I see allegations that Bush said that God told him "to end the tyranny in Iraq". Most recently, it popped up in /r/atheism (warning: NSFW link) to support a rather dumb argument of "Bush was a theist, therefore I will never vote for a theist".
Putting aside the stupidity of this argument (which, as the top-most-voted comment points out, amounts to "I'll never ever vote"), consider the likelihood of this quote actually being said by Bush: the only source that can be found for it is a single Palestinian official. Let's be honest - the Palestinian government, whether or not you agree with Israel's actions, would likely have an axe to grind with the U.S. government.
The fact that the U.S. government did not try to deny it, while relevant to the argument for the quote's accuracy, is immaterial when faced with the fact that there is not a single additional shred of corroborating evidence - no other (more) reliable witnesses, no transcripts, no recordings - nada.
So, folks, let's put this one to bed, like we should do with that oft-repeated Thomas Jefferson quote. It wouldn't surprise me if Bush thought that he was doing God's work (though, as Penn Jillette tells it, Bill Clinton was the most religious of all U.S. presidents), but let's not let ourselves fail as skeptics simply because doing so makes it more convenient for the argument at hand - a short-term gain for a long-term loss of credibility.
Bush did actually say, "God speaks through me." [http://www.irregulartimes.com/godspeaksthroughme.html - first link on "bush says he talks to god" google] He called the war on terror a crusade. I remember very clearly hearing his voice say, "I talk to god every day." This from multiple news media sources.
ReplyDeleteWhile I appreciate skepticism, yours is not a point I can allow to stand, and I must denounce it as strict revisionism in the making, regardless of your intent.
My post isn't revisionist in the slightest. I'm not making the argument that Bush was or was not guided by religion or the idea that he was a conduit of his god. My point was that a popular quote has no credible sources, and that continuing to use the quote only ultimately harms the argument, because the argument is building itself is founded, at least in part, on credulity.
ReplyDeleteYour link is a perfect example - do you have a credible source, or at least one that cites a credible source, to support the allegation that Bush said that? I can't find any kind of news coverage of that quote, and I find it difficult to believe that not one single news outlet wouldn't publish that (given their overt willingness to publish the quote that forms the center of my blog post).
What if you found a site that said Obama stated that he believed God talked through him? Would you be as willing to believe it as you are Bush, with the equal (lack of) substantiation?