Bush: The Destroyer of Christians

Australian mercenaries working for Americans recently gunned down two innocent women who were members of the Christian minority in Iraq. The meaning of this fiasco should not be lost on us. The fact that the Christian women were shot is part of an underreported "small" tragedy within the gigantic tragedy of the destruction of Iraq. (Full disclosure; my son was a Marine from 1999 to 2004 and was deployed several times to the Middle East.)

Bush is an evangelical Christian. And without the evangelical vote he would not have become president. So it might seem ironic that Bush is personally responsible for the persecution, displacement and destruction of the one million, three hundred thousand-person Christian minority in Iraq. (They fared much better under the secular regime of Saddam Hussein and, along with a handful of Christians in Lebanon and Syria, represented one of the last ancient non-Islamic communities left in the Middle East. According to the Times the community has been almost completely displaced and driven from Iraq following the American invasion and the civil war we unleashed.) But actually Bush's destruction of his fellow Christians is not ironic, because to Bush the Iraqi Christians (including those killed women) weren't "real Christians." According to the theology that has shaped Bush they, like their Muslim counterparts, were part of the "other."

Theology matters. And the theology of the President matters when it comes to trying to understand his behavior. Perhaps you have to have been there, done that in order to understand.

I was raised by evangelical missionary parents (Francis and Edith Schaeffer) who also happened to have quite a bit of personal interaction with the Bush family and other Republican leaders. Mom and Dad often met with presidents Ford, Reagan and Bush Sr. and stayed in the White House several times in their capacity as evangelical gurus to the powerful.

Evangelical theology is inextricably linked to the Bush presidency. And evangelicals hold to a born-again world view. To Bush-the-evangelical those murdered Christian women and all the other non-evangelical Christians in Iraq (Armenian, Syrian Catholics, Orthodox and others), are not "saved" because they aren't born-again. Rather they belong to a tradition that sees salvation as a journey undertaken within a liturgical community of faith, not a one time magical individualistic experience.

In public Bush would never call all non-evangelicals lost, nor would many media-savvy evangelical leaders, but the outlook of evangelicals is one of dividing the world into "us" and "them." And non-evangelical Christians are "them" just as much as any other "lost." How could it be otherwise when the bedrock of evangelical theology is to regard anyone who has a different theology than you -- even within the competing historic Christian traditions -- as "unsaved"?

Pat Robertson expressed the evangelical Bush-type theology a few years ago when he dismissed Eastern Orthodox Christianity as just so much "mumbo-jumbo." To the born-again only a Billy Graham-type of one-time salvation experience counts. People who merely continue practicing the ancient traditions of the Church, people just like those Armenian women the mercenaries carelessly shot down, aren't like "us." That belief explains why evangelicals are busy trying to evangelize Greek and Russian Orthodox, Roman Catholics and "liberal" Christians with the same vigor they apply to proselytizing Hindus or Muslims. And that explains why there has not been a massive evangelical outcry against Bush's destruction of the Iraqi Christian community.

According to Bush's theology he has in fact not destroyed fellow Christians. To Bush and other evangelicals the word "Christian" refers only to evangelicals. In the common parlance within the evangelical subculture, "becoming a Christian" is just another way to say that someone has become an evangelical.

The "us" and "them" mentality is instilled in every born-again believer. To evangelicals there are actually two human races; the "sheep" and the "goats" in other words us and them. And the "them" includes all non-evangelical Christians.

Evangelicals may have given up most traditional formal sacraments in favor of a personalized faith but they have developed their own "sacraments." One bedrock sacrament is the aggressive evangelism of the "lost," including all non-evangelical Christians.

The fact that Bush has managed to complete the work of radical Islam, and smash one of the last bastions of Christianity in the Middle East, is just fine with evangelicals: the destroyed people weren't real Christians, just more of those mumbo-jumbo types. It isn't as if we hired those Australians to shoot our fellow believers at some Billy Graham crusade! The murdered women were on their way to see their priest and they wouldn't have needed all that "priest stuff" if they only had accepted Jesus into their hearts and become real Christians like us.

Frank Schaeffer's memoir, "CRAZY FOR GOD -- How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back," will be in bookstores on October 26 and was reviewed by Jane Smiley in The Nation (Oct 15, 2007).

Comments

[whomung]

If Christians would let go of being the Pharisees of the 21st century, they'd be able to admit the voted for the anti-Chris­t....

But, as in the time of Jesus, the religious establishment of the Status Quo only wants what they want, and thats to be validated for what they believe and cram it down everyone elses throughts,

not --OK, you completely missed the point, but time to go third grade anyway.... lots more to learn about life...

[bknott]

Too bad for Bush. His presidency is doing way more for agnosticism and atheism than (I'm sure) he ever intended.

[rabun666]

Seems like evangelicals are cultists, I mean it's obvious. At least other cults have the courage to commit suicide, whereas the evangelical cultists have elevated cowardice to hero status and have decided to commit suicide by proxy. It's the exclusivity of these cultists that exposes their phony doctrines which are the fornications of the bible and their pretend christian churchiani­ty-religio­nists preachers are the harlots of the bible. These cultists are fools and their congregations are the gathering places of Satan where they and their families are insulted and abused by the harlot preachers who then beg for money and the fools give them money. This money is tax exempt and tax deductible, the American taxpayers are subsidizing these evangelical cultists and they don't even thank us they call us foul names and lie.

[JustADumbFireman]

Thank you, Frank. Right on the money. (I'm EO, a great friend of the Armenian Church, and have known your name for MANY years).

Not that it should matter what is the particular faith or non-faith of the people whom we cynically allow to be killed in our inconceivably depraved, profit-driven invasion and occupation.

