Door opened for Bush to mention Christianity

This is a WorldNetDaily printer-friendly version of the article which follows.
To view this item online, visit http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?pageId=41549

Saturday, October 16, 2010

WND AT THE WHITE HOUSE
Door opened for Bush to mention Christianity
Plans visit to Jamestown, which was settled to 'propagate' the faith

Posted: May 11, 2007
1:00 am Eastern

WorldNetDaily.com

White House spokesman Tony Snow appears to have left open the door for President Bush to include references to the nation's Christian heritage when he visits Jamestown, Va., this weekend, the settlement built after instructions from King James of England to go out and "propagate" the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

"[There are] reports that some American Indian leaders have described Jamestown as 'an invasion that led to a holocaust and an atrocity,'" said Les Kinsolving, WND's correspondent at the White House. "My question … does the president intend in any way to apologize for these allegations and to refrain from any mentioning of his and the Jamestown founders' Christianity when he speaks there on Sunday?"

"No, he doesn't," Snow said.

(Story continues below)

A week earlier, WND had asked White House spokeswoman Dana Perino about the president's comments, but she said they weren't available then.

As WND has reported, the Jamestown settlement, which pre-dated the Plymouth, Mass., Pilgrims by 13 years, was founded with the primary instruction from King James of England that its members propagate the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This year is the celebration of the 400th anniversary of that founding.

The content of acknowledgments for that event has become an issue because of what Christians describe as a massive effort to apply politically correct perspectives on America's history – retroactively – at Jamestown. Official events this year, for example, have banned the word "celebration," because Native American activists describe the settlement as an "invasion."

Even Queen Elizabeth II, in a visit at Jamestown this week, jumped onto the politically correct bandwagon.

"Over the course of my reign and certainly since I first visited Jamestown in 1957, my country has become a much more diverse society just as the commonwealth of Virginia and the whole United States of America have also undergone a major social change," she said.

Bush's earlier presidential proclamation in honor of the 400th at Jamestown doesn't mention the Christian faith or Christianity, and the leader of a group working to have that history accurately portrayed is troubled.

"America looks to our leaders in moments of historic importance to remind us of our foundations as a free people. Historically American presidents have taken the opportunity of the celebration of Jamestown to point out that this experiment in liberty was first dedicated to God," said Doug Phillips.

He is president of Vision Forum Ministries and the founder of the Jamestown Quadricentennial: A Celebration of America's Providential History, Vision Forum's own series of events to celebrate the quadricentennial June 11-16

He's called the battle over the accurate inclusion of Christianity's influence in history one of the most significant battles today, because it is a battle over the very history of this nation.

The president's proclamation noted "endurance" and "courage."

Four centuries ago, after a long journey, a small group of colonists stepped boldly onto the shores of the New World and established the first permanent English settlement in North America. During the 400th anniversary of Jamestown, America honors the early pioneers whose epic of endurance and courage started the story of our Nation.
The ideals that distinguish and guide the United States today trace back to the Virginia settlement where free enterprise, the rule of law, and the spirit of discovery took hold in the hearts and practices of the American people. Noble institutions and grand traditions were established in Jamestown. Amid tremendous difficulties, a determined few worked the land and expanded into the wilderness. Without knowing it, the colonists who built communities at Jamestown laid the foundation for a Nation that would become the ultimate symbol and force for freedom throughout the entire world.
Much has changed in the 400 years since that three-sided fort was raised on the banks of the James River. Today, we are a strong and growing Nation of more than 300 million, and we are blessed to live in a land of plenty during a time of great prosperity. The long struggle that started at Jamestown has inspired generations of Americans. Advancing the right to live, work, and worship in liberty is the mission that created our country, the honorable achievement of our ancestors, and the calling of our time.

"This nation was established on the foundation of Christianity," Phillips said. "There are some important positives about the president's proclamation, but there also appear to be some very troubling edits of this significant document prior to its release to the American people."

As WND also has reported, officials managing the guided tours at the historic location recently confirmed that spreading the Gospel of Jesus was, in fact, the primary goal given to the Jamestown settlers.

So steeped in Christianity was the Jamestown settlement, according to a group trying to rededicate the nation to Jesus, the community had a nearly 3,000-word prayer that was spoken twice daily either by "the Captain of the watch himself, or by some one of his principal officers."

While Phillips has been raising issues of politically correct history in the events around the 400th anniversary, Calfornia pastor Todd DuBord of Lake Almanor Community Church has raised similar issues regarding the actual presentations by tour guides at the historic sites.

It was in response to his concerns that officials at Jamestown confirmed that guides are being instructed to discuss the propagation of Christianity as the primary goal for Jamestown.

Joseph A. Gutierrez, Jr., senior director of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, told DuBord he is comfortable that the new instructions include the necessary balance of religious and secular interests.

DuBord said he had written to Bush, expressing his concern.

"I was respectfully disappointed, as I know millions are too, not to read any mention of God or their Christian purpose in your proclamation, when the early colony had at its heart a Christian mission (as outlined in the 1606 Charter) and a twice-daily prayer that thanked God for their colony and spoke about the 'highest end' of the colony being to uphold the banner of Jesus Christ," his letter said.

"As a Christian, and for all who understand the real history of the colony, I ask you to please say something publicly about the Christian mission/purpose of the colony when you are giving your speech from Jamestown on the weekend of May 11-13. Your public speech writers would do great justice to include a quote of the Christian mission from the 1606 Charter into your public speeches when you're there," he wrote.

DuBord has documented similar efforts to edit Christianity from the historic references at the U.S. Supreme Court and Jefferson's Monticello estate, and also has that research, as well as his Jamestown research, available on his church website.

To obtain Pastor Todd DuBord's research on this issue, as well as research into the editing of Christian references at the U.S. Supreme Court and Thomas Jefferson's Monticello estate, visit the Lake Almanor Community Church website.

A second question from Kinsolving was on a different subject.

"The president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights said it was 'reprehensible for the Rev. Al Sharpton to say, 'As for the Mormon running for office, those who really believe in God will defeat him anyways.' And my question, does the president agree or disagree that this Sharpton statement was reprehensible?" Kinsolving asked.

"I don't know. It probably came as news to Harry Reid," Snow said. "Let's be clear about what the president does believe in, which is respect for people's religious views and religious freedoms. So let's be clear about that – other than trying to jump into an argument with Al Sharpton, which we're not going to do."

Do you have a tough question you'd like to ask the White House? WND's MR. PRESIDENT! forum is your big chance.

Special offers:

"Christianity and the American Commonwealth"

Own the Bible the Pilgrims used

Rare biblical masterpiece makes comeback

'Finest video ever produced' about USA

Criminalizing Christianity: How America's founding religion is becoming illegal

"The Marketing of Evil: How Radicals, Elitists, and Pseudo-Experts Sell Us Corruption Disguised as Freedom"

Previous stories: