Religious Interpretations Leading to War?

I was shocked when I came across a piece detailing how former President Bush seemingly used a particular theological interpretation, premillenial dispensationalism [think of the Left Behind books], as a means of justifying the rush to war in Iraq. The article can be found at: http://www.alternet.org/story/140221/.

Here is a quote,
In 2003 while lobbying leaders to put together the Coalition of the Willing, President Bush spoke to France's President Jacques Chirac. Bush wove a story about how the Biblical creatures Gog and Magog were at work in the Middle East and how they must be defeated. . .

Bush believed the time had now come for that battle, telling Chirac:
"This confrontation is willed by God, who wants to use this conflict to erase his people's enemies before a New Age begins". ...

In the same year he spoke to Chirac, Bush had reportedly said to the Palestinian foreign minister that he was on "a mission from God" in launching the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan and was receiving commands from the Lord.

There can be little doubt now that President Bush's reason for launching the war in Iraq was, for him, fundamentally religious. He was driven by his belief that the attack on Saddam's Iraq was the fulfilment of a Biblical prophesy in which he had been chosen to serve as the instrument of the Lord.

Catching Up

I was disconnected from the internet this weekend, but I am now back in the swing of things.

Updates to previous posts:

*** The Wisconsin woman who denied treatment to her diabetic daughter and relied solely on prayer was convicted. She faces up to 25 years in prison.

*** The Minnesota mother who stopped her son's chemotherapy treatments because the treatments were considered a "sacrilege" and went on the run with him is back home. The son is seeing the doctor again.

*** I indicated that I would share my feelings about some previous church-state related issues. I would encourage folks who have an interest in these discussions to look at the comments that have been left on them.

I am not in favor of posting the Ten Commandments on school classroom walls, in courtroom, on courthouse or city hall lawns, etc. or of having a resolution declaring "the Year of the Bible." Yes, the vast majority of the people who originally settled America and the vast majority of the people who live here now are Christians, or, at least, say they are. The ones who founded the country, however, DID NOT establish America as a single religion state. They were most deliberate in guaranteeing that NO religion could be used as a qualification for citizenship or service.

Granted, the Ten Commandments were not originally a "Christian" document, but the version used and the way it is used is most definitely oriented toward Christianity, and, specifically, Protestant Christianity. In the same way, the Bible that Rep. Broun wants to honor is the Christian Bible, and, most specifically, the version used by Protestant Christians. Both cases point up the misuse of religious scripture and religious symbols in my opinion.