According to WorldNetDaily's headline story on October 7, President Bush has once again displayed his lack of thoughtfulness with the statement that people of all religions pray to the same God.Posted on 10/07/2007 3:14:29 PM PDT by EternalVigilance
According to WorldNetDaily's headline story on October 7, President Bush has once again displayed his lack of thoughtfulness with the statement that people of all religions pray to the same God.
This president often seems intent on proving right the vicious critics who ridicule him as someone who simply lacks the intelligence the presidency requires. Of course their criticism, aside from smacking of the arrogant elitism all too characteristic of left wingers, misses the mark. The president's remark isn't evidence of stupidity, or even, as some Christian critics would have it, of simply theological ignorance. Rather, it bespeaks a lack of thoughtfulness, the kind of common-sense pondering that, from his youth, characterized Abraham Lincoln (also a man criticized in his day for his lack of intelligence, by the way).
In particular, it bespeaks a failure to think through the basic premises of constitutional self-government, as they were eloquently and simply stated in the Declaration of Independence.
The Declaration declares that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. People these days, when they remember the Declaration at all, tend to focus on the rights and forget the Creator. President Bush's embarrassing remark may be the result of this myopia. If we remember and reflect on the Declaration's reference to the Creator, we realize that it invokes the authority of the Creator God as the basis for our claim to unalienable rights. It invokes that authority as governing all human beings, not just those who believe in or pray to Him.
This suggests a simple amendment in Bush's remark that would reflect the self-evident truth asserted in the Declaration. All human beings are subject to the same God. All human beings in their very nature reflect the substance of God's will. All human beings, regardless of their religion, and indeed even if they deny the existence of God or any god, have at the very heart of their being, the dictates of the Creator that make their existence possible, dictates reflected in their consciences even when they consciously mistake or deny the One whose will inscribed them there.
These statements about the universal sovereignty of God reflect the wisdom of America's Founding generation, wisdom that requires no more intelligence or sophistication than it takes to read a computer's instruction manual to learn how it works, or return it to the folks who made it for repairs. The word authority refers in the first place to authorship, a fact our common sense recognizes long before we learn the word. Whether we acknowledge it or not, we are subject to the dictates of the One who fashioned our being. We operate as He has prescribed, even when we refuse consciously to acknowledge or cooperate with His being.
I think the Christians who criticize Bush for his lack of theological understanding have therefore missed the most disturbing implication of his statement. Apparently, the President of the United States has never thoughtfully considered the premise of our existence as a nation. The man sworn to the greatest responsibility to uphold, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States apparently doesn't understand the idea that it is founded upon. How can he defend what he does not understand? How can he uphold the Constitution if he cannot defend the ground upon which it stands?
I think it would be unfair, however, to leave the impression that President Bush is somehow unique in his failure to grasp the common-sense wisdom that reveals the possibility of human liberty. In fact, he simply reflects what is now the prevalent defect of our governing elites, whose fancied sophistication has cut them off from the wisdom of America's Founding generation. They think that God has authority over people because they pray to Him. They think that He is a convenient figment of human need and imagination, conjured up as humanity creates itself out of the chaos of material evolution. This may give comfort to human pride and arrogance, but it offers none to those who seek justice when the strong survive and dominate at the expense of human life, human dignity, and human freedom.
I think President Bush is right to seek some way to make it clear that the war against terror is not a religious crusade against Islam. I only wish he had the ability to make this point without denying the difference that, in truth, distinguishes one religion from another and Christianity from all the rest. He reaches for some way to express the universal truth that America fights for in the war against the terrorists, even as we fought for it in the wars against the Communists or the Nazis. But like the rest of his elite brethren, he can no longer see this truth, or express it without shame.
Justice is not the good of the stronger. It is not the survival of the fittest. It is the universal birthright of all humanity, established not by our laws, not by our triumphs, and not even by our prayers, but by the will of the Creator. Though some may pray to Him, and others not, all are entitled to be treated according to His will. Whether they are Christians, Jews, or Muslims, pagans, agnostics, or atheists, all people are His creatures, by nature equal until, by denying His justice to others, they bring His judgment against themselves.
President Bush is wrong to imply that Americans can believe that all religions are equal. (After all, those who deny the authority of the Creator deny the truth that makes our freedom possible.) We do believe that by God's will, His justice applies to all, even those who are mistaken in their beliefs. This is the American creed, in view of which all humanity may live without fear, so long as they give to the rights of others the respect it offers to their own.
President Bush would be well advised to think upon and even borrow these reflections. America will be better off when we have a president who borrows them from our Founders and thinks of them on his own.
