|
|
Posted on 11/24/2003 9:53:14 AM PST by joesnuffy
Evangelicals outraged over Bush's 'same god' remark Christian leaders express dismay: 'He is commander in chief, not theologian in chief'
Posted: November 24, 2003 11:26 a.m. Eastern
© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com
Many Evangelical Christians in the U.S. say they are outraged over President George Bush's statement that Christians and Muslims worship the same God.
The statement was made Thursday, during the joint press conference in England with Prime Minister Tony Blair. A reporter noted that Bush has frequently expressed the view that freedom is a gift from "the Almighty," but questioned whether the Bush believes "Muslims worship the same Almighty" as the president and other Christians do.
"I do say that freedom is the Almighty's gift to every person. I also condition it by saying freedom is not America's gift to the world," Bush replied. "It's much greater than that, of course. And I believe we worship the same god," reported the London Telegraph.
Bush's equivalence of the Judeo-Christian and Muslim gods brought reactions of shock and dismay from Christians in the U.S. Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation's largest Protestant denomination, was quoted in the Baptist Press as saying the president "is simply mistaken."
According to a Washington Post account, Land said in an interview: "We should always remember that he is commander in chief, not theologian in chief. The Bible is clear on this: The one and true god is Jehovah, and his only begotten son is Jesus Christ."
Blair avoided answering the same question, replying with a general statement about freedom.
Bush, a practicing Christian who frequently talks publicly about the importance to him of his faith, nevertheless has repeatedly defended Islam as a religion of peace, ever since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attack on the U.S. by 19 Islamist radicals.
The Rev. Ted Haggard, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, also contradicted the president in a press statement, reported the Post. "The Christian God encourages freedom, love, forgiveness, prosperity and health," said Haggard. "The Muslim god appears to value the opposite. The personalities of each god are evident in the cultures, civilizations and dispositions of the peoples that serve them. Muhammad's central message was submission; Jesus' central message was love. They seem to be very different personalities."
Despite their strenuous objections, neither Land nor Haggard thinks the president's statement will cost him votes: "This president has earned a lot of wiggle room among evangelicals," said Land, according to the Post. "If he had said that Islam is on a par with Christianity, it would be a more serious case of heartburn. This is just indigestion."
But according to Gary Bauer, former presidential candidate and president of American Values, Bush's comment is "not helpful to the president. Since everybody agrees he's not a theologian, he would be much better advised to punt when he gets that kind of question."
Are you trying to tell me that there are no people who call themselves Christians who believe similar things, either historically or currently? The Spanish Inquisition, for example, most certainly believed it was doing God's work.
My God does not want me to subjugate my wife to the burqua, or whip her when her ankles show. My God does not want me to force my faith on others, nor does He tell me to hate my neighbor who is not a Christian.
Yet there are those who call themselves Christians who do all of these things. Are you aware the quite a few of these elements are simply cultural and are not supported by the Koran? Judging Muslims by the Taliban is like judging Christians based on the Branch Davidians.
My God is the Triune God, the Holy Trinity, Whose only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, came into the world the save me and you. To the Muslim, Jesus was a mere man who died long ago and remains dead. To the Christian, He is God.
To a Jew, his is not God. Does that mean that Christians do not worship the same God that Jews do?
Christians do not worhip the same God that Muslims do. The god of Islam is an idol, a false god, a cruel god who keeps his people laboring in the Dark Ages, and wandering in the arid desert sands and the cold barren, mountians. The god of Islam keeps his followers in a perpetual state of poverty, turmoil, bloodshed and warfare, as we see in the Sudan, Rwanda, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Somalia, Indonesia, Yemen, Libya, and now they even rise their discontent heads in Christian nations like the Philippines.
Pay particular attention to the Old Testament the next time you read your Bible. And take a closer look at the Christian world before 1800.
That is a very "American" thing to say.
Christians and Muslims?
I struggle with what to think of which God RC's worship. The God of the bible sure doesn't fit into some of their thoughts on Him.
Exactly! And I believe that Satan was very pleased and "adopted" this as his own.
Armageddon will be fought between the forces of evil and the forces of good. Islam is evil. It is truly the workplace of the devil in this world. Just look at what it's most fevent followers are doing. Murder, mahem, terrorism, you name it. That is evil my friend.
Evangelicals: no. That would be certain groups of Pentecostals.
I haven't changed my opinion of that. He is a hypocrite for whooping our enemies asses and telling Israel not to do the same.
Now that is a stupid remark. You cannot throw out the word stupid without showing disrespect (see my previous sentence).
|
|
Thank you for the sanest comment on this thread.
That obviously was the fact that Bush was referring to. People may believe that Allah is really Satan and they have the right to, just as there are some Jews who believe that Jesus was evil.
The fact remains that the three religions share many of the same doctrines and all revere the Israelite prophets and their works. I think Mohammed was an evil man but that doesn't mean that everyone who sees him as a prophet is a Satan worshipper.
I see Islam as having been created to be a mechanism of wealth-gathering and power-getting for Mohammed. Unfortunately, it survived his death.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.