It is a good thing that George Bush is not running for election again. Bush’s recent comments about the Bible appear to have alienated one of his strongest political bases – evangelicals.
In an ABC interview, Bush was asked if he thought the Bible was literal. “Probably not. No, I’m not a literalist, but I think you can learn a lot from it.”
The Raw Story reported on the reaction from some of Bush’s supporters.
David Brody of the Christian Broadcasting Network told CNN”s John Roberts on Thursday, “I think a lot of social conservative evangelicals were surprised — probably grabbing the smelling salts as we speak.”
Bush even had a good word to say about evolution. “I think that God created the Earth … and I don’t think it’s incompatible with the scientific proof that there is evolution.”
That did not sit well with some of Bush’s supporters either.
Brody, who has written that Bush would “have had to go into damage control mode” after these comments if he were still running for office, said that the remarks definitely “would have been an issue” in 1999, when Bush was actively seeking the support of the religious right in his bid for the presidency.
A blog called “The Moral Collapse of America” put things a bit more directly.
“George W. Bush’s religious beliefs are not compatible with evangelical Christianity. Bush has openly said many times that Christians, Muslims and all other religions pray to the same God. Evangelical Christians were conned into thinking that Bush was ‘one of them. The reality is that he isn’t one of them and he never was.”
Evangelicals are the bane of our political system. They think that they know best and totally disregard the feelings, opinions and ideas of anyone who disagrees with them. They need to be separated from any instances of political clout, as they only preach their narrow-minded, dogmatic and utterly wrong beliefs.
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There is little difference between a true evangelical and the taliban. The only difference is that taliban actually had control over a country for a time. Both are equally dogmatic, foolish, and ultimately very dangerous.
I find it highly comforting to know that Mr President Bush liberally hands out failed expectations to everybody. In that way he’s uniting the nation. In a bad way
Some of these comments are as bigotted as they charge others of being. It must be fashionable to attack Evangelicals as people rather than address their ideas.
Someone please remind us again of the difference between “People of Faith” and “People of Gullibility”?
TIA!
Whenever I hear anything about fundamentalists I’m reminded of Poe’s Law: “Without an overt display of humour it is impossible to separate religious fundamentalism from a parody thereof”
Employeelaw,
If you can find the courage to step back from evangelicalism for a moment, you will begin to see the absurdity of it.
Unfortunately, religion is not only absurd and hilarious but downright dangerous. The evangelicals want to drag us back into the Dark Ages.
“One man’s religion is another man’s belly-laugh.” – From the Notebooks of Lazarus Long.
“If the Bible and my brain are both the work of the same Infinite God, whose fault is it that the book and my brain do not agree?” – Robert G. Ingersoll
“We are all atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.” – Stephen Roberts
We must respect the other man’s religion, but only to the extent that we respect his theory that his wife is beautiful and his children are smart. – H.L. Mencken
If fundamentalists are the problem, it’s only because there are serious flaws with the fundamentals of the religion.
Maybe they should have figured this out before they twice voted for him.
Bush also doesn’t mind using lying as a political strategy.
Fundamentalists are also a problem because religion attracts the not-so-bright.
Keith,
That last quote is not Stephen Roberts. It’s actually from George H. Smith:
http://www.amazon.com/Atheism-Case-Against-Skeptics-Bookshelf/dp/087975124X
Great book.
nothing creates nothing. rewind the space dust and time for the big bang. keep rewinding it in your mind. the beggining for the athiest starts with nothing. not even space, not even light, no dust.
nothing. not even nothing. then all of a sudden it created everything. a myth for the insane.,,or if they are nore honest,,,for the rebellious
Religion is for the weak minded. George Bush proved this by showing how gullible the Evangelical right are. They were so blinded by their faith that they could not see the truth. If one is strong minded, they believe in themselves, not believe in a myth and pray to it. Read about Council of Nicaea where Emperor Constantine wanted a new religion. “To involve British factions, he ruled that the name of the great Druid god, Hesus, be joined with the Eastern Saviour-god, Krishna (Krishna is Sanskrit for Christ), and thus Hesus Krishna would be the official name of the new Roman god. That purely political act of deification effectively and legally placed Hesus and Krishna among the Roman gods as one individual composite. That abstraction lent Earthly existence to amalgamated doctrines for the Empire’s new religion; and because there was no letter “J” in alphabets until around the ninth century, the name subsequently evolved into “Jesus Christ”. Christians, learn about the truth…
Ironic, isn’t it?
If fundamentalist Christians actually learned, followed and taught the word of Christ, VERY few if any politicians would ever have any problem being or following Christianity.
When specifically asked, Jesus said that the greatest of His teachings was “Do unto others as you’d have them do unto you.”
Do ANY Evangelicals actually follow that creed? None that I’ve ever heard of. Instead, they trot out obscure passages in the Old Testament (which has nothing to do with being Christian – i.e. a follower of Christ and His teachings – which are in the NEW Testament) and have a strong “moral” double standard when it comes to ideas that threaten their power or their bigotry or both.
