"When people stop believing in God, they don't believe in nothing - they believe in anything."
Posted on 12/09/2008 2:39:05 PM PST by My Favorite Headache
President George W. Bush said his belief that God created the world is not incompatible with scientific proof of evolution.
In an interview with ABC's "Nightline" on Monday, the president also said he probably is not a literalist when reading the Bible although an individual can learn a great deal from it, including the New Testament teaching that God sent his only son.
About creation and evolution, Bush said: "I think you can have both. I think evolution can — you're getting me way out of my lane here. I'm just a simple president. But it's, I think that God created the earth, created the world; I think the creation of the world is so mysterious it requires something as large as an almighty and I don't think it's incompatible with the scientific proof that there is evolution."
"You know. Probably not. ... No, I'm not a literalist, but I think you can learn a lot from it, but I do think that the New Testament for example is ... has got ... You know, the important lesson is 'God sent a son,'" Bush said.
"It is hard for me to justify or prove the mystery of the Almighty in my life," he said. "All I can just tell you is that I got back into religion and I quit drinking shortly thereafter and I asked for help. ... I was a one-step program guy."
"I do believe there is an almighty that is broad and big enough and loving enough that can encompass a lot of people,"
Asked whether he thought he would have become president had it not been for his faith, Bush said: "I don't know; it's hard to tell. I do know that I would have been — I would have been a pretty selfish person."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.aol.com ...
And a lot of Christians view it as literal.
It’s ironic, but every Atheist I know believes in Ghosts, UFO’s, Karma, etc...despite zero evidence of any of the above existing.
Come on. He made this statement and the context is clear:
I think the creation of the world is so mysterious it requires something as large as an almighty and I don't think it's incompatible with the scientific proof that there is evolution."
I bet this thread will be contentious, based on the Evolution threads that occur on FR every month.
What a mess, but perhaps it is God's intention we debate this some more.
How is Jeb responsible for what his brother believes?
Well ... he's right. Some things in the Bible are, of course, literally true (archaeology can prove it).
But that's not generally the case. A parable, for instance, is almost by definition not "literally true." Nor would one expect a Psalm to be "literally true."
The Bible is simply too complex and varied to label it as being entirely true, entirely allegorical, or entirely anything else.
"When people stop believing in God, they don't believe in nothing - they believe in anything."
I agree with him that parts of the Bible aren’t meant to be taken literally.
Look at Revelation.
Won’t matter that Jeb is not responsible. It’s only when you are a DimocRAT that your associations with questionable individuals or questionable comments from others is okay.
It always seemed to me when Jesus was teaching at his best, he was teasching in parables.
As usual, President Bush is correct and his corrects show themselves for the mean spirited folks they are.
The pretending to hold a literal view of the Bible is one of the dangerous pretenses of some Christians. Only God sees the Bible in its full meaning.
Those who claim to have arrived at the stable final meaning of the text are dangerously arrogant and not humbled by the spirit of God necessary for proper interpretation. President Bush may well be wrong in his interpretation but the arrogance of people in relentlessly judging him is a fascinating study in human pathology.
Oh dear, this thread is not going to be Inherit The Wind all over again is it?
Dubya continues on his journey to Cross the Tiber.
Everything anyone believes is in their eyes and their hearts entirely true. So it's not even worth the effort to argue with a true believer. Instead just wish them well.
I'm glad he said what he said. It shows he's not the ignorant Bible thumper his enemies make him out to be.
But seriously, how can anyone dispute that the Bible isn't literally true? Of course it isn't! It's not even self-consistent. Does anyone seriously believe that every word of the Bible is literal truth?
The libs will now commence slamming Bush for NOT being a fundamentalist Christian.
Every now and then W gets something right.
Of course.
not even going to comment......
I don’t have to disagree politely. The Bible is inspired by God and thus infallible, or it is nothing. There is no middle ground.
Bush continues to self-destruct during his last days in office.
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