Radio Address of the President to the Nation

whitehouse.gov ^ | Sept. 15, 2001 | Pres. George W. Bush

[NickDixon]

Ephesians 6:11-13 --Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil; For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

You forgot to read on in Ephesians. The next few verses describe what the armour of God is. Ephesians 6:14-17 (KJV) Stand therefore having your loins gird about with truth; and having the breastplate of righteousness.

And your feed shod with the preparation for the gospel of peace.

And above all, having the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

And take the helmet of salvation, the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. So you see, the armour of God is truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and the word of God.

[NickDixon]

I fully support President Bush and I will give my life to defend America and the freedom it represents. But I will NEVER claim that God is on our side, or that any violence, however justified, is what God wants.

[NickDixon]

A man may hate cruelty and yet love justice, may be far from thirsting after blood and yet may wash his feet in the blood of the wicked, Ps 58:10

I specifically said that you cannot use the New Testament to justify vengeance and violence. The scripture you quote is from the Old Testament, which is very different from what Jesus and the New Testament teaches.

[MeekOneGOP]

I fully support President Bush and I will give my life to defend America and the freedom it represents. But I will NEVER claim that God is on our side, or that any violence, however justified, is what God wants.

If need be I would sign up too. Not sure how interested the military would be in a 46 year old?

The bible says turn the other cheek also, but I sure don't think that's the action President Bush has in mind? Choosing sides is what I do. I choose this side. I have absolutely NO sympathy for a act of cowardice as last Tuesday's tragedy was. I'm not sure where religion really fits in here except that's what caused this in the first place. The people (now THERE's a stretch!) that did this believe that they get a pass to their God's heaven by their terrible actions. Well, all I can say is are they EVER gonna be surprised! Here's to Osama bin Laden, et al:

Laser Scope Fix

[cantfindagoodscreenname]

Sorry bud, but you just can't use the New Testament to justify vengeance and violence toward our enemnies. You'll need to find something else.

How about Romans 13:1-4, especially verse 4?

[TERMINATTOR]

Thank you for the excellent biblical reference. This ought to quiet down the jihadist huggers!

Romans 13:1-4 --Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that are ordained of God.

Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.

For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:

For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.

[cantfindagoodscreenname]

Thank you for the excellent biblical reference.

I was going to ping you to make sure you saw it, but I forgot. I'm glad you checked back here.

My husband and I were out with some Christian friends last night and I brought up the argument I keep hearing that we shouldn't return evil with evil and one of the men reminded me of this verse. I'm glad I was able to use it today.

Candi

[SusanUSA]

Thank you both for the pings! I saw and heard this yesterday! I am very, very pleased with GWB's reactions and responses to this tragedy!

I was just trying yesterday to imagine if the horror of an Al Gore presidency had actually occurred! I truly can not imagine him handling this in a way that would calm or move this nation forward as Bush has! For those conservatives that weren't particularly enthused with Bush from the begining, I should think this alone is reason enough to be thankful.

[MeekOneGOP]

I was just trying yesterday to imagine if the horror of an Al Gore presidency had actually occurred! I truly can not imagine him handling this in a way that would calm or move this nation forward as Bush has! For those conservatives that weren't particularly enthused with Bush from the begining, I should think this alone is reason enough to be thankful.

Ah, yes. Dubya has handled this in a very human and responsible way - just as he did the Reconnassance plane that China knocked down. . .

I've been a bit ill since last night so if this doesn't sound too coherent. . . ;-)

[SusanUSA]

just as he did the Reconnassance plane that China knocked down. . .

Actually, I DON'T think Bush handled the China situation well. The last news item that crossed my radar on that was stating we had been billed for the "room and board" of the ...hostages,.. er,... detainees, ..um.....US crew AND we were actually going to PAY an undisclosed amount! grrrrrrrrr....My only hope is that attached to the payment was a bill for the cost of our plane!!

However, now is not the time to bring this up, I suppose. And I AM still pleased with his handling of this situation, so far. The words are nice...actions will be better.

(Gee, hope you're feeling better)