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Bush's Faith in God

'I don't see how you can be president without a relationship with the Lord'... George W. Bush

Reporters and editors from the Washington Times were granted an interview in the Oval Office during which the President outlined the role of faith in his life.

Mr. Bush said he leans heavily on his religion every day that he is in the Oval Office and cannot imagine any man handling the pressures of the job without leaning on God.

"I fully understand that the job of the president is and must always be protecting the great right of people to worship or not worship as they see fit," Mr. Bush said. "That's what distinguishes us from the Taliban. The greatest freedom we have or one of the greatest freedoms is the right to worship the way you see fit.

"On the other hand, I don't see how you can be president at least from my perspective, how you can be president, without a relationship with the Lord," he said.

Prepare for atheists to decry the President as a proponent of theocracy and level charges that he is favors merging church and state. Such criticism is fundamentally dishonest because it denies the religious basis of atheistic humanism while asserting the weakness of other religions and, in particular, Christianity. It also presents a secularism that is impossibly devoid of any faith-based belief.

Everyone has a theory of knowledge, a view of the future, an interpretation of history, a cosmology and a set of values that form the fundamental basis of their “religion”. Many suggest that religion necessarily involves a “god” that is explicitly called out. However, the values and ethical beliefs that are foundational in each person’s life originate from some ultimate authority, which is their “god”.

By disclosing his faith, President Bush is being epistemologically self-conscious; he knows what he believes and why. My personal opinion is that this is Bush’s greatest asset. Others subscribe to a belief system and an ultimate ethical authority but don’t even realize the underlying beliefs upon which their life is built and their decisions are made.

Update: Stacy Harp comments on a different aspect of the President's interview. Namely, she takes exception to Bush's opinion that faith is not under attack by the culture at large. I agree.

The President bases his opinion on the "backlash" that occurs when attempts are made to secularize the "public square". I contend that the public square has, for the most part, already been secularized. In particular, examine the secularization of the arts and education, two of the most influential culture carriers. However, MediaSoul provides further proof, linking to this report by Liberty Legal.

Posted by tim at January 12, 2005 11:56 AM

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