The Divine Calm of George W. Bush: Iraq's a mess, half the country hates you - just keep praying!

Village Voice ^ | May 3rd, 2004 9:30 AM | Rick Perlstein

[dirtboy]

Notice how he is unwilling to respond to reasoned statements nor is he willing to reply to challenges to his factual errors - instead, he only jumps on the coarser, angrier retorts to deflect from his article. Dead, I hate to say it, but he does not strike me as an honest liberal here to debate - his behavior and posts on this thread indicate otherwise.

[Perlstein]

>So if there is no evidence that Bush believes in Christian Reconstructionism, why in the hell did you even bother to mention it in your article, unless you were engaged in a dishonest bait-and-switch with readers?


Pay attention: this was the part in which I was criticizing other liberal writers for NOT STICKING TO THE FACTS!

[VRWC_minion]

Gnosticism
The doctrine of salvation by knowledge. This definition, based on the etymology of the word (gnosis "knowledge", gnostikos, "good at knowing"), is correct as far as it goes, but it gives only one, though perhaps the predominant, characteristic of Gnostic systems of thought. Whereas Judaism and Christianity, and almost all pagan systems, hold that the soul attains its proper end by obedience of mind and will to the Supreme Power, i.e. by faith and works, it is markedly peculiar to Gnosticism that it places the salvation of the soul merely in the possession of a quasi-intuitive knowledge of the mysteries of the universe and of magic formulae indicative of that knowledge. Gnostics were "people who knew", and their knowledge at once constituted them a superior class of beings, whose present and future status was essentially different from that of those who, for whatever reason, did not know. A more complete and historical definition of Gnosticism would be:


A collective name for a large number of greatly-varying and pantheistic-idealistic sects, which flourished from some time before the Christian Era down to the fifth century, and which, while borrowing the phraseology and some of the tenets of the chief religions of the day, and especially of Christianity, held matter to be a deterioration of spirit, and the whole universe a depravation of the Deity, and taught the ultimate end of all being to be the overcoming of the grossness of matter and the return to the Parent-Spirit, which return they held to be inaugurated and facilitated by the appearance of some God-sent Saviour

[nutmeg]

ping!

Be sure to read the short post in #1 by "dead" first.

Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my infrequent ‘miscellaneous’ ping list.

[ohioWfan]

Read what the author is saying right on this thread.

I thought he was trying to be fair in the article, but just ignorant.

I know better now. It IS a hit piece.

Never trust the left.

[Perlstein]

Howlin, on the Bin Laden family, you had your chance when that article was discussed here months ago. In the interest of time, I hope you'll allow me to stick to defending this one.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

I think we are being trolled for a new article.

Thanks for the alert. I was about to explain to Perlstein about our plan for world dominion beginning in the Middle East, including our plans for re-education centers where we will send all Muslims and Democrats. Leftist journalists are unredeemable, of course, and will be fed to the wild beasts at the Bush compound in Crawford. We know this is God's will because our Neocon masters told us they got it straight from the President's mouth. We further know that we must fully implement the plan quickly because the battle of Armegeddon will be happening shortly in the vicinity of Gaza, after which all us Republican elect will be raised directly to heaven.

Make sure this information doesn't find its way into the hands of anyone who might spill the beans.

[Howlin]

I noticed that. I posted a direct challenge to his statement about the planes on the 11th; no response yet.

And, of course, the Bush quote about Saddam, etc., comes out of the mouth of Abbas and has never been confirmed by anybody.

Yet here we have a "journalist" stating it as fact.

God help save the little people who are subjected to this man's version of world events.

[Right_in_Virginia]

Bush's inner strength drives his opponents nuts.

Yes, it does.

And, it's rather entertaining to watch. (Thanks, Perlstein)

[woofie]

The lady down the street with the 'No War in Iraq' signs in her yard tells me GW Bush is the Devil, how about an expose of her and her ilk ..... It is an interesting religion and I think you will have no trouble finding its adherents

[shhrubbery!]

But then you realize he will never change, because Bush thinks his course is divinely ordained.

This is a faulty premise. Bush does not think his course is "divinely ordained." He knows he is human; and to be human is to make mistakes, even if one is faithful to God.

Bush --and most Christians who understand their faith-- rely on God for strength. They do not think God somehow dictates the right course of action to them for every circumstance; but they pray for wisdom that they might make the right decisions.

At least that's my take on it.

[Perlstein]

It doesn't bother me that he has strong faith. It's the way he uses that faith that bothers me. I like how Jimmy Carter uses his strong faith. And Martin Luther King. And the Berrigan Brothers. And Ganhdi. etc. etc. etc.

[dead]

We are being TROLLED big time, obviously for its next article bashing religion and "right wing whackos."

I don’t agree. He has never tried to hide the fact that he is an unabashed liberal that does not agree with Bush.

Not to speak for Perlstein, but I think he appreciates the intellectual give and take around here, in between the name-calling. And he enjoys the challenge of defending his points before a hostile audience.

That’s my take anyway. I could be wrong, but it would be the first time ever.

[Howlin]

In the interest of time, I hope you'll allow me to stick to defending this one.

Don't worry; I not interested in watching you defend a proven lie.

We all know it's a lie.

[sport]

Mr. Perlstein, all my life I have heard that people usually hate indiviuals who they feel inferior to.

Is that your case with President Bush?

I have yet to have one Bush hater to give me a logical reason as to why they hate him.

Can you?

[Petronski]

It's the way he uses that faith that bothers me.

Why not be more specific about what you mean?

[dirtboy]

Examples? Which facts are wrong?

A fact can be correct but still misused - it's what you do with them that matters. Let's take this sentence again:

He knew the document would unravel his cover story of several years' standing as to why he couldn’t have known Bin Laden was determined to strike in the U.S.; its title was "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S."

It's true that the PDB was titled "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S." - but you then first of all claim to know what Bush was thinking, and then misstate Bush's position regarding bin Laden prior to 9-11 to try and create a situation that should be stressful to Bush when no such situation would have existed.

One can be quite dishonest with the abuse of actual facts, as you aptly demonstrated here.

[Miss Marple]

You really don't understand Christianity, do you? It is the responsibility of each Christian (not just the president) to pray and seek God's will in all aspects of his life. If I were the president I would do the same thing, because the responsibility is awesome.

Also, perhaps you are unfamiliar with the scripture wich says "ALL have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God." Pride is not a trait highly prized in the Bible.

[Perlstein]

I've never understood the definition of "Trolling." I don't go on blogs a lot. What am I doing that offends you? I'll try to stop. This is your standbox. I just like getting in political discussions, the hotter the better. What's the harm?

Really, just ask me to leave, and I will. Every time I participate in a discussionon one of my articles on Free Republic, someone says I should go away, and then many more ask me to stay, saying they enjoy my participation. So, a plebescite: should I stay or should I go?

[EllaMinnow]

Sometimes it helps to cite the whole paragraph, and not go off on a tangent...

""People are starved for leadership, Pastor Craig said," starved for leaders who have ethical and moral courage." "It is not enough to have an ethical compass to know right from wrong," he argued. "America needs leaders who have the moral courage to do what is right for the right reason. It's not always easy or convenient for leaders to step forward," he acknowledged. Remember, even Moses had doubts. "He was talking to you," my mother later said. The pastor was, of course, talking to all of us, challenging each one of us to make the most of our lives, to assume the mantle of leadership and responsibility wherever we find it. He was calling on us to use whatever power we have, in business, in politics, in our communities, and in our families, to do good for the right reason. And his sermon spoke directly to my heart and my life."