50 Bush Quotes on Religion

 Posted by on 12 October 2007 at 7:20 am  Religion
Oct 122007
 

50 Bush Quotes on Religion:

1. I am driven with a mission from God. God would tell me, ‘George go and fight these terrorists in Afghanistan’. And I did. And then God would tell me ‘George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq’. And I did. (Sharm el-Sheikh August 2003)

2. I trust God speaks through me. Without that, I couldn’t do my job. (Statement made during campaign visit to Amish community, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Jul. 9, 2004)

3. I’m also mindful that man should never try to put words in God’s mouth. I mean, we should never ascribe natural disasters or anything else to God. We are in no way, shape, or form should a human being, play God. (Washington, D.C., Jan. 14, 2005)

4. God loves you, and I love you. And you can count on both of us as a powerful message that people who wonder about their future can hear. (Los Angeles, California, Mar. 3, 2004)

5. I tell people all the time, you’re equally American if you’re a Christian, Jew, or Muslim. You’re equally American if you believe in an Almighty or don’t believe in an Almighty. That’s a sacred freedom. (Washington, D.C., Mar. 10, 2006)

6. Well, first of all, you got to understand some of my view on freedom, it’s not American’s gift to the world. See, freedom is God — is God given. (Interview with TVR, Romania, Nov. 23, 2002)

7. I’m sure there is some kind of heavy doctrinal difference, which I’m not sophisticated enough to explain to you. (Explaining the issues involved in his switching from attending an Episcopal church to attending a Methodist one, around Jul. 1, 1994)

8. I don’t think you order suiciders to kill innocent men, women, and children if you’re a religious person. (Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin, Jul. 14, 2004)

9. And there’s nothing more powerful in helping change the country than the faith — faith in Dios. (National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast, Washington, D.C., May 16, 2002)

10. We believe in an Almighty, we believe in the freedom for people to worship that Almighty. They don’t. (Martinsburg, West Virginia, Jul. 4, 2007)

11. The spirit of our people is the source of America’s strength. And we go forward with trust in that spirit, confidence in our purpose, and faith in a loving God who made us to be free. (5th anniversary of the Sep. 11 attacks, White House, Sep. 11, 2006)

12. Churches all across the country are reaching out — synagogues, people from different faiths understand that it makes sense to help their parishioners realize the benefits of this plan. (Sun City Center, Florida, May 9, 2006)

13.We can never replace lives, and we can’t heal hearts, except through prayer. (Enterprise, Alabama, Mar. 3, 2007)

14. God bless the people of this part of the world. (Minneapolis, Minnesota, Aug. 4, 2007)

15. I believe there’s an Almighty, and I believe the Almighty’s great gift to each man and woman in this world is the desire to be free. This isn’t America’s gift to the world, it is a universal gift to the world, and people want to be free. (Manhattan, Kansas, Jan. 23, 2006)

16. I couldn’t imagine somebody like Osama bin Laden understanding the joy of Hanukkah. (White House, Dec. 10, 200117.)

17. I see an opportunity at home when I hear the stories of Christian and Jewish women alike, helping women of cover, Arab American women go shop because they’re afraid to leave their home. (Washington, D.C., Oct. 4, 2001)

18. It’s a sign from above. Comment made when television light caught fire above crowd. (Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Mar. 9, 2001)

19. I did denounce it. I de- I denounced it. I denounced interracial dating. I denounced anti-Catholic bigacy… bigotry. (Responding to attacks on his visit to ultra-conservative Bob Jones University, Greenville, South Carolina, Feb. 25, 2000)

20. We are grateful for the freedoms we enjoy, grateful for the loved ones who give meaning to our lives, and grateful for the many gifts of this prosperous land. On Thanksgiving we acknowledge that all of these things, and life itself, come not from the hand of man, but from Almighty God. (Washington, D.C., Nov. 30, 2002)

21. We say in our country, everybody matters, everybody is precious in the sight of an Almighty. (Northern State University, Aberdeen, South Dakota, Oct. 31, 2002)

22. We love the fact that people can worship an almighty God any way they see fit here in America. (Phoenix, Arizona, Sep. 28, 2002)

23. And I just — I cannot speak strongly enough about how we must collectively get after those who kill in the name of — in the name of some kind of false religion. (Press appearance with King Abdullah of Jordan, Aug. 1, 2002)

24. We are commanded by God and called by our conscience to love others as we want to be loved ourselves. (Ohio State University, Jun. 14, 2002)

25. By being active citizens in your church or your synagogue, or for those Muslims, in your mosque, and adhering to the admission to love a neighbor just like you’d like to be loved yourself, that’s how we can stand up. (Remarks to the cattle industry annual convention and trade show, Denver, Colorado, Feb. 8, 2002)

26. And we base it, our history, and our decision making, our future, on solid values. The first value is, we’re all God’s children. (Washington, D.C., Jul. 16, 2003)

27. One of the great things about this country is a lot of people pray. (Washington, D.C., Apr. 13, 2003)

28. And there’s no doubt in my mind, when the United States acts abroad and home, we do so based upon values — particularly the value that we hold dear to our hearts, and that is, everybody ought to be free. I want to repeat what I said during my State of the Union to you. Liberty is not America’s gift to the world. What we believe strongly, and what we hold dear, is liberty is God’s gift to mankind. And we hold that value precious. And we believe it is true. (White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, Feb. 9, 2003)

29. This great, powerful nation is motivated not by power for power’s sake, but because of our values. If everybody matters, if every life counts, then we should hope everybody has the great God’s gift of freedom. (Grand Rapids, Michigan, Jan. 29, 2003)