[Pdubya]

What Christian wouldn't want this? !!!

Call your representatives and get this supported!

http://www.thomas.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:H.R.3835:

[GoodwithWood]

When Bush announced he was running for president I looked into who he was. When I found out the he is a born again evangelical, the first words out of my mouth were “ott-o this guy is dangerous.­” Unfortunately I was more than right.

GWW

[Podewumun]

~GoodwithWood~

Bush is a born again "Christian".

The quotation marks are VERY important.

[anfractuous]

It terrifies me every time I think that there are people who, through basic intellectual laziness (for which Bush is Poster Boy), have seen fit to condemn millions to their deaths, and not exhibit a twinge of remorse. It is not even Machiavellian cunning; it's pure ignorance that leaves the murderer confirmed in their own nightmare. This country is so besotted with its messianic role in history that any appeal to real history is useless.
History? Yuck!

[7thKnight]

Hi Frank,

See my reply to Sam Thornton.

No, I have not come to criticize you, only give my opinion.

George is quite a likeable guy really, do you really believe that he would have allowed it to occur if he could have stopped it?

Nor do I.

7th Knight.

[Merrysunshine]

Remember, the bible warned of false prophets. Remember, our founding fathers established the separation of church and state, and for good reason.

[SamThornton]

Frank, your mention of Billy Graham reminded me of the one time I ever saw him in person, in the compound area of the Commander, US Naval Forces, Vietnam in 1968 or 1969. The Rev. wanted to meet some "real sailors", so a bunch of us who had just come off watch were rounded up and paraded before the big man. He proceeded to tell us -- and I quote "...you're doing God's work killing the gooks." I think the fact we were all actually pencil pushers escaped him. As probably did a lot of other things.

[7thKnight]

Hi Sam,
Billy Graham was indeed a figure of the past to be reckoned with, yet think about what you say he said;"...y­ou're doing God's work killing the gooks."

You and I both know you were doing your Presidents bidding, in the political role of 'defending your country.'

God had no hand in the taking of any human life.

Although I am no fan of President Bush I should say that he can not really be held responsible for what others have done in his absence.

During the crusades, I forget which, the Pope sent his armies into the Holy land; on the way they were diverted to Constantinople to support a deposed ruler; they sacked and pillaged the city, killing the majority of the people and leaving the city totally destroyed.

It was a Christian city.

I personally believe that President George Bush would have not allowed the incident in Iraq to have taken place if he were able to stop it.

7th Knight.

[richstue]

So these illusions have played a huge part in the creation of mankinds collective history.It is not just evangelical christians but so many other faiths use these beliefs to misuse and abuse others who fall outside of these illusions. The larger question becomes how do we relate to those who hold power over us and are under the spell of the false beliefs. Evangelical christianity is a menace to humanity just as much as radical islam or any other fundamentalist followers of faith. Perhaps it is time for humanity to take away all weapons of mass destruction. Like children playing with matches or throwing rocks others. Forgive them they know not whatthey do. Does the future of humanity have to be held in such a fragile state as if one of the world leaders with a child like grasp of things uses his weapons in a fit of rage over someone not following the illusions. The last illusion ignorance is most likely our collective undoing.

[richstue]

I believe that life is eternal and that God/ Spirit is part of every living thing .Human beings live under the following illusions:­need,failu­re,disunit­y,insuffie­ncy,requir­ement,judg­ement,cond­emnation,c­onditional­ity,superi­ority and ignorance.­Mankind has conceived that the god they worship lives within these illusions too. If you look at the beliefs of the Bushtians you seethese in all rheir beliefs. Probably superiority is the most dangerous. This belief allows them to mistreat all others . Judgement too is part of their belief." Some are not worthy to inherit heaven"

[WaMMO]

Frank-
It is awesome to see your evolution as a Marine Parent, the same evolution I have gone through. We started out gung ho for our Corps, our President , etc and then we saw the truth. We were able to see through the muck of this administration as it applies to our sons and daughters in uniform, and in the Middle East.
I so appreciate all of your writings-they have extra relevance because this IS personal for us-we have irons in this fire.
Thanks again for all you do, and may God continue to be with your son.

[reginaorthodox]

Hi: Frank here. Thank you for your words. We do have "skin in the game" as they say. So the President's spin doesn't do it for us. Best, Frank

[protagonia]

Today's right wing Christian is not following the teachings of Christ, but of some men in profound comfort. They will never admit what fools they've been, but if there is an accounting to be had in the Here-After - THEY WILL HAVE SOME EXPLAINING TO DO FOR A LONG, LONG TIME.

Would a good Christian would pity them for their fate?

[FlowerGirl]

Are we focussing on these two murdered women only because they were Christian? How many others have been murdered and ignored?
Can we now admit that it was better for the Iraqis under Saddam (except for the time when he followed the bidding of our leaders and made a disasterous war on Iran! only to be betrayed by those leaders who then gave Iran weapons to fight him with!)?
What a moral nation the USA has become under the guidance of our Neocon masters!
But note: they are now leaving the Republican Party, having gotten all they could from it, and are returning(!) to the Democrats whom they have acting to continue the policies they gave Bush.
America, are you ready to wake up?

[Opus007]

Bush takes the Christ out of Christian. What happened to the teachings of Jesus such as love your enemy, help the poor, and don't judge other people. What would Jesus do?
We can give handouts and tax breaks to corporations, tax breaks to the very richest in our population and spend a trillion dollars on a war but we can't use our hard earned tax dollars to help sick children? What does that say about us as a country?
All this on top of torture and warrantless wire tapping- our country is going down fast. It's very sad.