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).
Follow Frank Schaeffer on Twitter: www.twitter.com/frank_schaeffer
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I long for the day when Yaweh goes into the abyss of dead gods. What is it going to take to get people in the 21st Century to stop living in the 1st?
Personally, I think Bush's intransigence and disregard have less to do with theology than psychology.
He isn't affected by low poll numbers. He isn't psychotic, deluded, or irrational, but he is certainly deceitful and manipulative. He has a glib, superficial charm, appearing intelligent enough; yet when he meets with people, he rarely asks questions -- which is why his decisions are impulsive, lacking insight. Consequently, he always fails to plan ahead. No surprise that in all his careers he has been consistently irresponsible. He has never had a plan for his life, allowing others to plan his next steps for him. And at every step they have laid at his princely feet, Bush has exhibited poor judgment and failed to learn by experience. He is easily irritated and aggressive, with a reckless disregard for the safety of others. He is insincere, without remorse or shame when his decisions hurt or mistreat others. Egocentric, he is incapable of compassion; yet he is our "compassionate conservative" president. He is always the opposite of what he pretends to be.
There is a word for someone who behaves this way: sociopath.
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Those who claim to have the gift of prophecy, know the unknown and use prayer to communicate with a fantasy get to be tiresome and annoying. The quest for political power by the "religious" is a threat to freedom by definition. George Bush's "compassionate conservatism" has developed into fascism where totalitarian government and profit at the expense of all citizens has become the "religion" of the radical right in this country.
Actually the work of radical Islam is not yet complete in Iraq. What is needed for its completion is the withdrawal of our troops.
Yes. Of course this is AFTER we took out the ONLY thing keeping radical Islam at bay in Iraq(Saddam). Hmmm. Almost like they WANTED this to happen, huh?
I might add that Saddam was fairly nice to them and was hung.
I read this in a church magazine before the war and in a follow up article as well. Both very short articles basically saying that a war would and then did result in the disenfranchisement of Christians in Iraq. The follow up article was very sad as the Iraqi Christians ask why we would do such a thing to them as they were having their businesses and property taken from them and their rights removed. Thanks for being their voice and raising this long standing question. Why did we do this to them?
To clarify your statement: Their property and rights were removed not directly by the US, but by the Islamists who took the opportunity of the power vacuum created by the US invasion, to institute Sharia law in their locales and either kill or subjugate non-Muslims.
It's just one of the multitude of variables that were never even considered by this criminal Bush administration.
Putting Bush aside though, quite frequently on this site I see comment-makers deny that this kind of subjugation exists, or was created by the Neo-Cons as a talking point to propagate fear and war, and label anyone who questions or points out the aspects of Islam that mandate said subjugation, as Islamophobes and racists.
Can't we form a new Ministry of "Separation of Church and State Enforcement"? Religion needs to be kept firmly out of politics.
These Zionist Evangelical Nutjobs are 60 million strong and in 27 years they've owned the white house for 16 of those years, both two term repugs: Reagan and Bush.
Both brought disasterous wars to the Middle East as part of their fanatical relgious agenda. 'Radical' Islam is school yard games compared to Robertson, Hagee and their ilk.
Bush does not care.
And don't call Bush a Christian.
The original "christians" were not called that. they were called followers of the way. the Christ taught a way of life. Christians have substituted worship of JESUS for following the way he taught. Look at the Christian fruits of the modern age. Christians are the opposite of the original followers. Worship of Jesus is a method of the leadership gaining absolutist authority. the way and teachings are contradicted by their conduct and blasphemies. the only teaching they really promote is the one that confers absolutist authority which is by proxy that of the leaders. just think about Anne Coulters christianity. what teaching does it really adopt?
Actually this is what will happens if you vote
with your eyes closed.
Who are those who vote with their eyes closed?
Those generations of faithful die hard supporters who will vote for a Republican no matter what because they believe they owe their freedom to them. People who still lives in the past.
People who vote for a candidate no matter who as long as he/she is of the same religion.
Those so called loyalist who treats their political party as if they are supporting their favorite base ball team will vote someone of his favorite party no matter what.
Otherwise how do you explain why Bush was voted in twice as President.
Even though every one has a right to vote
do you know that your voting right carries a certain responsibilty of selecting the best Leader. The suffering of the US citizens is small compare to the Iraqis. Here a soldier dies and his family suffers. There in Iraq a child survives with horrific injuries while his immediate family and sibling together with home
is wiped out. I am not belittling the suffering of the US people but somehow you got to consider your choice with a bit more rationality
and look at all the candidates available. Don't close your eyes, pick the best person only after conisdering all his past and present credential. Religion and blind faith can be taken advantage of by politicians. Your future is in your hands. So help yourselves first before calling for divine help.
With arguably a million or so 'excess
deaths' among civilians in Iraq over
the past 5 years, isn't rather unseemly
to single out the deaths of 'two innocent
Christian women' for special consideration?
'Ask not for whom the bell tolls?'
The USA is replacing Saddam Hussein with Blackwater. Is Bush testing the waters for a new army soon approaching US shores? "I do it for your own good" by Geroge!
Bush uses christ as much as all the TV preachers use the christ myth. Its all about controlling people and getting power and money.
Every single preacher you see on TV is out for money and power. They use people and don't care who they hurt. That is what Bush learned from that preacher when he became "born Again' That it's all a sham for power.
Bush doesn't only destroy christians though ...he destroys all people
This doesn't surprise me in the least. Arrogance and hypocrisy are the foundation of religion. Morality is not a requirement; but, in fact, runs contrary to it. Want proof? Just open your eyes and look around. Or, read your history.
Bush is immoral. His actions are evil. I would, indeed, call him a true Christian.
americans dont care about anyone but americans.
listen to the media it is about how many american soldiers were killed and how can we win this illegal war.
if europe was not afraid of us they would put bush and cheney up for war crimes.
until americans take to the streets we will continue to be an imperialist country with an mercenary army.
imperialism is ingrained into the american psychic. brainwashing works.
the fruits of capitalism: imperialism.
exactly right.
americans are only outraged by the deaths of americans, nevermind if we are there by choice. but what about the deaths of the over 1million innocent iraqis and displacement of millions more who did not sign up for an invasion, destruction and occupation of their country? you don't hear much concern over that.
apparently, most americans believe iraqi lives are worth less than american lives. or that they somehow deserve to be punished for being different, even -gasp- muslim. or that iraqi parents don't love their children as much. or maybe it's just that they're not fully human (bush has called them :'not people' and therefore they don't feel fear and pain like we do?
whatever the reason, it is disgusting and inexcusable.
Errr... sorry to see you be disappointed with Bush.
Remember the slogan of the old conquerors?
"For Gold, Gospel And Glory!"
This has been replaced by Bush's new slogan.
For Oil, Democracy and _______ ( fill in whatever you deem suitable)
Freedumb
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