30. The short-term objective of this country is to find an enemy and bring them to justice before they strike us. The long-term objective is to make this world a more free and hopeful and peaceful place. I believe we’ll succeed because freedom is the Almighty God’s gift to every man and woman in this world. (Portsmouth, Ohio, Sep. 10, 2004)

31. And if you choose to — if you believe in the Almighty, you can — you’re equally an American. If you’re a Jew, Christian or Muslim or Hindi or whatever. It is one of the great traits and traditions of our country, where people can worship the way you see fit. (Interview on Larry King Live, CNN, Aug. 15, 2004)

32. By the way, to whom much has been given, much is owed. Not only are we leading the world in terms of encouraging freedom and peace, we’re feeding the hungry. We’re taking care of, as best as we possibly can, the victims of HIV/AIDS. (Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Jul. 20, 2004)

33. Faith-based is an important part of my life, individually, but I don’t — I don’t ascribe a person’s opposing my nominations to an issue of faith. (Prime time press conference, White House, Apr. 28, 2005)

34. I believe liberty is universal. I don’t believe it is just for the United States of America alone. I believe there is an Almighty, and I believe the Almighty’s gift to people worldwide is the desire to be free. (Fort Irwin, California, Apr. 4, 2007)

35. What a powerful statement to the world about the compassion of the American people that you’re free to choose the religion you want in our country. (Washington, D.C., Sep. 29, 2006)

36. The United States of America must understand that freedom is universal, that there is an Almighty, and the great gift of that Almighty to each man and woman in this world is the desire to be free. (Nashville, Tennessee, Aug. 30, 2006)

37. Tonight I ask you to pass legislation to prohibit the most egregious abuses of medical research. …Human life is a gift from our Creator — and that gift should never be discarded, devalued or put up for sale. (2006 State of the Union Address, Jan. 31, 2006)

38. One of the most — I think one of the most important and interesting domestic initiatives, which I agree has created an interesting philosophical debate, is to allow faith-based programs and community-based programs to access federal money in order to achieve the results we all want. I mean, for example, if you’re trying to encourage people to quit drinking, doesn’t it make sense to give people somebody an alternative — he can maybe go to a government counselor? Or how about somebody who calls upon a higher being to help you quit drinking? All I care about is the results. (Sterling, Virginia, Jan. 19, 2006)

39. Every new citizen of the United States has an obligation to learn our customs and values, including liberty and civic responsibility, equality under God and tolerance for others, and the English language. (Tucson, Arizona, Nov. 28, 2005)

40. We have a calling from beyond the stars to stand for freedom, and America will always be faithful to that cause. (Washington, D.C., Jan. 19, 2005)

41.Secondly, it’s really important, Pete, that people not think government is a loving entity. Government is law and justice. Love comes from the hearts of people that are able to impart love. And therefore, what Craig is doing is — he doesn’t realize it — he’s a social entrepreneur. He is inspiring others to continue to reach out to say to somebody who is lonely, I love you. And I’m afraid this requires a higher power than the federal government to cause somebody to love somebody. (Summit on School Violence, Washington DC, October 10, 2006)

42. We don’t believe that freedom is America’s gift to the world. We believe freedom is the God Almighty’s gift to each and every person in the world. (California, Oct. 15, 2003)

43. I believe that, as I told the Crown Prince, the Almighty God has endowed each individual on the face of the earth with — that expects each person to be treated with dignity. This is a universal call. (Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, Jun. 3, 2003)

44. All of you — all in this generation of our military — have taken up the highest calling of history. You’re defending your country, and protecting the innocent from harm. And wherever you go, you carry a message of hope — a message that is ancient and ever new. In the words of the prophet Isaiah, “To the captives, ‘come out,’ — and to those in darkness, ‘be free.’ (Aboard the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln, a couple of miles away from San Diego May 1, 2003)

45. It’s so inspirational to see your courage, as well as to see the great works of our Lord in your heart. (Nashville, Tennessee, Feb. 10, 2003)

46. As Dick mentioned, we mourn the loss of seven brave souls. We learned a lot about them over the last couple of days, and Laura and I learned a lot about their families in Houston, because we met with them. My impressions of the meeting was that there was — that Almighty God was present in their hearts. (Washington, D.C., Feb. 6, 2003)

47. It’s also important for people to know we never seek to impose our culture or our form of government. We just want to live under those universal values, God-given values. (Washington, D.C., Oct. 11, 2002)

48. Yet we do know that God has placed us together in this moment, to grieve together, to stand together, to serve each other and our country. (Ellis Island, New York, Sep. 11, 2002)

49. The reason I’m — asked [these AmeriCorps workers] to join us here is because I want you to know, America can be saved one person at a time. (Green Tree, Pennsylvania, Aug. 5, 2002)

50. Government can hand out money, but it cannot put hope into people’s hearts. It cannot put faith into people’s lives. (West Ashley High School, Charleston, South Carolina, Jul. 29, 2002)

Some of those quotes are more interesting and relevant than others, of course. Two points:

(1) Bush often acknowledges that people have the right not to believe in or worship any God. That’s better than his father, who thought that atheists weren’t really citizens. Yet he doesn’t believe in the separation of church and state: he gladly uses government to promote religion with faith-based programs and openly governs according to his religious faith.

(2) One particular instance of that governance by religion is Bush’s view that God wants freedom for all the people of the world, not just America. That’s a basic motivation for his foreign policy, not only his wars of “liberation” in Afghanistan and Iraq but also his push for democratic elections even when that puts Islamic totalitarians in power. Given the religious foundations of those policies, it’s no wonder that the resulting disasters didn’t dissuade him. (The 2006 election of the Democrats did result in a shift in policy, presumably because that election reflected God’s will.

   
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