The Obsession with the President's Religion
Joseph Knippenberg of the Claremont Review of Books reviews three books on the subject [via Arts & Letters Daily]:
A review of A Man of Faith: The Spiritual Journey of George W. Bush by David Aikman
The Faith of George W. Bush by Stephen Mansfield
George W. Bush on God and Country edited by Thomas M. Freiling
I certainly don't plan to read the books anytime soon. And the quotes in the Knippenberg review are mostly familiar ones; I blogged a little about them in April. The question we should be asking, it seems to me, isn't about what George W. Bush believes, but about how he justifies what he says and does politically.
When he says his faith guides him, it doesn't bother me. But when he describes the American War on Terror as an extension of God's judgment, I do worry. ("The course of this conflict is not known, yet its outcome is certain. Freedom and fear, justice and cruelty, have always been at war, and we know that God is not neutral between them.")
A review of A Man of Faith: The Spiritual Journey of George W. Bush by David Aikman
The Faith of George W. Bush by Stephen Mansfield
George W. Bush on God and Country edited by Thomas M. Freiling
I certainly don't plan to read the books anytime soon. And the quotes in the Knippenberg review are mostly familiar ones; I blogged a little about them in April. The question we should be asking, it seems to me, isn't about what George W. Bush believes, but about how he justifies what he says and does politically.
When he says his faith guides him, it doesn't bother me. But when he describes the American War on Terror as an extension of God's judgment, I do worry. ("The course of this conflict is not known, yet its outcome is certain. Freedom and fear, justice and cruelty, have always been at war, and we know that God is not neutral between them.")
2 Comments:
Speaking of Reviews. In the fall issue of the Virginia Quarterly Review their is an essay on the ghazal in America. It's quite interesting. You can probably still find it around for cheap as I think the Winter issue is out now.
BTW, it also has an essay by Salman Rushdie that is indicative of how a famous writer can get things published that non-famous writers couldn't.
From your local paper: Jesus Speaks Through The Republicans
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