heart to God's calling for our country. It is heart-warming to me to see such a wonderful ministry. As a mother of four little ones it brings me much comfort to know that there are more than 2.8 Million members who have committed before God to pray for our country. --Tammy
Thanks to my beloved uncle, I joined the PPT shortly after you established it. Because of your updates prayer has returned to my life. I am now reminded daily that I must pray to God for guidance not only for myself and my family, but for my country. PPT has given me a sense of belonging to a strong group of fellow-Christians who have put politics aside to pray for the continued well-being of the United States and the world. I am reminded daily of the blessings God has bestowed upon me and that I should thank Him daily. I have also been reminded that I should pray for my enemies as well as my friends, for my enemies need my prayers for God's intervention and guidance. Thank you for this wonderful team. May God bless you always. --Christy
I have appreciated so very much the weekly prayer updates for the President and our nation. The updates help me to focus on specific prayer requests instead of praying a general prayer like, "Lord, bless the President." Thank you so much for your efforts!
As the PPT celebrates our 3rd anniversary this week, we are grateful, not only for your faithful involvement, but for countless answered prayers. Today, we list more answers to prayer, but they are co-mingled with urgent prayer needs as well. Please continue to support our troops in prayer and know how grateful we are for each of you. To adopt a troop in prayer, click here.
PRAYER FOR STORM VICTIMS
Do you live in an area affected by the recent storms that have ravaged the Southeast? Do you have specific prayer needs relative to the storms—for your community, your church or your family? The Presidential Prayer Team wants to encourage the nation to pray for the victims of the storms. Send your prayer request to Editor@presidentialprayerteam.org. And, finally, an inspirational word from the President himself, holding his hand over his heart:
WORDS FROM THE PRESIDENTON LIBERTY AND HOPE
Photo courtesy of the White House.
To everything we know there is a season—a time for sadness, a time for struggle, a time for rebuilding. And now we have reached a time for hope. This young century will be liberty's century. By promoting liberty abroad, we will build a safer world. By encouraging liberty at home, we will build a more hopeful America. Like generations before us, we have a calling from beyond the stars to stand for freedom. This is the everlasting dream of America. Now we go forward, grateful for our freedom, faithful to our cause, and confident in the future of the greatest nation on earth.
God bless you, and may God continue to bless our great country. --George W. Bush
END
At a Washington Prayer Breakfast, with senators and other prominent Republicans, Bush promised that prayers would be answered and that the U.S. would be stronger than ever.
"This is a testing time for our country," Bush said. "At this hour, we have troops that are assembling in the Middle East. There's oppressive regimes that seek terrible weapons. We face an ongoing threat of terror."
Bush said America will triumph over adversity because of the character of its people, the righteousness of the U.S. cause, the desire by all people to be free and God's own will. He said events don't move by "blind change and chance," and he called America "a nation of prayer."
"In this hour of our country's history, we stand in the need of prayer," Bush said. "We pray for the families that have known recent loss. We pray for the men and women who serve around the world to defend our freedom. We pray for their families. We pray for wisdom to know and do what is right and we pray for God's peace in the affairs of men."
Bush, who calls himself a born-again Christian, said that in his own moments of religious contemplation he prays "for strength. I pray for guidance. I pray for forgiveness. And I pray to offer my thanks for a kind and generous Almighty God."
"Throughout our history, Americans of faith have always turned to prayer -- for wisdom, prayer for resolve, prayers for compassion and strength, prayers for commitment to justice and for a spirit of forgiveness.
Since America's founding, prayer has reassured us that the hand of God is guiding the affairs of this nation. We have never asserted a special claim on His favor, yet we've always believed in God's presence in our lives. This has always been true. But it has never been more true since September the 11th. Prayer has comforted people in grief. Prayer has served as a unifying factor in our nation. Prayer gives us strength for the journey ahead.
I work the ropelines a lot, and people say, 'Mr. President, I pray for you and your family.' I turn to them, I look them in the eye, and say, that's the greatest gift you can give. That's the greatest gift you can give. I mean it with all sincerity.
And so I want to thank you for your prayers. I want to thank you for what you do for our nation. I want to thank you for your good works. I want to thank you for helping change America one heart, one soul, one conscience at a time."
-- President George W. Bush, excerpts from the President's remarks at the National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast, May 16, 2002
From www.presidentialprayerteam.org
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PRAYER LIST FOR TRUE BELIEVERS
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The President has in his infinite wisdom made it easy for people to pray by telling them what to pray for. For Instance:
LET US AGREE IN PRAYER FOR:
President Bush to proclaim to the world - Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior.
President Bush to call our nation to repentance.
Divine Spirit of Wisdom, the Spirit of Knowledge, and Divine Discernment to our President.
President Bush to Proclaim a National time of Prayer and Fasting for America.
God to grant courage to our President.
Saddam Hussein's dictatorial government to "implode" therefore saving lives.
God's purpose to be fulfilled in America. ( Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven )
The gospel of Jesus Christ to spread throughout the Islamic countries.
Revival throughout the Body of Christ.
Safety of our military personnel and their families.
To bind the efforts of those plotting evil against America and freedom.
God to put a "hedge" around America to protect her.
Physical, emotional and spiritual strength for President Bush, VP Cheney, and his advisors.
Americans to be patient during this war of terrorism.
For God to expose those responsible for terrorism and how, when, and where we should respond.
National and world unity in the war against terrorists.
Our children who are confused and scared because of the bombardment of the threat of war by the daily news media.
Families who have lost loved ones in this terrorist attack will turn to Christ if they don't know him.
That America through this terrorist attack will realize their need for Christ and accept him.
President Bush's twin daughters, Jenny and Barbara and V. President Cheney's daughters to come to a committed relationship with Jesus Christ.
The return of Prayer and allowing God back into our public schools.
Safety for our children in our schools.
The return of the Ten Commandments to public places. (War had been declared to remove the Ten Commandments by anti-Christ organizations) We see the consequences in our courts and our schools when removal of God's laws resulted in violence. And the world keeps asking "why".
President Bush/Cheney to have a strong, intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.
President Bush/Cheney to have Godly wisdom and favor with God and man.
President Bush/Cheney and their families' physical protection.
An outpouring of God's Spirit around the world.
Christian leaders - purity in Spirit, Soul, and Body: Boldness to preach the good news of Jesus Christ, the whole truth and nothing but.
That our nation will stop the mass slaughter of unborn babies through abortion.
House of Representatives, Senate, and Supreme Judges to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior
Those in the House of Representatives and Senate who have deliberately set out to destroy the new administration that their efforts will boomerang and come back upon themselves and all will be exposed (Gal.6:7-8).
God's choice for new Federal and Supreme Court Judges.
Congress to put our country above political party interest.
Government officials from the local to Washington.
Peace of Israel (Ps122:6-9) Laborers for evangelism, New Prime Minister Sharon and his administration.
GIVE THANKS AND PRAISE:
END
Another website in adulation of Saint George is www.fastforbush.com
Here is some material made especially for fundamentalists:
President George W. Bush asked our nation to pray for him as he leads the United States as our 43rd president. This site is dedicated to praying and fasting for our President, his Cabinet, and our nation. We want to support our President with fasting and prayer 365 days a year. Register to Fast to see how you can participate."I have something else to ask you, to ask every American. I ask for you to pray for this great nation. I ask for your prayers for leaders from both parties. I thank you for your prayers for me and my family, and I ask you to pray for Vice President Gore and his family. I have faith that with God's help we as a nation will move forward together as one nation, indivisible." Statement by George W. Bush during his speech on Wednesday, December 13, 2000.
"If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn away from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." II Chronicles 7:14 New International Version (NIV)"I urge you then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for everyone; for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good and pleases God our Savior." I Timothy 2:1-3 New International Version (NIV)
And, there is a plethora of sites urging True Believers to support Bush:
PrayingForThePresident.com An informative and current site with book reviews, quotes, and prayers.
PrayForBush.com This website was created on Sunday, November 5, 2000... just two days before George W. Bush was elected the 43rd President of the United States. "We believe God used this election, and will continue to use George W. Bush, as a catalyst for spiritual awakening in the Church, and thus, in the world..." RenewalMinistries.com Visit this site to also register to pray and fast for President Bush. This ministry is answering God's call to encourage a national prayer initiative for the president. In their own words: "Our willingness to sacrifice in prayer is directly related to our future as a nation. The Godly have often times been quick to criticize and slow to pray. This must stop. We are to come together in unceasing prayer for the president." ...Amen!FastingPrayer.com Over the past seven years, the Fasting & Prayer ministry has served to annually bring together more than 2 million Christians and Christian leaders in a unified time of seeking God's face for revival through prayer and fasting. In the year 2001 and beyond, the Fasting & Prayer has included a commitment to serve city-reaching movements in their efforts toward revival, by helping to under-gird their planned prayer events, initiatives, or gatherings with the powerful biblical discipline of fasting and prayer, utilizing a variety of resource tools available through the Fasting & Prayer Resource Center.CrossDaily.com has Awesome Christian Sites where you can vote for this site & other great ones. Christian search engine, directory & voting index. You'll find Bible, chat, churches, jobs, music, reviews, software, theology, & more. See the best sites!
