DuPont CEO
DuPont Christian Employees Organization
REGARDLESS OF HOW YOU VOTED.This testimony from George W. Bush is great to read.
Gore's office said that he didn't have one in typed form - but Bush did. Here
it is... please
pass this along! Very Important!!! This could change America. (Whether Democrat or
Republican) If
any of you are interested in what George W. Bush says about his faith, here
it
is.
From George W. Bush:
"Actually, the seeds of my decision had been planted the year before, by
the Reverend Billy
Graham. He visited my family for a summer weekend in Maine. I saw him preach at
the small
summer church, St. Ann's by the Sea. We all had lunch on the patio
overlooking the ocean.
One evening my dad asked Billy to answer questions from a big group of family
gathered for
the weekend. He sat by the fire and talked. And what he said sparked a change in
my heart.
I
don't remember the exact words. It was more the power of his example. The Lord
was so
clearly reflected in his gentle and loving demeanor. The next day we walked and
talked at
Walker's Point, and I knew I was in the presence of a great man. He was like a
magnet; I felt
drawn to seek something different. He didn't lecture or admonish; he shared
warmth and
concern. Billy Graham didn't make you feel guilty; he made you feel loved. Over
the course of
that weekend, Reverend Graham planted a mustard seed in my soul, a seed that
grew
over the next year. He led me to the path, and I began walking. It was the
beginning of a
change in my life. I had always been a "religious" person, had
regularly attended church,
even taught Sunday School and served as an altar boy. But that weekend my faith
took on a
new meaning. It was the beginning of a new walk where I would commit my heart to
Jesus
Christ. I was humbled to learn that God sent His Son to die for a sinner like
me. I was
comforted to know that through the Son, I could find God's amazing grace, a
grace that
crosses every border, every barrier and is open to everyone. Through the love of
Christ's life,
I could understand the life changing powers of faith. When I returned to
Midland, I began
reading the Bible regularly. Don Evans talked me into joining him and another
friend, Don
Jones, at a men's community Bible study. The group had first assembled the year
before, in
Spring of 1984, at the beginning of the downturn in the energy industry. Midland
was hurting.
A lot of people were looking for comfort and strength and direction. A couple of
men started
the Bible study as a support group, and it grew. By the time I began attending,
in the fall of
1985, almost 120 men would gather. We met in small discussion groups of ten or
twelve,
then joined the larger group for full meetings. Don Jones picked me up every
week for the
meetings. I remember looking forward to them. My interest in reading the Bible
grew
stronger and stronger, and the words became clearer and more meaningful. We
studied
Acts, the story of the Apostles building the Christian church, and the next
year, the Gospel of
Luke. The preparation for each meeting took several hours, reading the Scripture
passages
and thinking through responses to discussion questions. I took it seriously,
with my usual
touch of humor... Laura and I were active members of the First Methodist Church
of Midland,
and we participated in many family programs, including James Dobson's Focus on
the
Family series on raising children. As I studied and learned, Scripture took on
greater
meaning, and gained confidence and understanding in my faith. I read the Bible
regularly.
Don Evans gave me the "one-year" Bible, a Bible divided into 365 daily
readings, each one
including a section from the New Testament, the Old Testament, Psalms, and
Proverbs. I
read through that Bible every other year. During the years in between, I pick
different
chapters to study at different times. I have also learned the power of prayer. I
pray for
guidance. I do not pray for earthly things, but for heavenly things, for wisdom
and patience
and understanding. My faith gives me focus and perspective. It teaches humility.
But I also
recognize that faith can be misinterpreted in the political process. Faith is an
important part
of my life. I believe it is important to live my faith, not flaunt it.
America is a great country because of our religious freedoms. It is important
for any leader
to respect the faith of others. That point was driven home when
Laura and I visited Israel in
1998. We had traveled to Rome to spend Thanksgiving with our daughter, who was
attending a school program there, and spent three days in Israel on the way
home. It was an
incredible experience. I remember waking up at the Jerusalem Hilton and opening
the
curtains and seeing the Old City before us, the Jerusalem stone glowing gold. We
visited the
Western Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. And we went to the Sea of
Galilee and
stood atop the hill where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount. It was an
overwhelming
feeling to stand in the spot where the most famous speech in the history of the
world was
delivered, the spot where Jesus outlined the character and conduct of a believer
and gave
his disciples and the world the beatitudes, the golden rule, and the Lord's
Prayer. Our
delegation included four gentile governors-one Methodist, two
Catholics, and a Mormon, and
several Jewish-American friends. Someone suggested we read Scripture. I chose to
read
"Amazing Grace," my favorite hymn. Later that night we all gathered at
a restaurant in Tel
Aviv for dinner before we boarded our middle-of-night flight back to America. We
talked
about the wonderful experiences and thanked the guides and government
officials who had
introduced us to their country. And toward the end of the meal, one of our
friends rose to
share a story, to tell us how he, a gentile, and his friend, a Jew, had
(unbeknownst to the rest
of us) walked down to the Sea of Galilee, joined hands underwater, and prayed
together, on
bended knee. Then out of his mouth came a hymn he had known as a child, a hymn
he hadn't
thought about in years. He got every word right: "Now is the time
approaching, by prophets
long foretold, when all shall dwell together, One Shepherd and one fold. Now Jew
and
gentile, meeting, from many a distant shore, around an altar kneeling, one
common Lord.
