President Bush could use some disciplined study of the Bible

WorldMag.com ^ | December 27, 2008 | Joel Belz

[gscc]

If you didn't wince a bit while President Bush attempted last week on national television, no less to give an account of his Christian faith, well then maybe you too ought to go back and take a refresher course in Christianity 101.

I take seriously the testimony of friends who have worked closely with the president, who speak of the sincerity of his profession of faith in Christ and of his personal commitment to walk in biblical obedience.

But let's face it. Bush, based on what he told the folks on ABC's Nightline, wouldn't have passed a basic membership interview in most churches I know. "What do you think faith gave you that you needed?" the reporter asked. "It gave me strength and strength and understanding. There's love, universal love. My faith at this point in my life has enabled me to accept people's prayers and this made a huge difference in my life. There's a lot of dramatic moments and pressure. There are calm moments. How do you know? It's about prayer. For many people, it's a crutch, but for me it is it's the realization of a power of a universal God, and recognition that this God became manifested in human. And then died for sins."

[John Leland 1789]

“We reserve membership to those we think earnestly have a relationship with Jesus Christ.”

So, you do have to make a JUDGMENT, and some would even accuse you of being “judgmental” (in a ridiculous sense) when you do.

“I am fed up with hateful Bush bashing.”

Don’t let yourself get so emotionally hung up on Mr. Bush.

I’ll just be frank and say that although I voted for Mr. Bush in two elections, I’ve never considered him more than representing a Democratic Party Lite (Republican Party). He was just better than either Gore or Kerry, and no third party had as yet stood out to me. I agree that a war against terrorists must be prosecuted. I don’t agree that Mr. Bush’s method was the correct method. Sorry, but I’m not hung up on Bush.

From 2001, I had a long stream of pastor friends tell me how they thought it so wonderful to finally have a Christian president. I have been asking them to give evidence of his conversion to Christ ever since; after all, it is they who told me that he was a Christian. I didn’t insist that he wasn’t. I merely asked them for the basis of the statement that he is a Christian.

Mr. Bush’s compromise on the Genesis issues is pretty well confirmed, it is not merely the words of one or two journalists. If he is a Christian, then he has not been willing to make a public stand for the word of God.

The discussion of whether he can join anyone’s church is a measure of illustration to make the point that the evidence for Mr. Bush’s conversion to Jesus Christ is awfully weak, and that’s all it is.

You are upset about Bush-bashing. I will be upset about Bible-bashing, which is what Mr. Bush did with regqard to Genesis.

[lonestar67]

Again:

You are not God.

No one needs to provide proof to you about any relationship with God.

You are not the final authority on Scripture.

God is.

President Bush is a Christian as seen by his fruit.

[John Leland 1789]

“President Bush is a Christian as seen by his fruit.”

What fruit is that, Mr. Fruit Inspector?

The fruit of a Christian is never the bringing of the Genesis account of creation into question to try to placate an unregenerate journalist.

[cowboyfan88]

I agree. But he is just like the majority out there attending church every week but being ignorant of scripture. I was the same way for forty years myself. We depend on what our pastor says and just assume that if someone is behind a pulpit or recites the name Jesus that they know what they are talking about. That is far from the truth. The definition of the word Christian can be just about anything nowdays.