President Bush yesterday said that affirming God's supremacy "is particularly appropriate in the heart of a capital built upon the promise of self-government" and called for "opening ourselves to God's priorities" at the National Prayer Breakfast.Things are getting more and more clear, more and more overt, and less and less veiled. I guess that's a good thing; at least it's easier to tell where people stand.
I agree. And, since the President has such a Cartesian desire to affirm God's supremacy, isn't this clarity a good, true thing?
ReplyDeleteAlex
http://inessentialism.org/
Notice that he didn't say that the government should affirm God's supremacy. He was talking to a group that I believe was a bunch of Christians in government, and I would guess that the context was in living their lives among non-believing co-workers, and he was calling them to live righteously. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's the sort of thing that usually gets focused on at prayer breakfasts, even among politicians.
ReplyDeleteThe quote immediately following it fits with that far more than with the idea that he's trying to impose religion on anyone or force the government to reflect Torah laws: "Prayer has always been one of the great equalizers in American life. Through fellowship and prayer, we acknowledge that all power is temporary and must ultimately answer to His purposes." and then: "Lincoln declared he would be 'the most shallow and self-conceited blockhead on earth' if he ever thought he could do his job without the wisdom which comes from God and not from men."
The seems to me to be about righteous living among those in positions of power more than a guide to policies, though general principles that guide policies might be part of it, as in this statement: "For prayer means more than presenting God with our plans and desires; prayer also means opening ourselves to God's priorities, especially by hearing the cry of the poor and the less fortunate"