Sharing, trusting others, treating others with decency despite the fact that you may disagree with them – all teachings of Christ – are all very conveniently ignored by Evangelical Christians (and quite a lot of others who also say that they’re Christians) for political gain.
I’m no great fan of Mr. Bush, but I’ll give him 10 points for saying what he has said whilst he’s still in office. There’s so much more that’s been covered up, looked over, where the truth has been stretched out of all recognition – at least in one small way, he’s coming clean.
@ dave:
the beginning of the universe is a tiny particle surrounded by the nothingness, not a free space, its nothing, and that particle for some reason exploded and formed our universe billions of years ago and filled the nothingness with space.
So there was something and something happened to provoke something that created our universe. Not like the myth of the genesis. the myth says that there was nothing, and no reaction caused nothing and all the sudden everything was created.
You’re right, the theory is for the rebellious, for the ones who think different, the ones who make progress, the ones who are curious, the ones who made this world the one it is today, thanks to the insane people we no longer live in the dark ages, we enjoy the enlightening of knowledge, we are beginning to understand the mysteries of the universe, and the answer “God” it’s no longer acceptable.
@dave and the uninformed
science doesn’t actually say the universe sprang from nothingness.
A physicist by the name of Brian Greene has written a couple of fantastic books about physics specifically for laymen.
Check it out, at least consider the evidence before dismissing it.
I don’t believe the big bang happened any more than I believe God created the universe in six days. (i have to see to believe) but even if God did create all this how the Bible says, I just want to know the full story, from a scientific perspective.
“And the Lord spoke ‘Let there be light,’ and muons, taus, and quarks flew from His Divine Fingertip, and arranged themselves into protons, neutrons, and electrons in just the manner He specified, in His infinite wisdom and glory. These He carefully arranged to form all the kinds of matter and energy we observe, and all glory be to Him.”
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Just watched George W. dodging shoes thrown by an irate Iraqi journo – nice bit of ducking from a man who has had a lot of practice ducking and diving…
“Evangelicals are the bane of our political system. They think that they know best and totally disregard the feelings, opinions and ideas of anyone who disagrees with them. They need to be separated from any instances of political clout, as they only preach their narrow-minded, dogmatic and utterly wrong beliefs.”
Great idea. Perhaps concentration camps!
Well, since religion is mental illness, maybe putting followers in mental health facilities would be a little more politically correct than concentration camps.
It seems to me that people are basing many comments on unknown factors. I am what many would call Christian conservative. However, it is more “liberal” if you will to, for example, be pro-life. After all, to be pro-life means that one sees hope when others only see despair and poverty. This is loving liberally. Many comments here paint Christians in a very negative. However, as a Christian, I am very blessed to belong to a group that is loving, caring, kind, and thinking. We adhere to Christ’s messages of loving one another, and following Christ because, in His grace, he forgave our sins and us the ability through Him to follow in a new way. This way does not include sin. For this, we are grateful and this is what enables us to love others. I don’t know where Bush truly stands in his faith, but will pray for both him and especially now our new President (Christ is ultimately who I follow), Barack Obama.
Hi. Good site.
In Name.
George W. Bush is only of the same religion as Martin Luther King was: they are both realised souls. Just as some of the founding fathers were and as Abraham Lincoln was.
It is not a religion, it is a state of being. A non-religious person might recognise it as “just simply being human”, and a religious person might recognise it as being “one of us”. But it’s none of that and both at the same time.
The Evangelicals were not deceived thinking he was one of them, any less than than thinking Martin Luther King might have been isn’t either. So where’s the catch? They’re both more than just that: See, some people there are who worship the Divine in the Self for the sake of the Divine and the Self, and not for the sake of ‘special interest’, tradition or a church. It is that kind of worship the Biblical Prophets were referring to and that what was implied in the first commandment – see, there were no other words to put it into. There is none or ever has been a brand for that – a way of being, and an evolved such.
As for his – may he be acknowledged soon – personal agenda, some people might find it a surprise if it turned out Mr Bush never actually followed the neocons and their interests either, but only was complelled to bargon with them in order to persue and act on strictly personal conviction – to rid the world of dictators, while it’s still possible.. And if the neocons can be utilised in the process, why not? Their empires are soon due to crumble and evaporate anyway… Don’t you remember him acknowledging there were explosives in the Towers? Was a gutsy thing, ha? He did the right thing – to persue acting on conviction. Had he been able to stay in power longer, for sure he would be doing things differently and concentrate more on all that which Obama now will have to instead. Yet another reason not to have waited with it all, as he not did.. Aplause! This was a great historical leader indeed, all the way with folks like Churchill, Ho Chi Minh, Lenin, Atatürk, Gorbachov, Anwar Sadat and others.
Good luck with the economic future, America!
It will eventually turn around, once all the special interest in your country has been finally laid to waste under its own weight and collapsed, hopefully not a day too soon. So there’s your Second Coming/Future Freedom/World Peace, humans…
Thanks for article. Everytime like to read you.
Thanks