The BBC is about to release a series of programs looking into the background and talks over the Middle-East peace process, and some quite startling revelations have come to light. The primary one; and most disturbing, is that God told Bush to invade Iraq!
The comments were attributed to Mr Bush by the Palestinian negotiator Nabil Shaath in the upcoming TV series Elusive Peace: Israel and the Arabs. Mr Shaath said that in a 2003 meeting with Mr Bush, the US president said he was "driven with a mission from God".
"President Bush said to all of us: 'I'm driven with a mission from God. God would tell me, George, go and fight those terrorists in Afghanistan. And I did, and then God would tell me, George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq... And I did. And now, again, I feel God's words coming to me, Go get the Palestinians their state and get the Israelis their security, and get peace in the Middle East. And by God I'm gonna do it.'" Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, who attended the meeting in June 2003 too, also appears on the documentary series to recount how Mr Bush told him: "I have a moral and religious obligation. So I will get you a Palestinian state."
What concerns me about this, are the actions that God has not told Bush to take. For example, God didn't tell Bush to do anything for 2 days after Katrina hit; God has not told him to take positive action in Dafur, or Niger or Malawi where people are suffering and starving to death. God has not told him to look after His planet; God has not instructed him to take action against the Aids Pan-demic in Africa. God just wants him to take actions that maximise death and suffering! Not the sort of God that I envisaged or appears to have been described in the Bible.
Jesus hated war, he hated executions, he hated injustice and charged us all to do better, if you get slapped on one side of the face, offer the other, but don't retaliate. What was he talking about; - clearly he was off message with his Dad! Bush has the direct line to God, and all the time I thought it was the Pope.
On the face of it, this would be funny, except I find it difficult to laugh. It frightens me to a large extent that we have someone in one of the most powerful positions in the world, talking in the way he does about God, religion and policy. What is it with Republican Presidents that they eventually turn wacko; Reagan getting policy direction from his wife's astrologer; Bush Senior getting direction from goodness knows where, and now Bush. I'm afraid that if someone in this country said they were getting messages from God, they would probably be referred to the Psychiatric services for assessment.
Of course, the White House have denied he ever said it, - but when was that last time you believed anything that came out of the White House.
4 comments:
You didn't know God talks to our president? uh huh. Now, if I publically said God talked to me, I'd be staring at 4 padded walls & wearing a straight jacket.
Our president also believes the rapture is going to happen soon. Doesn't that explain some of his lack of care of what our future holds? He doesn't think Christians will be here! Just us pagans & just for a short time, he thinks we'll be in hell soon.
Well, if he's going to heaven, I'll gladly go to hell.
btw, agree 1000% about Jesus' teaching. Funny though, a lot of American Christians seem to forget that part.
You're right Jane.. today's neo-cons are living strictly by the old testament.. forget that Jesus said to love your neighbors.. ALL of them.
Now we have a prophet at the head leading humanity to peace. And you nonbelievers stay on his way. Just look at the miracles he has done. And yet you do not believe.
Thanks Jane, Sande and welcome Radin. To me, the Christian faith is pretty straight-forward. It's based on love and respect. Christianity comes from the Christ bit of Jesus' name, and so his actions and words are the ones to look at first. Jesus celebrated difference; he revelled in the fact that people could hold different views about things. No-one was beyond the pale, everyone had merit in God's eyes. That we should do no harm to anyone - even those who do harm should be protected from themselves and others. It just worrys me that some claims to be a Christian and proclaims that he is doing God's work, yet can be so selective over the message of Jesus' life. You don't have to be a Christian to recognise the the philosphy by which Jesus lived his life is not a bad one to follow.
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