I happened to be in DC this past week, so I got to see alot of the goings on and also hear alot of the local news coverage. What does everyone think of Bush's speech? Sounded alot like "big government" and one world order stuff to me? The conservatives in the news felt he had turned democrat :-) Is it me or is he trying to sell democracy as the salvation of the world? This combined with his views on imigration of near slave like labor to take alot of low level jobs from citizens and his not doing anything about the outsourcing of jobs makes me think he is more King of the world than president of the USA.

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2005

Answers

Rev Green: You refer to yourself as "Rev" and the President as "Bush". I consider that disrespect for the office. You are not alone, it is rampant amoung the Democrats. The one who demeans the office lowers himself, not the officeholder.

Being a member of the democrat party has nothing to do with democracy.

I don't agree with every view of President Bush, but he is the president of this republic of ours made up of both democrats and republicians and many other parties. He won the right to move the country in the direction that he believes.

Praise the Lord that we live in a nation whose laws allow us to speak what we wish against or for our governing authorities. We also have a system for taking care of a leader who goes too far (Remember Nixon, LBJ, and Clinton).

So I suggest we give the President and his party the opportunity to lead and then take appropriate action if he goes too far.

The election is over, President Bush won.

Be blessed

pastor paris

-- Anonymous, January 22, 2005

Rev,. Bro., Mr. Paris:

I really do not think Rev. Green intended any disrespect in his post when he referred to George W. Bush as "Bush" it is common usage in the media. It is taken as a given that he is the President. After all we have heard this for years. Relax you got your four years, enjoy them if you can.

-- Anonymous, January 25, 2005

Rev. Green can speak for himself I suppose. But respect is due the office, not the office-holder. After all, one day, you may be in that office too. The media has been treating President Bush with contempt from the beginning. Not only contempt but they also underestimated his political skills (so did the democrats). Right is right regardless of the media. The apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans, Chapter 13:1-7 says the we as Christians ought to respect the governing authorities placed over us by God. But that letter was to the Romans so perhaps it dosen't apply to us. So President Bush has been elected to two terms as he president of the USA by the grace of God. Am I correct in that?

Be Blessed al paris

-- Anonymous, January 27, 2005

You are correct in what you say...respect is due. However, you are also over the top. In many instances a president is referred to by his last name only. Sometimes we are way too sensitive.

-- Anonymous, January 27, 2005

My usage of the presidents last name was out of expediency and not disrespect. It amazes me that the content of my post was never addressed. Actually my political views are mostly on the conservative side which is why the president's speech caught me as odd. I'll ask again for opinions regarding the content of his speech. To me it sounded very much like it favored big government intervention and much more nation building. These are not traditionally conservative views. Also, from a faith perspective do democracy and Chrisitanity necessarily have to go hand in hand?

-- Anonymous, January 31, 2005

No. Christianity will grow under any form of government. If fact it will flourish when a people is oppressed. The spread of early church was facillated by the attempts to stamp it out. My father was a sharecropper growing mostly cotton in my childhood. The enemy of cotton is bermuda grass. We had to chop the bermuda grass out of the cotton to allow the cotton to grow. But when you finished chopping the bermuda grass out, the rains would come and everywhere there was a joint, a new branch of bermuda grass would start and spread. Christianity can be like bermuda grass. When you oppress Christians and cause them to flee; to scatter; everywhere one Christian lands, the Holy Spirit "rains" on them and a new branch will spring up. The new branch (church) has all of the characteristics of the origonal plant. Jesus said, "I am the vine. You are the branches."

Be Blessed

pastor paris

-- Anonymous, February 01, 2005