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If you want to experience the folksy flavor of a Presidential Prayer Breakfast, here is a transcript of one for you to enjoy:
Transcript of National Prayer Breakfast
President Bush:
Good morning, my fellow Americans, and thank you for joining me at this National Prayer Breakfast. I want to welcome all of you who have accepted the Lord Jesus as your one true God (who, so He can get around better, has divided into three true Gods). I also want to welcome the rest of you who have embraced fake, made-up gods that you somehow find comforting in times of trouble even though they have no power to give you the cool stuff you pray for.
As I look out on the crowd today, I see that most of you are already praying. Praying that I won't talk too long and your scrambled eggs will get cold.
(LAUGHTER)
To show how inclusive we are in this prayer stuff, I have asked a few Christian ministers to come on up here and say a few words. So, without further dew, let's roll.
Lisa Beamer: Mr. President, those two words are copyrighted. That'll be $1,000. Just give it to my friend and mentor Coretta Scott King. "Let's do it!" -- because it is three words -- will cost you $1,500. "Let's" is only $500 -- so keep that in mind when budgeting your speech.
President: Friends, what you have just seen is the American spirit, which can turn any tragedy into a boatload of profit. Now, for our speakers. First, I'd like to introduce Pastor Hawkins from the Butcher Hollow Pentecostal Church in West Virginia:
(APPLAUSE)
Hawkins: Thank you to all you saved folks out there for coming. And a "good morning" to the Catholics and Jews I was talking to earlier, too. Just looking out on this gathering of folks who are not embarrassed to draw attention to their piety, makes my heart swell. An atheist so-called scientist might claim that it is because blood is pumping through my veins. And they would be right. It is the blood of Jesus, my friends. And the Holy Spirit is anointing me this morning. I can feel His powers now. Yes, Praise! Glory! I can feel the Holy Spirit entering me now! WOOOOOOOO! Aaaarpapapaphula. Oooooregino. Oreololo andoligolgollyboric alloweeeenie
The President: Can anyone in here translate tongues? That gibberish is about as meaningless to me as when my sister-in-law starts speaking Mexican. Well, why don't we just pop him in the corner by that flag until he snaps out of it?
Now, direct from Dothan, let's --
Lisa Beamer: $500.
The President: Yes, Lisa. As I was saying, Let's --
Lisa Beamer: The last $500 doesn't license a repetition like that. That's another $500.
The President: Lisa, can we settle up at the end? So le -- I want to call on our next speaker, Pastor Clements with the Church of God.
(APPLAUSE)
Clements: Thank you Mr. President for making it fashionable once again to have a national mascot – the Lord. First, I want to apologize for earlier. Me and a couple members of my congregation apparently got Sleighed in the Spirit and were flopping around on the carpeting for about ten minutes there in the back of the room. It wasn't until afterwards that someone told me that Mrs. Johnson, in a fit of Glory, kicked over the buffet table. I apologize for this, but the President tells I that the kitchen is sending up some fresh rolls to tide everyone over until they can fry up some more bacon. Man may not live by bread a lone, but it sure is a nice start!
(LAUGHTER and APPLAUSE)
After eight years of godless liberal diseased trash in the White House, who, out of Christian decency, will go nameless, I just want to say that it is wonderful that we have a president who is willing to bring back respect of faith. Our faith is something that is all-too-often regarded as something that ought to be so-called "deeply personal." But as all True Christians know, the people who are quiet about their love of the Lord probably ought to be – cause He is going to be sending them right on down to Hell, my friends. I want to thank this Republican president for letting people know the power of prayer – and, in doing so, bringing back dignity to worship. Dignity and respect. Now, you see these buckets, my children are going from table to table with? These, my friends in Christ, are for love offerings. Pile 'em high cause the Lord shouldn't have to look down into the bottom of the plastic pale to see how much you love Him. While they are passing them around, I have a very important question for all of you. Anyone got cancer? You, who is raising her hand! Come on down! The Holy Spirit has moved me to HEAL you for half price this morning! Praise! HEAL! Anyone got an itchy scalp? HEAL! HEAL! HEAL!