Click here for more articles by Alan Keyes
Thanks for posting. Thanks Alan Keyes. Thought provoking.
Common sense tells us that when President Bush speaks of all religions praying to the same God, he is certainly not referring to some boo-hoo in North Dakota praying to a petrified phallic shaped dog turd.............I like Alan Keys a lot, I think we need more religious conservatives like him in government, but that doesn't mean I agree completely with every single thing that he says..........
I tend to agree with Bush on this, that the religions that pray to a divine creator (not false idols) are indeed praying to the same God. Let me remind everyone that even a very few of our founding fathers believed, at certain times, that God was a omnipresent force, if you will, felt, but not much else.
About 500 years before Christ, there was a man named Confucius, here is a quote from The Sayings of Confucius, II, 19:
Duke Ai (Duke of Lu, during Confucius' closing years) asked: "What should be done to make the people loyal?"
Confucius answered: "Exalt the straight, set aside the crooked, the people will be loyal. Exalt the crooked, set aside the straight, the people will be disloyal."
Did Confucius receive his inspiration from other works, perhaps the Torah...........we will probably never know.........but the above quote is true as can be, and, anytime we speak the truth and it corresponds with eternal truth, well, we are on firm ground.
The Catholics believe in Moses and Abraham, and Jesus (as the Son of God), the Reformers and Protestants believe in Moses and Abraham, and Jesus (as the Son of God), Evangelicals believe in Moses and Abraham, and Jesus (as the Son of God), Mormons believe in Moses and Abraham, and Jesus (as the Son of God), Judaism believes in Moses and Abraham, and Jesus (as a great prophet), Islam believes in Moses and Abraham, and Jesus (as a great prophet), even Hinduism and Buddhism suggest there is some interwoven force for good out there somewhere (which could be construed to be somewhat similar to the feelings of the very few founding fathers mentioned above).
Our Father in Heaven has many names given to Him by many different religions............even so, He is still the same God...........
President Bush is just saying, in essence, what has been written in the Koran, and before that, what has been written in the New Testament, and before that, what was written by Confucius, and before that, what has been written in the Torah, and before that, what was written by the Hand of God across the universe, that truth is truth, eternal truth is eternal.
IMO, President Bush is saying, in his own humble way, to the entire world, that yes, there is a God............Lighten up people!
:}
P.S. Even Charles Darwin, the father of evolution, in his own writings, "The Voyage of The Beagle" and "An Historical Sketch of the Progress of Opinions on the Origin of Species", paid tribute to the grand goodness of Christianity and of the majesty and power of the Creator, respectively, in those works...............this, I know, is not being taught in public schools today, as it was long ago, but it is truth, and Darwin was speaking of the same God...............
Thanks. Wonderfully done.
If we are to have a black man, or woman, as our President, and I see no reason why we should not, let him, or her, be of the caliber of Mr. Keyes.
I am not PC, thank you. But, feel we all should be treated equally, not as in separate but equal, just equally.
He never ceases to amaze me with the ability to see things so clearly, with such wisdom, and to present it all with such eloquence and understanding. He is a fine orator! He also has the ability to meet everyone where they are at. He spoke to a large group, that same night we met with him, and he touched all who were there, young and old alike.
I believe that he brings with him a vast amount of wisdom as well as experience, which would benefit him in the position of President, and greatly benefit our country! He is the ONLY candidate that matches my values. He also has the strength of character to withstand all the blows and pressures of the office. I do not see him knuckling under to pressure from the Dem's, or from the heads of state of other countries. He will stand for and do what is right for our country, as the Founding Fathers did, backing the constitution and living by his faith in God and His Word.
As he stated in the article above, there is no need for anyone to fear what that (living by faith in God and His Word) would mean.
It is the universal birthright of all humanity, established not by our laws, not by our triumphs, and not even by our prayers, but by the will of the Creator. Though some may pray to Him, and others not, all are entitled to be treated according to His will. Whether they are Christians, Jews, or Muslims, pagans, agnostics, or atheists, all people are His creatures, by nature equal until, by denying His justice to others, they bring His judgment against themselves.
He has my vote. The campaign and all working in, along with Ambassador Keyes and his family also have my prayers.
For those "nay-sayers"....before you speak, I challenge you to go to the pledge page(Post #2) and read it completely. Then see if you do or don't agree. From there, I further challenge you to go to the issues page and see that he DOES agree with the conservative values of the grassroots and will fight for them. Then pray over it and ask the Lord what He would have you do.
PING!
PING!
oops! sorry....pc hesitated....didn’t mean to double ping you all!
