Attorney General John Ashcroft said "America is different. We have no king but Jesus."?

Question

(Quoted in remarks at Bob Jones University commencement in 1999, when he was then a U.S. Senator from Missouri)

Why do government officials profess to honor "separation of church and state" but time after time reveal their true intentions and beliefs?

President Bush (Snr), saying faith has fostered democratic change around the world, told the National Religious Broadcasters yesterday that 'one cannot be America's president without a belief in God.'
— San Francisco Chronicle, 1/30/1990

No, I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God.
- Former U.S. President George H. W. Bush, 8/27/1987

The Bible is the authoritative Word of God and contains all truth.
— Pres. Bill Clinton, at a prayer breakfast

I ask you this whole week to pray for me and pray for the members of Congress; ask us not to turn away from our ministry. Our ministry is to do the work of God here on earth
— Pres. Bill Clin

When you turn your heart and your life over to Christ, when you accept Christ as the savior, it changes your heart. (George W. Bush, campaign 2000)

50% of Americans believe we should teach Creationism in school alongside Evolution! (including President George Bush):
— April 2001 SF Chronicle

[Schools should teach] different forms of how the world was formed, [with evolution taught alongside creation]. I believe children ought to be exposed to different theories about how the world started.
— President George Bush (quoted from from 2000 campaign)

I believe in serving God and trying to understand and obey God's will for our lives. Cynics may wave the idea away, saying God is a myth, useful in providing comfort to the ignorant and in keeping them obedient. I know in my heart - beyond all arguing and beyond any doubt - that the cynics are wrong.
— Vice Pres. Al Gore's (Harvard commencement address, 1994)

Answer 1

The question is not what they personally believe, but how it effects their policy.

Bush Sr. 's remarks were offensive to a large number of Americans and demonstrably untrue.

Bush Jr. has allowed his faith to dictate policy in direct contradiction to established facts from science.


These are the ones that scare me.

Answer 2

"We have no king but Jesus"..... My friend you should read Thomas Paine's "Common Sense". There is a quote there "But where, says some, is the King of America? I will tell you. Friend, he reigns above"

Besides, saying Jesus is the King of America does not really make him so. It is not religious establishment because there is no way he could enforce such a statement. But America is a Christian nation. It doesn't mean it is a true representation of Christianity, or that its laws or people must be Christian, but that its culture is mostly derived from Christianity.

2) President Bush (Snr), saying faith has fostered democratic change around the world, told the National Religious Broadcasters yesterday that 'one cannot be America's president without a belief in God.'
— San Francisco Chronicle, 1/30/1990

Again, they cannot enforce that. But largely it is true, every President in American history has been Protestant with the exception of JFK who was a Catholic. There have been some groups that are considered non-Christian by some, like Quakers and Unitarians, but I would include them.

3) No, I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God.
- Former U.S. President George H. W. Bush, 8/27/1987

I don't know if this quote is valid or taken out of context, but in itself I totally disagree with it.

4) The Bible is the authoritative Word of God and contains all truth.
— Pres. Bill Clinton, at a prayer breakfast

Again something he cannot enforce.... A President is always free to declare their religious beliefs as open as they want. The only thing they cannot do is enforce them.

5) I ask you this whole week to pray for me and pray for the members of Congress; ask us not to turn away from our ministry. Our ministry is to do the work of God here on earth
— Pres. Bill Clin

............... Yet again something he cannot enforce.

Answer 3

I'd like to see where you got this quote, "America was not Based on God or the Bible!"? and the context surrounding it. I'm not saying you made it up, but a lot of "Obama is the Antichrist" people make things up or take his statements out of context. Most, if not all, of the founders of America were Christians and, as a result, were heavily influenced by the Bible. The concept is more one of how much any religion or religious text should have on the way the government functions and the laws the government creates to control the society. Governments that are religiously based end up oppressing pretty much anyone that doesn't follow that religion. Examples of this exist throughout history and today with groups like the Taliban. The founding fathers wanted religion separated from government - that's why they put that completely clear separation in the Constitution. American government cannot be based on God and the Bible because our Constitution requires the separation of church and state. Does that mean that they didn't believe in the bible, God or weren't Christians? - no, it means they knew that mixing religion and government is a bad idea. Response to your additional details: A quote from an extreme right wing publication isn't really supportive of your argument. No, you didn't mention the consitution, but seem to be trying to make the point that "America" was founded on the bible and Christianity. America IS the constitution - it's what every solider and politician swears to support and defend.

