When George W. Bush admitted that he asked God for advice on Iraq, he made the war a religious one. I believe that asking a deity what to do in a situation where thousands of people could die is immoral. Government officials should consider basic moral arguments when laying out courses of action, instead of relying on a mythical force to guide them.I wouldn't be surprised if the Christian God actually wanted George Bush to be president, as Bush claims he did, because Bush's actions are consistent with some of the terribly immoral and contradictory situations in the bible. For instance, the bible says, "the LORD is a man of war" and also describes him as a "God of peace". Similarly, on July 20th, 2004 George W. said, "I want to be the peace president" after saying "The best way to protect us is to stay on the offensive and to find terrorists before they try to harm us again. And they will" on March 25th, 2004.The government is using Christianity to gain the support of Christians, who make up the majority of Americans. With the support of the majority their party can remain in power, and pass legislation that doesn't consider the minority's perspective. Sometimes not even the majority's opinion can stop the executive branch from passing unfair legislation that clearly brings church and state closer together. Bush said "Congress wouldn't act, so I signed an executive order -- that means I did it on my own. It says we're going to open up billions of dollars in grant money competition to faith-based charities." This is an example of the government taking the side of the majority, and alienating the non Christians and the Christians who think religion and politics should be separated. Here is an extreme example of the measures some religious groups are taking to support Bush. On a website called heartlight.org, people are actually being asked to fast for George W. Bush! I realize this isn't an accurate representation of Christianity in general (I hope) but I thought it was noteworthy. Bob Sjogren, the site's sponsor, said "Our goal is to have 1,000 people fasting for the President each day. That will greatly encourage him and keep him accountable when the Evil One seeks to sidetrack him from his commitment to the Lord." It was interesting to me that they cared more about his duty to God than his duty to his country. I think the existences of groups like these are proof that Bush is using religion to gain support.I am not religious. I usually don't care if people are promoting religion, and I could care less if "under God" stays in the pledge of allegiance. Almost all of the Christians I've met are great people, because they ignore the parts of the bible that don't support modern universal morals. However, I don't want my tax dollars funding organizations that spread dogma that I don't agree with. When my taxes pay the salaries of government officials, I assume they are making decisions based on their best judgment, and not acting on the will of a supposed supreme being.When the military is asked to pray for their leader, I see a problem. If soldiers want to pray for their leader on their own time that's fine with me, but they were given pamphlets that asked them to pledge that they were praying for Bush by mailing him a prayer, and I think that violates the separation of church and state. It seems ridiculous to me that while they are dodging bullets, they should also have to fill out and mail a prayer to George Bush. I doubt that any of them would do something like that on their own time if they weren't asked to first. Here is one of many George Bush quotes that used God to sway people's opinions. He said, "We believe that liberty is God's gift to every individual on the face of the earth. We believe people have the right to think and speak and worship in freedom. That's what we believe in America." Bringing God into politics like this is dividing the American public, and causing many people to lose faith in their leadership. Government officials need to keep the minority in mind, and use their faith responsibly.Works CitedSjogren , Bob . "how it works." Heartlight fast for George W.. Heartlight. 19 Apr. 2005 .DubyaSpeak.com. 19 Apr. 2005. DubyaSpeak.com. 19 Apr. 2005 .Rein, Lisa. "Us Soldiers In Iraq Asked to Pray for Bush." On Lisa Rein's Radar. http://www.onlisareinsradar.com. 21 Apr. 2005 .God. "Search the Bible Online!." TheBible.com. The Bible Online. 19 Apr. 2005
