Do politicians actually practice the tenets of their religions or are they claiming a faith to appease voters?

Question

WWJD?

Is the war in Iraq ordained by God as Bush has said?

Did God really make him do it?

And YES Bush has publicly stated his decisions were determined by divine intervention! He only publicly says these things in countries like Israel and in front of religious audiences!

Answer 1

That depends on the individual. Some are sincere, some aren't, and we can't really tell, since we can only judge the outward signs. Religion and politics interface in strange ways. While there is certainly no religious test for public office in most of Europe, it seems there is in the USA, on the informal level, even though the Constitution says the opposite. It's also interesting to note it works both ways. Americans want their President to be religious, to believe in God and to take moral values from his/her faith, but not too religious to the point of making impractical decisions. The concern about an overly-religious President surfaced with Jimmy Carter and to some degree with George W. Bush. And Americans show fear of a President belonging to an authoritarian religious group which might give him/her specific direction, as with John F. Kennedy and now with candidate Mitt Romney. So, there is no easy answer.

Answer 2

Most politicians in america TRY to practice the tenets of their religions AND they claim a faith to appease voters. They have to or will not be elected. Right or wrong there are very strong taboo's that must be avoided to move ahead in politics. It's sad that many americans were fooled by Bush and his leadership but what's important is to admit the mistakes, change direction and embrace the rest of the well meaning humanity of the world. It's still not too late.

Answer 3

maximum individuals do no longer even understand each and all the tenets of their faith, or have nearby varieties that are no longer truthfully tenets of their faith. Catholics, as an occasion: you will discover fairly some Catholics who do no longer understand that formally, Catholic doctrine says Noah's tale could be allegorical, or that there is not any difficulty with the universe being thousands and thousands of years outdated. you will additionally discover Mexican Catholics who think of Ash Wednesday is between the main extreme Holy Days to attend mass. on the Protestant area, very few Lutherans look to appreciate that in the time of their professional Doctrine set forth via Luther, the Pope (or somewhat the papacy) is pointed out because of the fact the Anti-Christ. maximum religions have doctrines which have been pieced at the same time over an prolonged time or centuries. very few human beings will difficulty discovering all of that, assuming the professional doctrine is even unquestionably obtainable. i might say human beings declare to be non secular without looking out what their denomination's perspectives are because of the fact its purely much less stressful to declare "i'm a member of the X church" than to make the attempt to study how ridiculous all of it is.

Answer 4

Then please tell us the exact quote, and preferably the surrounding quotes as well so we can see exactly what he said IN ISRAEL and in front of a religious audience and then we can determine if we actually said what you said, namely that his decisions are determined by divine intervention or that he actually said something different.

If you are getting the sense that I doubt you, then you are correct.
I've seen too many of the "Bush is a religious fanatic" memes and its starting to get boring. From my point of view, I think that these memes are brought up since it is then easier to dismiss him instead of arguing the actual issues where actual thought may be required first before giving a reasoned argument.

Answer 5

Religion and Politics are two different things. Any individual leader or nation believes in democracy should not club both the things together. Politics and political parties are directly related to our public life and for a government has to consider this as its policies. Religion in purely a personal thing which has nothing to do with politics and government decisions. But the self centered politicians who wants to continue in power irrespective of public support they take the shelter under the religion. They do not mind if they go to Nepal they praise Hinduism. They praise Islam if they are in Pakistan and Christianity wherever it suits them and help them to remain in power and cover up this misdeed towards mankind. The Bush declaration as you said is nothing more than that. If he has faith in God, no God or religion suggests anybody to destroy the mankind particularly women children and old people in the name of Davine intervention.

Answer 6

When did Bush ever say the war in Iraq was ordained by God? CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, FOX and all the rest have reporters in Israel and they forgot to cover that one.

Bush has done some crazy things but he has never claimed to be God's prophet on earth. Maybe you need some rest it's getting late?

Answer 7

Politicians are forked-tongued for a reason.
All politicians envoke the name of God, and yet none of them seem to abide by their promises once in office. I have faith in God, not my common man. Politicians, regardless of their race, gender or political affiliations are mere humans...falliable, corruptable and selfish. There is no room for God in their hearts, as they are the center of their universe. For them, God is made a puppet.
As for Bush's comment, you are taking it out of context. He said first and foremost that God does not favor one nation over another, God favors justice. What we failed to realize, and often times goes unnoticed, is there is Justice of war; which we truly did have. And then there is Justice in war, which we clearly have abandoned. God did not abandon us, we abandoned God, all because a lack of faith. And in the end, torture was the preferred method of conduct over faith.
As for the divine intervention, the full premise he was coming from was that the Bible declares God's favor for those who stand beside Israel in her hour of need.
While I agree with that message in the Bible, I fail to see how it applies in this situation.

Answer 8

If Bush really thinks God wanted him to invade Iraq, he should be committed to an asylum for the mentally hilarious. But as for politicians in general, who's to say? There's thousands of them in America alone. Some no doubt are devout true believers, and for others it's merely window dressing.

Answer 9

Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

Kelly, with Iraq, wouldn't you agree taking out a madman who killed millions of his own citizens a good thing? Saddam also dammed the Fertile Crescent, mentioned in the Bible, to get back at his enemies, destroying a 2,000+ year old sanctuary.

Sometimes evil needs to be dealt with. Bush is not the best President, I admit. But he is a good one. I'm sorry, freeing people from oppresssion and a dictator who can destroy a 2,000 year old farm land is a good thing. The Bible is full of such exploits.

Answer 10

I think it depends on the politician. It's probably not all that difficult to find out who was active in their church prior to becoming involved in politics.
I think you are correct in pointing out that appearing pious is often just an act to appeal to voters. I find it worrisome that conservative religious groups have such a strong voting block. A highly intelligent coworker of mine does not think the war in Iraq was justified, but he still supports Bush. His religious beliefs lead him to believe this war is necessary as a pathway to the next phase of his beliefs. In other words, he thinks everything is predetermined and supporting an unjust war is all part of a devine plan. Scary.