Give the man his due! (Jan. 25, 2009)
This past week has seen the North American public filled with two emotions:
1) Ecstasy at the inauguration of Barak Obama as President of the United States.
2) Vilification of outgoing President George W. Bush.
It seems easy to condemn President Bush, to laugh at his mangling of the English language, and to bemoan his prosecution of the war in Iraq.
While we are jumping on the bandwagon to jeer and say good riddance to the outgoing leader, we should pause to think of things we will soon miss, as the new administration settles in.
The election was fought on the issue of “change”. We will have change indeed.
We need to remember how Bush was not afraid to invoke biblical principles and to state his own Christianity. He limited abortions and the destructive practice of Embryonic Stem Cell research; he correctly understood that most of the progress in this area is with non-controversial and non-destructive Adult Stem Cell research.
Finally, like it or not, he has helped keep our continent free from direct terrorist attach for the last seven years. It is easy to forget that terrorism was thrust on the Bush administration and this was destined to define his entire tenure in office.
Yes he made mistakes, but I am sure you will hear a lot less support for Christian principles from the oval office over the next 4 years. We should always be thankful when a Christian in leadership stand up for his beliefs.
I am disturbed to see blatant disregard for separation of church and state on this website. Obama has shown great concern for many of the things near to the heart of Christ, especially the plight of the poor. Look up his work with charitable organizations. To my mind there are ways that right wing parties are more Christian and there are ways that left wing parties are more Christian. Right wing parties are stronger on moral issues. Left wing parties are better on issues of social justice. Can we please stop equating Christianity with right wing only.
ReplyDeleteI think to truly see the reflection of someone's beliefs, you need to look at their actions and not just their words. Sure, Bush was ready to say that He was a Christian publicly, but what about the thousands of innocent lives lost in Iraq under his orders? Remember that Iraq was not behind the attack on 9-11.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I believe the role of a Christian college is to guide students into shaping a Christ-focused worldview, so that they can go into the world and make Christ-like decisions...teaching them how to think vs. what to think. I feel that this post is a very personal opinion that has no place bearing the label of Horizon, and assuming that the college as a whole supports this position.
Thank you for your thoughtful responses. I must apologize if this came across as political, or mixing church and state. I absolutely agree that my blog should not be political.
ReplyDeleteI was actually encouraging readers (as we do with our students) to:
- BEWARE OF, AND UNDERSTAND, ALL THE INFORMATION
- THINK
- HAVE A BALANCED VIEW
I think the second commenter got it right by saying that:
"the role of a Christian college is to guide students into shaping a Christ-focused worldview, so that they can go into the world and make Christ-like decisions...teaching them how to think vs. what to think."
I am not telling students, or anyone else, what to think, but I am merely presenting some positives that should not be forgotten among all the negatives. Truly, the former president may go down as one of the worst leaders in US history (and this may indeed be justified - I am not judging that). I did however remind readers of 3 things that were positive (not to erase the negative, just to be remembered along with the negative).
In my third last paragraph I mentioned two items that certainly relate to our denominational views on the sanctity of life and the value of a fetus; Abortion and Embryonic Stem Cell research.
It is my understanding that funding has been reinstated for groups that council for, or provide, abortions. It has also been reported that federal restrictions on funding Embryonic Stem Cell research will be loosened. We believe that life begins at conception, thus (without judgment on anyone) we should merely appreciate former decisions that limited destruction of embryos or fetuses. This is not a political statement, just one valuing life. (I recently gave a message on the topic of abortion “To be or not to be” at chapel, it will be available next week on our website www.horizon.edu when that page is completed).
My second last paragraph merely states the truth; that we have been free of major terrorist attacks since 911. Just as we blame leaders for what goes wrong (and certainly could apply to the tragedy in Iraq), we can give, at least some credit for what goes right.
Finally, I appreciate the comment that “Right wing parties are stronger on moral issues. Left wing parties are better on issues of social justice.” Although my comments are not meant to support right-wing or left-wing, this seems to be generally accurate. In fact I gave a message “You can give it away” in one of our chapels, which I prefaced the message with my appreciation for Bill Clinton and his book “Giving”. Again, this was not about politics, but about what great things a famous influential person was doing for humanity. (This message can be downloaded from our website www.horizon.edu soon, as the page is under construction).
Anyway, I’ll close by restating the point of the blog and what we teach our students in general, even regarding what they are taught about theology:
- BEWARE OF, AND UNDERSTAND, ALL THE INFORMATION
- THINK
- HAVE A BALANCED VIEW
Thanks again.
Thank you Dr. Giesbrecht for the clarification.
ReplyDeleteI appreciated the thoughts of all three of you. As a student it challenges me to really think about the things I read and to gain further information to to base my opinions on.
Thank you Dr. Giesbrecht for sharing a different view on Mr. Bush's time in Office.
ReplyDeleteThe war in Iraq has been a very difficult time for America. I have a family member who spent 6 years fighting in Iraq and many friends who are still there. It is a tragedy that lives have been lost as a result of this war. But how much more tragic is it that we overlook the millions of lives that have been lost due to abortions and Embryonic Stem cell research.
Many will remember Bush only for this war, yet never understand how many lives he saved.
Thank you Dr. Giesbrecht for some clarification on your earlier post. I appreciate your openness and willingness to dialouge about tough issues where there are differences of opinion amongst believers.
ReplyDelete