Faith changes lives. I know, because faith has changed mine."
I could not be governor if I did not believe in a divine plan that supersedes
all human plans.
Politics is a fickle business. Polls change. Today's friend is
tomorrow's adversary. People
lavish praise and attention. Many times it is genuine; sometimes it is not. Yet
I build my life on
a foundation that will not shift. My faith frees me. Frees me to put the problem
of the moment
in proper perspective. Frees me to make decisions that others might not like.
Frees me to
try to do the right thing, even though it may not poll well...
The death penalty is a difficult issue for supporters as well as its
opponents. I have a
reverence for life; my faith teaches that life is a gift
from our Creator. In a perfect world,
life is
given by God and only taken by God. I hope someday our society will respect
life, the
full
spectrum of life, from the unborn to the elderly. I hope someday unborn children
will be
protected by law and welcomed in life.
I support the death penalty because I believe, if administered swiftly and
justly, capital
punishment is a deterrent against future violence and will save other innocent
lives. Some
advocates of life will challenge why I oppose abortion yet support the death
penalty.
To me, it's the difference between innocence and guilt.
Today, two weeks after Jeb's inauguration, in my church in downtown Austin,
Pastor Mark
Craig, was telling me that my re-election was the first Governor to win
back-to-back,
four-year terms in the history of the State of Texas. It was a beginning, not an
end...
People are starved for faithfulness. He talked of the need for honesty in
government. He
warned that leaders who cheat on their wives will cheat their country,will cheat
their
colleagues, will cheat themselves. Pastor Craig said that America is starved for
honest
leaders. He told the story of Moses, asked by God to lead his people to a land
of milk and
honey. Moses had a lot of reasons to shirk the task. As the Pastor told it,
Moses' basic
reaction was, "Sorry, God, I'm busy. I've got a family. I've
got sheep to tend. I've got a life.
"Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the sons of Israel out of
Egypt? The people
won't believe me, he protested. I'm not a very good speaker. Oh, my Lord, send,
I pray, some
other person," Moses pleaded. But God did not, and Moses ultimately did His
bidding,
leading his people through forty years of wilderness and wandering, relying on
God for
strength and direction and inspiration. "People are starved for
leadership," Pastor Craig
said, "starved for leaders who have ethical and moral courage."
"It is not enough to have an
ethical compass to know right from wrong," he argued. "America needs
leaders who have
the moral courage to do what is right for the right reason. It's not always easy
or convenient
for leaders to step forward," he acknowledged. "Remember, even Moses
had doubts."
"He was talking to you," my mother later said. The pastor was, of
course, talking to all of us,
challenging each one of us to make the most of our lives, to assume the mantle
of leadership
and responsibility wherever we find it. He was calling on us to use whatever
power we have,
in business, in politics, in our communities, and in our families, to do good
for the right
reason. And his sermon spoke directly to my heart and my life... There was no
magic
moment of decision. After talking with my family during the Christmas holidays,
then hearing
this rousing sermon, to make most of every moment, during my inaugural church
service, I
gradually felt more comfortable with the prospect of a presidential campaign. My
family
would love me, my faith would sustain me, no matter what. During the more than
half century
of my life, we have seen an unprecedented decay in our American culture, a decay
that has
eroded the foundations of our collective values and moral standards of conduct.
Our sense of
personal responsibility has declined dramatically, just as the role and
responsibility of the
federal government have increased. The changing culture blurred the sharp
contrast between
right and wrong and created a new standard of conduct: "If it feels good,
do it." and "If you've
got a problem, blame somebody else." "Individuals are not responsible
for their actions," the
new culture has said.
"We are all victims of forces beyond our control." We have gone
from a culture of sacrifice
and saving to a culture obsessed with grabbing all the gusto. We went from
accepting
responsibility to assigning blame. As government did more and more, individuals
were
required to do less and less. The new culture said: if people were poor, the
government
should feed them. If someone had no house, the government should provide one. If
criminals
are not responsible for their acts, then the answers are not prisons, but social
programs...
For our culture to change, it must change one heart, one soul, and one
conscience at a time.
Government can spend money, but it cannot put hope in our hearts or a sense of
purpose in
our lives.
a religious imperative to love their neighbors through after school programs, child care, drug
treatment, maternity group homes, and a range of other services. Supporting these men and
women - the soldiers in the armies of compassion - is the next bold step of welfare reform,
because I know that changing hearts will change our entire society. During the opening
months of my presidential campaign, I have traveled our country and my heart has been
warmed. My experiences have reinvigorated my faith in the greatness of Americans. They
have reminded me that societies are renewed from the bottom up, not the top down.
Everywhere I go, I see people of love and faith, taking time to help a neighbor in need...
These people and thousands like them are the heart and soul and greatness of America.
And I want to do my part. I am running for President because I believe America must seize
this moment, America must lead. We must give our prosperity a greater purpose, a purpose
of peace and freedom and hope. We are a great nation of good and loving people. And
together, we have a charge to keep."