Bush, God, and War

As we debate the rightness of mixing religion and politics, George Bush is the poster child for why not to mix them. GW seems stubborn by nature, and it seems that stubbornness is reinforced by a sense of divine calling that will not waver.

As Robert Parham shares in an Ethics Daily post, Bush is truly convinced that the war in Iraq has a divine mandate -- that's why he could care less what Congress or the American people think. He is called to bring "freedom" and democracy to the world -- or at least that is what he apparently shared with NY Times columnist David Brooks.

But what does this say about the war? Parham writes:

If this is Bush's theological perspective, then our nation is being lead by a Christian crusader, not a commander in chief. And that is a very dangerous place to be. Good democracies go bad when governed by theocrats.

If the president is theologically right that God wills the war in Iraq, what does that say about the moral reflection of the broad sweep of Catholic bishops, Methodist bishops, mainline Protestant clergy and other Christian leaders who hold the view that the war is morally wrong?

Apparently what it says is that either he has a better ear for God's voice, or the "Almighty" he worships is the Roman God Mars -- the God of War. And beyond that, is it any wonder the Muslim world thinks that the US is at war with Islam?