Answer 4

Well you cannot serve God and the other one at the same time. If you serve Jehovah God then you are no part of this world meaning, you cannot serve politics and government also because these are influenced and are from Satan.

That is why true Christians abstain from participation into political affairs, and they do not become police officers or politicians nor do they vote. Jesus said "My kingdom is no part of this world" as he told the Jewish leaders why he would not submit to being part of any mankind government. Those that imitate Jesus and his father, Jehovah refrain from engaging in such matters also.

George Bush is not a Christian at all; neither is Bill Clinton, his wife Hillary, John Ashcroft or any political person. You cannot mix Gods kingdom with the kingdoms here in this dirty old earth.

Answer 5

Aside from Clinton's 2nd statement which was probably around the time of the hearings about his discretions, I say amen!
The Presidents depended on their faith in God, here are some examples:

George Washington - http://www.westbroward.org/wbgroup/washington.htm

Andrew Jackson - http://www.westbroward.org/wbgroup/jackson.htm

Abraham Lincoln - http://www.westbroward.org/wbgroup/lincoln.htm

Jimmy Carter - http://www.westbroward.org/wbgroup/carter.htm

Of course I omit Bush senior because I didn't think he was a good president, and Baby Bush because I believe he is a crook.

Answer 6

From the signing of the Constitution and our Declararion of Independence this country (USA) has been run by rich white men. They may have been more truthful back then, but that was because they had fewer people population wise to lie to. Get real people, if there hadn't been a God, some rich white man would have invented one out of necessity. Anything needed to lead the sheep to slaughter. These so called Christian politicians have chosen to spread out over several years the raise in minimum wage, but the president has doubled his salary in one fail swoop, Along with the salaries of the other higher politicians in this country. What does that tell you, the rich get rich while keeping their foot on our throats and their hands in spending our tax dollars on everything in this world except us or our own country. I hope to live long enough to see the ignorant masses finally wake up and demand honest men to run this government. God is part of my life but, when I go out in public he becomes part of my heart. I think it is a sin for any two people to argue about God. So what, my God may be different in name or title than someone elses, but that only means we both beleive in a supreme being, it does not mean we are speaking of two different entities and have to get in a pissing contest over whose faith is the correct one. Politics is about running a government, and I do not think a Church should do this.

Answer 7

Quotes like the above really make me twitch. Even when I was Christian that made me uneasy. This country was founded on freedom of religion and more importantly freedom FROM religion. For our leaders to guide this nation based on their religious belief violates everything our ancestors fought and died for.

Update: I have the displeasure of knowing the Bush family through a mutual friend. They really believe they are doing God's work. This crap is real to them. It makes me shudder that so far two generations of these nuts have had their finger on the button and a belief that Armageddon will bring their Lord and Savior back.

Answer 8

Seperation of church and state doesn't mean that our politicians must be atheists. They've a right to express their religious views as much as any citizen, or for that matter, their opinion on religious views.

To some people, what you believe, what convictions you stand by is an important thing to know when electing someone to office.

Alternately, some folks may just be using religious words to fluff up votes without really believing what their saying. Shocking, isn't it?

Answer 9

I don't want to sound like a cynic but all those politicians say a bunch of stuff, and I doubt they mean half of it. They will say anything they think people want to hear to get a vote. In public, they put on a big pious show but in real life, they act much different. While I don't like the theocratic messages given by many politicians, I think what they say is all a big show. Let's not forget it was Ashcroft that had nude statues covered for the sake of decency. He was the biggest hypocrite of them all.

Answer 10

These people you quoted are cynics--they are pandering to the religious in order to maintain their political capital with that group.

They've taken the polls and made a cold-blooded decision to promote what gets them the most positive strokes (mouthing fundamentalist platitudes) and avoids a firestorm of criticism (acknowledging how they really think and work).