How Bush speaks in religious code

[donsu]

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2004/09/12/words_matter/

-snip-

The president learned this art when he served as his father's liaison to the religious right in 1988, just after his born-again conversion. Well-connected staff introduced him to evangelical leaders and taught him to win their trust. "Signal early and signal often" was their motto. Unlike his Episcopalian father, the younger Bush took this advice to heart.

-snip-

(conv. speech)

Biblical references were firmly planted at the beginning and end of the speech. Early on, Bush spoke of "hills to climb" and seeing "the valley below," an allusion to Israel's escape from slavery and Moses' vision of the Promised Land, as described in Deuteronomy 34. Given the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous use of the same passage ("I've been to the mountaintop"), Bush thus associated himself with both King and Moses, characterizing his presidency not just as a struggle for freedom, but a religious mission with risks of martyrdom.

In his closing paragraph, Bush quoted Ecclesiastes 3, "To everything there is a season," but quickly departed from the Biblical text. "A time for sadness," he began, with reference to 9/11, then "a time for struggle" -- Afghanistan and Iraq -- and finally "a time for rebuilding." This pattern of loss followed by recovery recurred in passages devoted to the economy, the war against terrorism, the national mood, and the state of morality since the 1960s.

-snip-

Rather less comforting is the realization that Bush is selling his dubious war to the base he has skillfully courted for years, which he knows to be credulous, fiercely patriotic, and enormously loyal.
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and religiously insane

and now they can have assault weapons legally

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. My favorite was when he started intoning mid-speech

about "power, power, wonder-working power". Oddly enough, he left out the bit about "in the blood of the Lamb". :eyes:

---------------------------------------------------------------------
And God told His children: "I love you. Play nice."

Would Jesus love a liberal? You bet!
http://www.geocities.com/greenpartyvoter/liberalchristians.htm

[rucky]

2. another great article on the subject:

http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=magazine.article&issue=soj0309&article=030910

[newscaster]

3. With all those hills to climb and valleys to view.....

shopuldnt there be a choir in the b ackground singing "val-de-ree, Val-de-rah, I love to go out wandering on the mountain top!!!!!...yada yada yada"

[ochazuke]

4. Mutually-enabling nut jobs

Islamic fundamentalists attack the US. American fundamentalists (Christian fundies as well as political fundamentalists -- you know, the people whose answer to any foreign policy question is "nuke 'em!") react to that, supporting revenge attacks on the Arab world. In turn, more of the Islamic world is open to the Islamist message.

I remember sitting in a class at university twenty-four years ago and my philosophy prof talking about all the fundamentalism he saw around him. Does this trend have to go to its logical conclusion, or can we head it off with reason?

[donsu]

5. "reason"? you jest - reason has been locked in the cupboard along

with:

Consensus
Diplomacy
Empathy
Excite
Harmony
Nurture
Remedy
Tutelage

[wildeyed]

6. This is helpful.

I am working a group of moderate republicans, trying to switch them to Kerry. I think the under the radar religious imagery is one of the reasons they continue to support bush, even though they disapprove of nearly every single policy position he takes. I was blown away by the cross on the podium of the RNC convention. Subtle enough that you might not even realize consciously that it was there.

I have been looking for proof that the christian religious are getting played by bushco. This helps.

[rucky]

7. see post #2

the link is from a Christian magazine

[wildeyed]

11. bookmarked that one, too.

I have already sent this group a link to sojo along with an op/ed piece that ran in my local paper about how Christians should speak out against the Iraq war.

[wrate]

8. I personally reject anything having to do with religions. But, I do know a

few people who are Born Again Christians, and from what they've told me you CANNOT have or carry or anything having to do with images, crosses, idols (saints or virgins) if you are a Christian. They say because it equates to adoring stuff other than Christ or some stuff like that. So I could not understand the cross you mention during the Republican Convention. It would go against everything I have been told about this people.

[GreenPartyVoter]

9. That's just one variation of the faith. Sounds like very strict

Protestants to me.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
And God told His children: "I love you. Play nice."

Would Jesus love a liberal? You bet!
http://www.geocities.com/greenpartyvoter/liberalchristians.htm

[wrate]

12. Probably. I don't think that Born Again Christians are Protestants though.

This person I know who is a BAC and watches that TBN channel and she used to say that Benny Hinn (spell?) was the "leader" although she always called herself interdenominational. Whatever that means.

Also, if you check out all those religious channels belonging to the Christians, you'll never see a cross or an image or any such thing.

Interesting that the Republicans had that cross there.

[wildeyed]

13. Well I didn't put it there. But it is there

It is subtle wood inlay, in a cross pattern, not an actual cross like you would see in a church. It was much commented upon at the time.

Most christians use imagery in their religious practice. The RNC is trying to pick up on that and exploit it to further their own ungodly agenda, IMHO.

[wrate]

14. Oh! But please don't think that I would question your assessment.

I am just wondering why they would do this. Maybe it was there for the Protestants and the Catholics who, as far as I know, do not have this strict rules about crosses. But, of course, I know little of this. And I did not watch the Republican Convention at all.

[wildeyed]

15. "I am just wondering why they would do this."

To, um, get votes, maybe? :shrug:

[JohnnyRingo]

10. Pretty good...From a man who does all he can to keep his hand.....

...From resting on a bible while testifying.