God in the speeches

With the presidential inauguration hours away, analysts are wondering what tone will President Bush’s speech contain. Particularly, how much God talk will be involved in his speech. According to one Seattle-PI OpEd, they predict the president may tone down his God talk in order to unify our nation. As an interesting excercise, the article goes through past presidents and lists the frequency of God talk in presidential speeches:

* Lyndon Johnson at 1.50 references per Inaugurals and State of the Unions.
* Franklin D. Roosevelt at 1.69 per Inaugural
* Jimmy Carter, considered as pious as they come among U.S. presidents, had only two mentions of God in four addresses
* Ronald Reagan, who averaged 4.75 in his comparable speeches
* President George W Bush 10 times in his first Inaugural, 14 times in his three state of the union addresses.

The article continues to state that the way our current president’s reference to God is very different than past presidents. It seems that past presidents have been more humble in their request for divine guidance, whereas our current president has “declared divine wishes.”

Contrast these statements, in which presidents spoke as petitioners humbly asking for divine guidance, with Bush’s claim in 2003 that “Americans are a free people, who know that freedom is the right of every person and the future of every nation. The liberty we prize is not America’s gift to the world, it is God’s gift to humanity.” This is not a request for divine favor; it is a declaration of divine wishes.

Declaration of divine wishes?? I don’t agree that when Bush made that statement he was making a divine wish, rather what he was saying was a statement of fact. Critical articles like these reveal society’s postmodern thinking. Our society would like to embrace God as an ongoing mysterious spirit, that cannot be known, so we must humbly make our requests lest we be too boastful for claiming to know God. For one to say that they know God well enough to declare truths of His goodness, realities of His grace, accuracies of His judgements — is to be arrogant, unloving, and boastful. If we are to be accepted and liked, we should speak of God mysteriously, generically, and as ambiguously as possible so as to keep God like a wax deity easily shaped and accepted by our listening audience.

I understand humility is required of people in high offices, but when it comes to a person’s claim of their God, the bible speaks clearly of how one is to speak on His behalf:

Thus says the LORD, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD. (Jer 9:23-24)

God wants to be clearly proclaimed not mysteriously whispered.