I am in the middle of trying to rebuild my computer after a terrible crash. However, I can't resist commenting on Chris Matthews' show, today, in which he showed excerpts from the third presidential debate where Bush talked about how often he prays and how he derives comfort from prayer. Rather than admiring Bush's faith and humility, he used these excerpts to lead a discussion as to whether Bush saw himself as a messianic figure. Matthews simply doesn't understand the religious impulse. He has lost it. I once enjoyed watching Hardball, but in the last couple months he has engaged in such absurd partisanship that I can't bear to watch him any longer.
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Here's an interesting article on that topic.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/17/magazine/17BUSH.html
You'll need to be resgistered (free) with the NYT to read it. I haven't read it all yet, but it fits in nicely with what you just wrote about. As someone who recently became a CNBC/MSNBC addict, it's interesting to see how partisan each host is. Matthews is better some nights than others, but I see your point. I think that this messianic idea is definitely a larger issue than just Matthews' interpetation of the debate (I heard it being discussed on NPR today). I share your faith, but will certainly not be voting for Bush. While I'd love it there my leader were on the same page with God, I have trouble understanding how any politician could resist making tons of compromises to win support. Beyond that, Bush's decision-making and inability to consider his fallability scares me to death. I really didn't mean to write this much... sorry about that... just check out the first page or so of the article (I don't neccesarily agree with all/most of it... just find it interesting).
Thanks for reading my blog.
I read the New York Times Magazine article on Bush. It confirms my view that the secular media has no idea how to handle religious faith. Being an extremely intuitive thinker does not translate into regarding yourself as a messiah.
One of the best books on the trivialization of religion in American politics is Stephen Carter's, The Culture of Disbelief. I heartily recommend it.
Thanks for the book recommendation... I actually found a new copy on half.com for $1+shipping, so I might just pick it up. I finished the Times article and did not find the last half to be as interesting. I especially wasn't fond of his portrayal and analysis of Bush's religious base. While I am not in political agreement with a good part of my church here in the Northwest and stayed "in the closet" politically during my collegiate years in the Bible belt, I have enough friends/brothers/sisters who support Bush to believe that all of them share his unwavering confidence.
I have to admit that I have done a lot more talking about politics and faith than I have done reading on the matter. Maybe Carter's book will stimulate some new thought processes. In any case, I sincerely appreciate your opinion and blog entries (the Judges one was particularly interesting; I definitely need to look into the judicial angle of faith and politics more). I cannot say that I see the fruits of Bush's intuitive thinking as being those of God, nor have I detected many traces humility coming our president in the last 6 months. I am certainly not questioning Bush's faith... I just have some serious concerns and am continually wrestling with how Christianity meshes with politics in my head. In the mean time, discourse like yours is quite helpful.
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