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
“The Catholics believe in Moses and Abraham, and Jesus (as the Son of God), the Reformers and Protestants believe in Moses and Abraham, and Jesus (as the Son of God), Evangelicals believe in Moses and Abraham, and Jesus (as the Son of God), Mormons believe in Moses and Abraham, and Jesus (as the Son of God), Judaism believes in Moses and Abraham, and Jesus (as a great prophet), Islam believes in Moses and Abraham, and Jesus (as a great prophet), even Hinduism and Buddhism suggest there is some interwoven force for good out there somewhere (which could be construed to be somewhat similar to the feelings of the very few founding fathers mentioned above).”
Actually, a few corrections are needed:
to Catholics, Protestants, Evangelicals- Jesus is God, The Son.
to Mormons- Jesus is the son of Heavenly Father, just like you and I are (in fact, even Heavenly Father is just an exalted man himself)
to Jews- Jesus is the heretical bastard son of Mary and an unnamed soldier (see Talmud, also maybe book of John chapter 8)
to Islam- Jesus was one in a line of prophets each trumped by the next ending with Mohammed, the final say... and now they seek to kill Jesus’ followers (along with Abraham’s).
As for the panantheists, and Pagans, who cares? “All is god and god is all.”
And Confucius- human nature has not changed since the beginning, same problems, same mistakes, same consequences... he was an excellent observer and writer of human nature.
That’s just my take on it..
Love Alan, voted for him in 2000 primaries.. wish he had never come out in favor of tax credits for slave descendants. That was his political death knell. Too bad.
Beautifully said. I’m very disappointed in the President’s remarks, but strangely, not because I didn’t expect them. I’m disappointed in his words because I shouldn’t expect them.
What a man believes about God is the core of who that man is. Everything he says and does flows from that.
As Jesus said, “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.”
Nah. He’s not dead until God says he’s dead.
What he said on that subject has been twisted and misinterpreted by his enemies, especially in the Democrat Media.
But, what is ironic, is that the same people who use this particular talking point against him are generally two things: 1) Folks who just can’t find anything else of substance to attack him on. Which is pretty remarkable after his decades of national speaking to the issues. And, 2) People who will without blinking support one of these other candidates who are completely wrong on a range of issues that Dr. Keyes is absolutely right on about.
When I see it, I call it what it is: hypocrisy.
I am supporting Alan Keyes in the Michigan primary if he gets on the ballot. Currently a handful of Michiganders are circulating petitions to allow Dr. Keyes access to the January 15th primary. I hope each and every Michigander gets the chance to not only sign the petition but hear, read or whatever it takes to hear the voice of Dr. Alan Keyes.
As I have tried to tell the self claimed “real conservatives” if a true conservative ideologue was what america wanted and would elect, Alan Keyes would have been president long ago.
No one running, on either side of the isle in any election in my lifetime has the oratory skill or intellectual depth and conviction of Alan Keyes when it comes to the principles and precepts that this nation and the conservative ideology are founded upon.
Unfortunately though, this is not what the american people want in their President.... Republicans have rejected him time and again. They argue someone like Thompson is a conservative.. and Rudy is a socialist... when in fact when it comes to commitment and philosophical understanding and defense of conservative principles, there isn’t a single one of the candidates this election cycle that gets it intellectually other than Keyes. There is no difference between any of the candidates (with the exception of Keyes) when it comes to understanding the conservative ideology... they are all in the shallow end, barely up to their ankles claiming to be.
But voters will reject Keyes once again, sadly. Even among this crowd of midgets, they’ll still turn their backs on him. Its very depressing to see.
I would love to see Alan Keyes vs Hitlery in a true debate.. it would be a greater spanking than Edwards was given by Cheney.... He would mop the floor with her, wring her out, put her on the line, and soil her all over again without even breaking a sweat... Alas, it will never happen.
God bless you. If America is to be restored, it will only come because people like yourself have risen up and taken it back.
Yes! No God, no unalienable rights. Every single high schooler knows his rights. One in a hundred understands that unalienable rights can only come from an eternal source --God.
Alan's on "queen's level three," and George is... where he is. I attribute Bush's statement more to simple-minded good intentions.
In reading Alan's piece, I think he agrees with you.
Fair point.
Acts 17:23These Greeks probably understood God correctly as the Prime Mover and First Cause. But this would not be true of pantheistic religions like Hinduism or Buddhism, and Bush's statement presumably includes them.For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.
It's clear to me that he's a prophet. We would be wise to remember the fate of nations that rejected God's prophets.
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