White House Bible Study

national | miscellaneous | news report Wednesday February 19, 2003 14:41 by James Ridgeway

juxtapose this with the Christianity of the Catholic Worker 5.

More info on the Catholic Workers
http://CatholicWorker.org

---

[Ari Fleischer is the Whitehouse press spokeman]

White House Bible Study
Jesus Wept

http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0308/ridgeway.php

Question: President Bush has said that Jesus Christ is his favorite political philosopher. He said that during the campaign. Jesus Christ said turn the other cheek. He said the meek will inherit the earth. And he said do violence to no man. How does the president square his militarism with Jesus Christ's pacifism?

Ari Fleischer: One, I think your choice of words is inappropriate when you refer to President Bush's militarism. The president is seeking a way to provide peace and to protect the American people from a growing, gathering threat in the hands of Saddam Hussein and the weapons that he has collected. And the president approaches this matter per his constitutional duties. And his constitutional duties are to be the commander in chief—who is sworn to uphold the Constitution and protect the American people from threats to our lives. And that's the manner in which he approaches it. He does view this also as a matter of great morality in terms of the serious judgment that any president has to make about risking lives to save life. And that's the focus that the president brings. —White House briefing with Ari Fleischer, Tuesday, February 11, 2003, 12:30 p.m.