Bush's choice of church is moderate, not far right

[AtLiberty]

A Moderate Choice

The candidate may court the religious right, but his home congregation is warm, middle-ground, and decidedly non-political

By Christine Wicker
beliefnet.com

If George W. Bush's choice of a church says anything about him at all, he has a dirty little secret.

The darling of the religious right is a moderate.

The Republican presidential candidate may very well oppose abortion rights--as it seems that all good Republican presidential candidates must--but he never heard such ideas preached from the pulpit of Dallas' Highland Park United Methodist Church.

Bush refused to meet with gay members of the Log Cabin Republicans, but the preacher in his home church never advised members to shun gays and never would. Bush embraces religious conservatives Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell, courts the Christian Coalition, and spoke at South Carolina's Bob Jones University, a far-right evangelical school where administrators defame Catholics and forbid interracial dating. But such alliances weren't fostered in the 84-year-old mainstream Methodist church that Bush and his family joined in 1989. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Much has been made of Bush's appeal to evangelicals, but he is also running strongly among mainline Protestants, according to John Green, an expert on faith and politics who directs the Bliss Institute for Applied Politics at the University of Akron. Perhaps, Green said, they sense Bush is one of them.

Everyone is welcome at Highland Park Methodist, perhaps the biggest and arguably the wealthiest Methodist church in the country, but some folks might not feel comfortable, said John Croft, former chairman of the church council.

"If you're real narrow-minded, you probably ought to go somewhere else. If you've got all the answers, you probably ought to go somewhere else,'' said the soft-voiced retired lawyer...

For full story:

www.beliefnet.com/features/election2000/bush/story1.asp

[leesa]

1. So why don't they kick him out if they believe in tolerance?

THAT would be the Christian thing to do.

[Clark2008]

2. Oh, geez.. here comes the spin to separate Dear Leader

from the Tom Delays, the Bill :scared: Frists and the Rick Santorums.

It's never, ever, ever, ever the blivet's fault. He never, ever, ever, ever has to be held accountable for the evils he inflicts on this country through his associations with the Saudi royal family, the bin Ladens, the neo-cons and the religious wingnuts.

His church may be moderate - but he hasn't attended in years.

[Pacifist Patriot]

5. So is this a way for the church to disavow themselves of Bush's

extremist actions?

Good grief, we probably all know someone who belongs to a church that doesn't 100% fall in line with their personal beliefs. I didn't learn much from that article other than GWB's family joined in '89 and the minister doesn't preach what GWB practices. So what? It doesn't exactly bring about any policy changes, does it?

[Pacifist Patriot]

3. Cynical perspective here.

But I suspect Bush attends church there because it is the biggest and wealthiest, but most importantly...he gets to play both grounds. Pander to the far right but show his "moderate" attendance if he needs to calm the fears of mainstream Christians.

[Jade Fox]

4. Bush's denomination has spoken out against his administration. n/t

[Pacifist Patriot]

6. Very true.

[AtLiberty]

7. Laura still attends the Methodist church...

...She's been a life-long member.

Bill Frist is a Presbyterian, not part of the far right extreme.

How "Christian" is it to denounce your faith for political gain?

[coloradodem2005]

12. Presbyterians are pretty conservative though.

Though I hate the Calvinist doctrine.

[hfojvt]

14. they can be, but generally they are not as fundy

as Baptists, Evangelicals, Nazarenes, and so on. William Jennings Bryan was a Presbyterian, and it was my church growing up in a fairly conservative area. Still, they are no longer Calvinists in many respects, and they are not Biblical literalists.

[coloradodem2005]

15. The Evangelicals are calvinists.

[Kazak]

17. I know lots of Presbyterians who are quite liberal.

:shrug:

[BlueManDude]

8. It's all window dressing and Bush will never see the inside of a church

after he leaves office. Well, he will once I guess.

[patricia92243]

9. I thought there was some kind of quote where he said he hated "those fundam

fundamentalists"

[aquart]

10. Yes, George is a hypocrite in all things.

[IChing]

13. His church and religion

is as vaild as his PO box he declared on his taxes.

[Doctor_J]

11. * doesn't go to church

except when there's a photo-op to be had.

[kweerwolf]

16. As a former Methodist ...

... I can attest to how "middle-ground, and decidely non-political" the church is. Most Methodist churches are so bland that in trying not to offend anyone, they inspire no one.

My folks always tried to get me to go to church with them and when I declined they'd say "oh, it's not controversail like other churchs." I told them, "That's the problem. In refusing to take a stand one way or another they end up standing for nothing."

The Methodist Church always reminded me of Christ's teaching about how "because you are neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out."

[silverlib]

18. You have expressed my

feelings, as a Methodist, very well.

Bush's "coming to God" came in a men's Bible study that had nothing to do with the Methodist Church.

The Methodist Church Board of Society is very left leaning, but as you said about the local churches, Lord help us if we offend anyone under our 'big umbrella' - drives me crazy - so I go to church and speak my mind and sometimes scream and slam my fist on tables (like when studying "Purpose Driven Life"). I can do this because the Methodist Church will not disassociate from little ol' me any more than then will *.

[emulatorloo]

19. Think Karen Hughes when you hear the words "Bush" "Church" "Compassion"

EOM

[freestyle]

20. And bush attends an Episcopal church in DC, but learns nothing

Bush believes first and foremost in the accumulation of wealth and power. Religious fundamentalists are merely tools to him and those around him. The Bushes are about as eastern establishment as it gets, and the veneer of some aspects of southern culture, including fundamentalist religion, is just performance art for the commoners. Even the Texas accent is fake.

[spanone]

21. Bush* as a Christian is a ludicrous proposition.

He has vowed to NOT turn the other cheek. He HAS vowed to strike the first blow at his whim which is totally non-christian. Maybe he's a pre-emptive Christian. He condems you to hell before you condemn yourself thereby bypassing the middle-man.