(APPLAUSE and BANGING ON TABLES)
President: Pastor Clements, could you do that in the Rose Garden? We've already had enough trouble with folks falling over in here. Now, for our last speaking I want to introduce Minister Marshall from the Presbyterian Church up the street.
Minister Marshall: Thank you, Mr. President. While I think the spiritual renewal I am seeing in this wonderful country of ours is heartening, I think we need to be careful about showy, public displays of our faith through ostentatious praying. Particularly when these displays of prayer are only for the purpose of scoring political points.
(MILD BOOS)
Jesus warned us not to make public displays of praying – because in doing so, we are not communing with the Lord, but being supercilious before man. Jesus said in Matthew 6:5-6:
"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.
But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
(LOUD BOOS)
President Bush: Well, it looks like Minister Marshall has been winged by about fourteen grapefruit halves. But I think it was the juice glasses that knocked him out. Well, I apologize for his remarks. Quoting that Jesus fellow like that. I tell you, there is a bad apple in every bunch. Now, would everyone hold off on your prayers until CNN gets it satellite connection back? Ouch! What the heck was that?
[ROOM CLEARED TO SEARCH FOR "SNAPPY" AND "STRIKER" MISPLACED BY APPALACHIAN SNAKE HANDLERS
END OF PRAYER SESSIONS BY AND FOR PRESIDENT BUSH
The foregoing should be sufficient to show the religious fervor which Bush is intruding upon the entire Population of America. One cannot escape it.
Democrats are afraid of looking unwholesome if they don't go along with the God Bless America crowd. They are reluctant to oppose a President who is animated by a frightening religious hubris.
The Bush Administration's determination to do his God's work is serious and specific. Bush issued an executive order making church groups eligible for public funding if they provide social services, even if they discriminate based on religious beliefs when they hire staff.
Bush also proposed making religious groups eligible for $7.7 billion in Department of Housing and Urban Development funding for the nonreligious areas of church and synagogue buildings, as well as proposing $200 million in government funding for drug treatment programs that proselytize. This despite the objections of a few progressives like Representatives Barney Frank and Jerry Nadler, who raise niggling issues like the Establishment Clause of the Constitution.
"Again and again, this President has demonstrated that he doesn't understand the Constitution, or just doesn't care about it," said Nadler.
Nadler is worried that religious drug treatment and counseling programs requiring no professional oversight or licensing will not only use public money to proselytize, but do more harm than good to vulnerable, poor clients. "We have been told by this Administration that we don't have enough money to spend on schools, health care, or the environment, yet the resources we do have will be diverted to these questionable programs, in violation of the Constitution," Nadler says.
According to Stephen Mansfield's sympathetic account in The Faith of George W. Bush, Bush called his friend, the Charismatic preacher James Robison, host of the TV show Life Today, and told him, "I've heard the call. I believe God wants me to run for president."
Bush on assuming office conducted a full frontal assault on the separation of church and state, and few beyond a handful of civil liberties groups paid any heed. Few people seem to have divined the attack on religious freedom and separation of church and state secretly intended by Bush.
Several thousand instances of aggressive action have been taken by Bush fundamentalists. Church groups banned the popular Harry Potter children's books from town libraries, saying they are violent and dangerous. One library was accused of promoting witchcraft and wizardry for letting youngsters read Harry Potter books. Another library in Jackson, Fla. was accused of promoting witchcraft and violating the separation of church and state when it handed out certificates to youngsters reading Harry Potter books. Several towns have held public burnings of such books, reminding us starkly that we have not come far from the Dark Ages of murderous Inquisition censorship and the burning of books and book readers.
During a State of the Union address, Bush asked Congress to approve $600-million over three years for drug and alcohol treatment. Noble as this seems, Bush turned the effort into a way to divert public dollars to religious groups.
Bush, who wears his religion on his sleeve held up the "Set Free Indeed" program as a model, calling its work "amazing." He told America that this was the type of program we should be pouring federal dollars into.
