Dan

Calabrese

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December 11, 2008

Christians, Relax: Bush Didn’t Sell Us Out in ABC Interview on Faith

Perhaps it is a no-win proposition for the president of the United States to give interviews on the subject of faith and religion. But it’s never been the style of George W. Bush to shrink from a challenge, and he decided a few days ago to sit down with ABC’s Cynthia McFadden to discuss the role of his Christian faith in his life and his presidency.

For a guy who is not supposed to be eloquent, Bush displays a remarkably sound understanding of how God operates from a Christian perspective. He seemed to anticipate all the usual questions coming from a secular reporter (“Does God talk to you?” etc.) and did a nice job of explaining how all this works without coming off as haughty or holier-than-thou.

Unfortunately, two statements Bush made in the interview have made headlines, and evangelical Christians are upset at what they believe were two humungous statements at odds with basic Christian doctrine.

Christians should relax. There was nothing doctrinally wrong with what Bush said, and while they weren’t the answers a preacher would give, they were hardly surprising coming from a man who is president of a very large country consisting of lots of non-Christians.

First, McFadden asked Bush if the Bible is “literally true.” Bush, shrugging his shoulders and shaking his head, said “probably not” and declared himself not to be a “literalist.”

Shocking? It seemed to be at first. Christians (including this one) do indeed believe the Bible to be the literal and inerrant word of God, and we’re now hearing that Bush regards it as merely a bunch of stories.

But consider how Bush explained that he stays close to God and feels the power of the Holy Spirit by staying in the Bible. Clearly, Bush recognizes that there is power in the book.

So what to make of the “not a literalist” comment? For one thing, a lot of the Bible isn’t literally true, and doesn’t claim to be. Metaphors are all over the Bible, and the discerning reader doesn’t find it difficult to recognize when a writer is being metaphoric. The parable of the prodigal son, for example, is a metaphor for God’s forgiveness of his people Israel. When Jesus holds up a piece of bread and says, “This is my body,” it isn’t really. It symbolizes what is about to happen to him, and is designed to help his apostles understand why they need to accept this event and receive the grace that will come as a result of it.

The other statement was the supposed pronouncement that other faiths apart from Christ can also lead to salvation. But Bush did not say that. He said this: “I just happen to believe that the way to God is through Christ, and others have different avenues toward God, and I believe we pray to the same Almighty, I really do.”

OK, first of all, context: McFadden had asked Bush if Muslims pray to the same God he does, and Bush said yes. Well, what other answer could he give? If you believe there is only one God, you can’t very well turn around and say Muslims pray to a different one, because there isn’t a different one. He clarifies the point immediately thereafter by rejecting the notion that the leader of the Taliban is praying to the same God, because one cannot do so in the service of a murderous ideology. There is nothing in Christian theology to suggest that, if a non-believer falls into a moment of prayer, the Christian God will not hear the prayer.

But more to the point, Bush did not say that a person who chooses a path to God apart from Christ will find the path successful. He said his belief is that “the way to God is through Christ,” not “my path to God is through Christ.” It was a perfectly reasonable way to say that God is available to everyone, without endorsing any path to God apart from Christ as the correct one.

No president of the United States is going to say on national television that people who don’t share his religious beliefs are condemned to Hell. Anyone who wants him to say this is insane. Besides, the Bible that Bush clearly knows well says God doesn’t desire for anyone to be condemned, so Bush is quite right to hold out the opportunity for salvation to everyone.

Christians, relax. The president didn’t sell us out. He merely navigated the minefield of a TV interview on an explosive subject about as well as anyone could.

© 2008 North Star Writers Group. May not be republished without permission.

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