If you look at the program's Web site, you'll see that the services provided are, well, "services." "We believe that recovery begins at the Cross," says the group's mission statement. "We rely solely on the foundation of the Word of God to break the bands of addiction." So much for professional treatment protocols.
Similarly preachy providers are found at Teen Challenge, one of Bush's favorite drug abuse programs. This is the outfit that told Congress in May 2001 it hires only Christians. In his congressional testimony, John Castellani, president of Teen Challenge International, boasted that some Jewish participants come out the other side as "completed Jews," missionary parlance for having been converted to Christianity. "A personal relationship with Jesus Christ permeates everything we do," says Castellani on his organization's Web site.
This is religious indoctrination dressed up to look like social welfare.
That is not to say religion isn't a valid option for people seeking help. For some, turning to faith might help break an addiction. But government should have no role in funding conversions and born-again epiphanies. Our pluralistic nation remains free of religious strife because the Constitution previously prevented government from underwriting faith.
None of this matters to Bush, who credits faith with helping him overcome his problems with alcohol and cocaine. The interest Bush has in the Establishment Clause is in finding ways around it. Even without support of Congress, Bush has single-mindedly pursued his faith-based agenda. There are now seven federal agency offices -- all established by Bush -- devoted to redirecting tax money into the coffers of religious institutions.
In addition, Bush has laid the groundwork for more entanglement. He gave faith-based providers the ability to refuse to hire employees who don't pass a religious test -- call it federally financed religious discrimination. He opened the door for federal housing money to be used to build churches, synagogues and mosques, as long as part of the structure is used for secular purposes.
All this destruction to the wall between church and state, and the public barely raised an eyebrow. The nation, normally skeptical of grandiose claims, swallowed Bush rhetoric without a hiccup.
Emboldened, Bush pressured Congress to fund his multiyear, $600-million drug abuse program with a twist: The money would be handed out in the form of vouchers.
Yes, vouchers -- the mantra of the Religious Right relative to schools, would be expanded to include social welfare. That way programs slathered in religiosity, such as Teen Challenge and Set Free Indeed, could feed at the federal trough without having to secularize.
Beyond the folly of giving drunks and drug addicts federal vouchers -- might the corner liquor store open up a counseling business on the side? -- this attempt to obliterate church-state separation demonstrates our president has no appreciation of history -- either this nation's or the world's.
Someone should hand Bush the James Madison's Remonstrance against Religious Assessments, the founding father's 1785 polemic against a bill in the Virginia legislature for a general assessment to fund teachers of religion. Madison's eloquent appeal reminded the body that "torrents of blood" have spilled when government entangles itself with religion, and the bill was tabled. Bush is too blind or obsessed to see the dangerous road he's driving us down, or perhaps he does this deliberately in order to bring on the RAPTURE.
It's hard to be perturbed if you believe what our president believes. According to Professor Bruce Lincoln, who teaches a seminar on the theology of George W. Bush at the University of Chicago Divinity School, the president "does feel that people are called upon by the Divine to undertake certain positions in the world, and undertake certain actions, and to be responsible for certain things. And he makes, I think, quite clear—explicitly in some contexts, and implicitly in a great many others—that he occupies the office by a Divine calling. That God put him there with a sense of purpose."
What is the meaning of George Bush's religious beliefs? Some commentators trumpet Bush’s ties to Howard Ahmanson, a fantastically wealthy Californian who is an acolyte of the "Christian Reconstructionist" movement—which aims to place the United States under Biblical law. Others point up his connections to apocalyptic millennialists like Tim LaHaye, co-author of the Left Behind novels. The problem is that, theologically, Bush can't serve both masters at once. The likes of LaHaye actively search for signs of the Second Coming of Christ and spend their days feverishly speculating about and preparing for the seven years’ battle for the world that will follow.
Cautioning that it's almost impossible to know anyone's true beliefs, Lincoln thinks he's got a pretty good sense of Bush's. The results help illuminate the question of how Bush maintains his peace of mind under such unimaginable stress.
When the drunken and dissolute prodigal Bush finally found Jesus in the mid-1980s, the book of the Bible his study group was poring over was the Acts of the Apostles. "It's focused on missionizing, evangelizing, spreading the faith," Lincoln explains. "It's not end-of-the-world stuff. It's expansionist—it's religious imperialism, if you will. And I think that remains his primary orientation."
In the State of the Union address, Bush's reference to a "day of reckoning," his assertion that the liberty Americans cherish is "God's gift to humanity," an
